Arab News, Sunday, Sep 12, 2021 | Safar 5, 1443
Saudi Aramco to split gas business to prepare for hydrogen future: Bloomberg
Saudi Arabia:
Saudi Aramco is to split its
gas production division into two as it looks to make greater use of the fuel in
power generation and the production of so-called blue hydrogen, Bloomberg
reported, citing unnamed people familiar with the plans.
Saudi Aramco declined to comment to Bloomberg.
The two new divisions will be called Southern Area
Gas Operations and Northern Area Gas Operations, and will be run by Wail Al
Jaafari and Jumaan Al Zahrani, the people said.
Saudi Arabia is looking to convert its power
stations to natural gas, allowing it to divert as much as 1 million barrels of
crude oil a day for export, Bloomberg said.
The Kingdom is also preparing for growth in demand
for blue hydrogen, which is created from natural gas while capturing the
emissions.
Aramco’s gas production reached a record 10.7
billion standard cubic feet a day in August last year, according to the
company’s 2020 annual report, Bloomberg said.