Saudi Arabia Joins Global CCS Institute

Saudi Arabia is the latest member to join the Global CCS Institute (SPA)
Saudi Arabia is the latest member to join the Global CCS Institute (SPA)
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Saudi Arabia Joins Global CCS Institute

Saudi Arabia is the latest member to join the Global CCS Institute (SPA)
Saudi Arabia is the latest member to join the Global CCS Institute (SPA)

Saudi Arabia, represented by the Energy Ministry, has become the latest member to join the Global CCS Institute on scaling up carbon capture and storage technology (CCS).

Saudi Arabia reaffirmed its commitment to tackling the climate challenge through collaboration, innovation, and adopting proven technologies.

Saudi Arabia has a diverse portfolio aimed at reducing carbon emissions, including through CCS, with a target to reach net zero by 2060.

Minister of Energy Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said CCS is a needed technology to drive a low-emission transition across the complex to abate industries.

"In 2022, Saudi Arabia announced plans to develop one of the largest CCS hubs in the world, where 44 million tons of CO2 will be mitigated annually through CCS efforts in the Jubail industrial city by 2035," said the minister.

He indicated that getting ambitious climate projects off the ground will require partnerships and region-specific expertise and knowledge, and being a member of the Global CCS Institute will enhance that further.

The Global CCS Institute said it is keen to work with the Saudi government to provide expertise to drive the accelerated deployment of CCS technology.

CEO of the Global CCS Institute Jarad Daniels stated that Saudi Arabia is putting plans in place to develop large-scale projects that will have the capacity to capture and store millions of tons of CO2 from industry, subsequently being poised to be a CCS leader in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.

"As the country shifts from CCS ambition to CCS action, we look forward to being an active part of that journey," Daniels added.

The Global CCS Institute's diverse membership is over 200 strong, spanning 33 countries, including 13 government members.

Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Energy, leading the government's carbon capture and storage efforts, will work closely with the Institute on CCS capacity building.

Although over 250 CCS facilities are in various stages globally, that number will need to increase by 100-fold for international climate targets to be reached by mid-century.

Saudi Arabia's geological storage capacity makes the country an excellent candidate for CCS deployment and industrial decarbonization efforts.



Egypt, Cyprus Sign Gas Export Deals, Boosting Eastern Mediterranean Energy Cooperation

The logo of Italian energy company Eni is seen at a gas station in Rome, Italy August 16, 2018. (Reuters)
The logo of Italian energy company Eni is seen at a gas station in Rome, Italy August 16, 2018. (Reuters)
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Egypt, Cyprus Sign Gas Export Deals, Boosting Eastern Mediterranean Energy Cooperation

The logo of Italian energy company Eni is seen at a gas station in Rome, Italy August 16, 2018. (Reuters)
The logo of Italian energy company Eni is seen at a gas station in Rome, Italy August 16, 2018. (Reuters)

Egypt and Cyprus signed agreements on Monday enabling the export of gas from Cyprus's offshore fields to Egypt for liquefaction and re-export to Europe, as both countries seek to bolster the Eastern Mediterranean's role as an energy hub.

The deals signed at the 2025 Egypt Energy Show formalize a long-anticipated plan to link Cypriot reserves to Egypt’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities, a move that leverages Egypt’s existing infrastructure to process and ship natural gas to European markets.

Monday's agreements involve gas extracted from one Cypriot site, Cronos Block 6 - now under license to a consortium of Italy's Eni and France's Total - to be processed at Egypt's Zohr facilities before being liquefied at Damietta and exported to Europe.

A second memorandum of understanding outlines a framework of processing gas from Cyprus' offshore Aphrodite field, under license to a Chevron-led consortium, which will also be sent to Egypt for processing.

The east Mediterranean has yielded some major gas discoveries in recent years, while a disruption in energy supplies from Russia after its invasion of Ukraine in 2022 has sharpened Europe's attention on securing supplies elsewhere.

"The essence of these agreements is not limited to promoting the exploitation of deposits, but broadens the prospects for energy cooperation with Egypt, while contributing to regional stability and strengthening our country's geopolitical position in the Eastern Mediterranean," a statement from Cyprus's Presidency said.

Cypriot officials have previously said they expect gas from Block 6 Cronos to possibly come online in 2026 or 2027. Cronos gas in place is estimated at more than 3 trillion cubic feet (tcf).

Aphrodite holds an estimated 3.5 tcf of gas. Israel's NewMed, a member of the consortium, expects gas to come online in 2031, it said in a stock exchange filing on Sunday.

In a Monday filing update, it said the "non-binding" MoU envisaged that Egypt's national gas company, EGAS, would be the sole buyer of the gas produced from Aphrodite, while the partners would be granted an option to purchase specific quantities of the gas sold to EGAS as LNG.

The signing of the Aphrodite deal follows a recent breakthrough between Cyprus and the Chevron-led consortium after months of disagreement over a development plan.

The agreement provides a boost for Egypt, which has struggled with declining domestic gas production and last year returned to being a net importer of natural gas.

Egypt recently signed $3 billion worth of LNG supply deals with Shell and TotalEnergies to cover domestic demand for 2025.

Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly has emphasized the country's need to ramp up production at its own Zohr gas field, where operator Eni has resumed drilling after output dropped to 1.9 billion cubic feet per day in early 2024.