Aramco CEO Reaffirms Company’s Commitment to Reducing Gas Emissions

Saudi Aramco Chief Executive Amin H. Nasser attends OGCI event, photo provided by Saudi Aramco's official website
Saudi Aramco Chief Executive Amin H. Nasser attends OGCI event, photo provided by Saudi Aramco's official website
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Aramco CEO Reaffirms Company’s Commitment to Reducing Gas Emissions

Saudi Aramco Chief Executive Amin H. Nasser attends OGCI event, photo provided by Saudi Aramco's official website
Saudi Aramco Chief Executive Amin H. Nasser attends OGCI event, photo provided by Saudi Aramco's official website

Saudi Aramco Chief Executive Amin H. Nasser has reaffirmed the company’s commitment to cutting back greenhouse gas emissions.

The Aramco top executive was attending an event sponsored by the Oil and Gas Climate Initiative (OGCI), a partnership of 10 international oil companies that aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the industry.

“Saudi Aramco is committed to reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by focusing our research, development and funding on high impact technologies that reduce cost and create significant environmental advantages,” Nasser said at the event.

The investments with Solidia Technologies, Achates Power and the first commercial carbon capture, use and storage (CCUS) gas plant are a testimony to OGCI’s determination to tackle climate change through technology-enabled solutions that align with Saudi Aramco’s key priorities of reducing GHG emissions in the energy sector.

“We are also leveraging our global research and development network to demonstrate more efficient transport solutions, as well as, new technologies to capture CO2 and transform it into high value products, such as the Converge® technology, which produces low GHG footprint polymers,” Nasser added.

In a joint statement, the OGCI member companies said that “natural gas is a vital part of the transition to a lower carbon future.”

They also said they aimed at working towards reaching near-zero methane emissions from the gas value chain.

More so, they expressed their commitment towards ensuring that natural gas continues to deliver its clear climate and clean air benefit compared to coal.

In other achievements over the past year, OGCI is partnering with United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) to launch the world’s first global methane study focused on filling gaps in identification and quantification of global methane emissions. OGCI is also working with Imperial College London to develop a clearer understanding of total GHG emissions across the natural gas value chain.



Inflation Rose to 2.3% in Europe. That Won't Stop the Central Bank from Cutting Interest Rates

A view shows the Bercy Economy and Finance Ministry as a metro operated by the Paris transport network RATP passes over the Pont de Bercy bridge in Paris, France, November 28, 2024. REUTERS/Stephanie Lecocq
A view shows the Bercy Economy and Finance Ministry as a metro operated by the Paris transport network RATP passes over the Pont de Bercy bridge in Paris, France, November 28, 2024. REUTERS/Stephanie Lecocq
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Inflation Rose to 2.3% in Europe. That Won't Stop the Central Bank from Cutting Interest Rates

A view shows the Bercy Economy and Finance Ministry as a metro operated by the Paris transport network RATP passes over the Pont de Bercy bridge in Paris, France, November 28, 2024. REUTERS/Stephanie Lecocq
A view shows the Bercy Economy and Finance Ministry as a metro operated by the Paris transport network RATP passes over the Pont de Bercy bridge in Paris, France, November 28, 2024. REUTERS/Stephanie Lecocq

Inflation in the 20 countries that use the euro currency rose in November — but that likely won’t stop the European Central Bank from cutting interest rates as the prospect of new US tariffs from the incoming Trump administration adds to the gloom over weak growth.
The European Union’s harmonized index of consumer prices stood up 2.3% in the year to November, up from 2.0% in October, the EU statistics agency Eurostat reported Friday.
Energy prices fell 1.9% from a year ago, but that was offset by price increases of 3.9% in the services sector, a broad category including haircuts, medical treatment, hotels and restaurants, and sports and entertainment, The Associated Press reported.
Inflation has come down a long way from the peak of 10.6% in October 2022 as the ECB quickly raised rates to cool off price rises. It then started cutting them in June as worries about growth came into sharper focus.
High central bank benchmark rates combat inflation by influencing borrowing costs throughout the economy. Higher rates make buying things on credit — whether a car, a house or a new factory — more expensive and thus reduce demand for goods and take pressure off prices. However, higher rates can also dampen growth.
Growth worries got new emphasis after surveys of purchasing managers compiled by S&P Global showed the eurozone economy was contracting in October. On top of that come concerns about how US trade policy under incoming President Donald Trump, including possible new tariffs, or import taxes on imported goods, might affect Europe’s export-dependent economy. Trump takes office Jan. 20.
The eurozone’s economic output is expected to grow 0.8% for all of this year and 1.3% next year, according to the European Commission’s most recent forecast.
All that has meant the discussion about the Dec. 12 ECB meeting has focused not on whether the Frankfurt-based bank’s rate council will cut rates, but by how much. Market discussion has included the possibility of a larger than usual half-point cut in the benchmark rate, currently 3.25%.
Inflation in Germany, the eurozone’s largest economy, held steady at 2.4%. That “will strengthen opposition against a 50 basis point cut,” said Carsten Brzeski, global chief of macro at ING bank, using financial jargon for a half-percentage-point cut.
The ECB sets interest rate policy for the European Union member countries that have joined the euro currency.