Jubeir: Saudi Arabia Does Not Politicize Oil

Saudi Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Adel al-Jubeir. EPA
Saudi Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Adel al-Jubeir. EPA
TT

Jubeir: Saudi Arabia Does Not Politicize Oil

Saudi Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Adel al-Jubeir. EPA
Saudi Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Adel al-Jubeir. EPA

Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Adel al-Jubeir has said Saudi Arabia does not politicize oil and the shortage is not related to the fundamentals of crude oil supply and demand.

"Oil is not a weapon," al-Jubeir told Fox News. "It's not a fighter plane. It's not a tank. You can't shoot it. You can't do anything with it. We look at oil as a commodity and we look at oil as important to the global economy in which we have a huge stake.”

“The idea that Saudi Arabia would do this to harm the US or to be in any way politically involved is absolutely not correct at all,” he added.

The 13 members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and 11 of its allies led by Russia, known as OPEC+, agreed on Wednesday to lower their production by two million barrels per day.

Saudi Arabia said the reduction was necessary to respond to the West's interest rate hike and the weak global economy.

"With due respect, the reason you have high prices in the United States is because you have a refining shortage that has been in existence for more than 20 years," Jubeir told Fox News. "You haven't built refineries in decades."

Al-Jubeir ultimately asserted the Kingdom is "committed to ensuring stability in the oil markets to the benefit of consumers and producers."



Aramco, Gulf Cryo Cooperate in Testing Lower-carbon Hydrogen

The initiative will facilitate testing Aramco’s newly-developed technologies at pilot and pre-commercial scale. Photo: Aramco
The initiative will facilitate testing Aramco’s newly-developed technologies at pilot and pre-commercial scale. Photo: Aramco
TT

Aramco, Gulf Cryo Cooperate in Testing Lower-carbon Hydrogen

The initiative will facilitate testing Aramco’s newly-developed technologies at pilot and pre-commercial scale. Photo: Aramco
The initiative will facilitate testing Aramco’s newly-developed technologies at pilot and pre-commercial scale. Photo: Aramco

Saudi Aramco has signed an agreement with Gulf Cryo, a regional leader of end-to-end industrial gases and decarbonization solutions in the MENAT region, to conduct testing of lower-carbon hydrogen and carbon capture & utilization technologies under Saudi Arabian climate conditions enabling future commercial deployment.

The agreement underscores Aramco’s desire to develop a lower carbon emission future through investing in research and technology development, to support business growth and meet global energy demand while reducing scope 1 and scope 2 GHG emissions to net-zero by 2050 from its wholly own operated assets.

The initiative will facilitate testing Aramco’s newly-developed technologies at pilot and pre-commercial scale. The testing and assessment will be conducted at Gulf Cryo's newly established Applications and Technologies Center (ATC) at King Salman Energy Park (SPARK), a press statement said Thursday.

Aramco’s senior vice president of Technology Oversight and Coordination (TOC), Ali A. Al-Meshari, said: “This collaboration is important in advancing our early stage technologies to the next phase of development, which will help create local ecosystem for accelerating technology deployment leveraging in-kingdom talent and infrastructure.”

As for Gulf Cryo Vice Chairman, Eng. Abdel Salam Al Mazro, he said that “the project will leverage the capabilities of our Center to deliver groundbreaking lower-carbon hydrogen and decarbonization solutions, tailored to the unique needs of Aramco.”

In addition to driving technological advancements in decarbonization, this collaboration supports Saudi Arabia’s strategy to enhance localization and build local capabilities. The facility is planned to be ready for commissioning by the end of 2025, the statement added.