Saudi Aramco Joins World Bank’s ‘Zero Routine Flaring by 2030’

Saudi Aramco's logo is pictured at the company's oil facility in Abqaiq, Saudi Arabia. Reuters file photo
Saudi Aramco's logo is pictured at the company's oil facility in Abqaiq, Saudi Arabia. Reuters file photo
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Saudi Aramco Joins World Bank’s ‘Zero Routine Flaring by 2030’

Saudi Aramco's logo is pictured at the company's oil facility in Abqaiq, Saudi Arabia. Reuters file photo
Saudi Aramco's logo is pictured at the company's oil facility in Abqaiq, Saudi Arabia. Reuters file photo

Saudi Aramco has announced that it is joining the World Bank Initiative ‘Zero Routine Flaring by 2030’.

The company also has a strong focus on flaring reduction, which remained at less than 1 percent of its total raw gas production in the first half of 2019.

“We are proud to join the ‘Zero Routine Flaring by 2030’ Initiative, which we view as an important global effort to eliminate flaring. We have been taking active steps to reduce flaring in our operations for the past 40 years and have invested in a range of flaring reduction technologies and programs to achieve our excellent performance,” Ahmad A. Al-Saadi, Saudi Aramco Senior Vice-President, Technical Services said.

“Beyond this initiative, we are also investing in advanced technologies to enable greater efficiency and lower emissions in transport, carbon-free hydrogen fuels, and carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS). This is all part of our broader effort to enable the circular carbon economy and deliver clean, reliable and affordable energy to the world while minimizing greenhouse gas emissions,” he noted.

Saudi Aramco’s low flaring levels are a result of its decades-long focus on sustainability, which encompasses the development of the Kingdom’s Master Gas System in the 1970’s, rolling out a Company-wide Flaring Minimization Roadmap, using innovative flaring reduction technologies and establishing a Fourth Industrial Revolution Center that monitors all the Company’s operations including flaring in real-time.

In addition, and as a result of Saudi Aramco’s reservoir management best practices, flaring minimization and energy efficiency programs, the Company’s 2018 upstream carbon intensity figure is among the lowest globally at 10.2 kilograms of CO2 equivalent per barrel of oil equivalent.

Launched in April 2015, the ‘Zero Routine Flaring by 2030’ Initiative is a World Bank climate collaboration that brings together governments, oil and gas companies, and development institutions from around the world to eliminate routine flaring by 2030. Over 80 governments and organizations have joined the initiative, including the Government of Saudi Arabia, which joined in December 2018.



Ukraine Receives New IMF Loan 1,000 Days into War

A Ukrainian national flag flutters near buildings destroyed by Russian military strikes in Borodianka, Ukraine, February 15, 2023. (Reuters)
A Ukrainian national flag flutters near buildings destroyed by Russian military strikes in Borodianka, Ukraine, February 15, 2023. (Reuters)
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Ukraine Receives New IMF Loan 1,000 Days into War

A Ukrainian national flag flutters near buildings destroyed by Russian military strikes in Borodianka, Ukraine, February 15, 2023. (Reuters)
A Ukrainian national flag flutters near buildings destroyed by Russian military strikes in Borodianka, Ukraine, February 15, 2023. (Reuters)

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and Ukrainian authorities have reached an agreement that would give Ukraine access to about $1.1 billion, the IMF said on Tuesday, adding that its executive board must still weigh in on the deal.

If approved, the agreement would bring the total amount disbursed to Ukraine under the program to $9.8 billion, the IMF statement said, adding that the board was expected to review the deal in coming weeks.

“The outlook remains exceptionally uncertain and Russia's war in Ukraine continues to take a heavy toll on Ukraine's people, economy, and infrastructure,” the funds' staff wrote, adding that despite those challenges the program “remains on track.”

“The economy has continued to show resilience despite the devastating challenges arising from Russia’s war in Ukraine, which has now lasted 1,000 days,” it added.

“However, risks remain exceptionally high given uncertainty on the intensity and duration of the war, including from the continued attacks on energy infrastructure.”

IMF staff, which met with Ukrainian officials Nov. 11-18, said the country's real GDP growth was expected to be 4% this year but slow to 2.5%-3.5% in 2025 amid energy infrastructure damage and labor shortages.

Inflation in Ukraine also reached 9.7% year-over-year in October over rising food and labor costs “but inflation expectations remain well anchored,” IMF staff concluded.