Flare stacks burn at the Saudi Aramco oilfield complex at Shaybah in the Rub’ Al Khali desert. Gulf-based state oil exporters such as Saudi Aramco and the UAE's Abu Dhabi National Oil Company are making huge bets on developing blue hydrogen as they look to sell newer forms of energy. Getty Images
Flare stacks burn at the Saudi Aramco oilfield complex at Shaybah in the Rub’ Al Khali desert. Gulf-based state oil exporters such as Saudi Aramco and the UAE's Abu Dhabi National Oil Company are making huge bets on developing blue hydrogen as they look to sell newer forms of energy. Getty Images
Flare stacks burn at the Saudi Aramco oilfield complex at Shaybah in the Rub’ Al Khali desert. Gulf-based state oil exporters such as Saudi Aramco and the UAE's Abu Dhabi National Oil Company are making huge bets on developing blue hydrogen as they look to sell newer forms of energy. Getty Images
Flare stacks burn at the Saudi Aramco oilfield complex at Shaybah in the Rub’ Al Khali desert. Gulf-based state oil exporters such as Saudi Aramco and the UAE's Abu Dhabi National Oil Company are maki

Saudi Aramco exploring opportunities to export blue hydrogen, CEO says


Jennifer Gnana
  • English
  • Arabic

Saudi Aramco is exploring opportunities in blue hydrogen and is actively looking at exporting to key markets in Asia, even as it seeks to grow its portfolio by opening up assets to unlock capital, its president and chief executive said.

“Currently, blue hydrogen requires … ammonia as a transport medium. It requires a lot of carbon capture and sequestration. And we are doing a lot of work in terms of front-end engineering for carbon capture and sequestration," Amin Nasser told investors in a call on Monday.

"We are also engaging with different markets around the world, in terms of offtake agreements,” he added.

Carbon capture and sequestration refers to the capture and storage of carbon dioxide from steam methane reformation that is used to produce blue hydrogen. The CO2 is used in other industrial processes, including in the oil and gas sector, where it is pumped into mature oil wells to boost crude output.

Gulf-based state oil exporters such as Saudi Aramco and the UAE's Abu Dhabi National Oil Company are making big bets on developing blue hydrogen as they look to sell newer forms of energy.

Both countries are looking to leverage existing crude oil trading relationships with consumers to sell hydrogen.

Last year, Aramco shipped blue hydrogen produced in Saudi Arabia to Japan.

Aramco shipped the hydrogen in the form of the more easily transportable ammonia for use in zero-carbon power generation in Japan, one of its top importers of crude.

“We are in discussions with major markets [such as] Japan and Korea, in terms of demand for blue hydrogen. And as the markets grow, it will increase the opportunity for us to produce more blue hydrogen for export markets,” he said.

Green hydrogen, which is produced through electrolysis powered by energy from the sun and wind, is “also an area of interest”, said the company’s chief executive.

Saudi Arabia is building one of the world's largest green hydrogen projects in Neom, the futuristic mega-city straddling the borders of Egypt and Jordan. Saudi Arabia's Acwa Power and Air Products are building the $5 billion project, which has a 4-Gigawatt capacity and can produce 650 tonnes of hydrogen per day.

The world's largest oil-exporting company on Sunday said second-quarter net profit had nearly quadrupled, boosted by higher crude prices amid a broader recovery in global demand.

Net profit rose to $25.45bn from $6.56bn in the same period a year ago due to “higher crude oil prices, improved refining and chemicals margins and the consolidation of Sabic's results”.

Aramco has a 70 per cent stake in Sabic, the Middle East's largest chemicals producer.

Mr Nasser said the company was focused on new technology that will optimise value and deliver products with a lower carbon footprint.

“Crude-to-chemicals will help us a lot to reduce our emissions, maximise value by going down the value chain and also diversify our income over the long term,” he said.

In 2019, Saudi Aramco said it was acquiring a 20 per cent interest in India's Reliance Industries' crude-to-chemicals business for an enterprise value of $75bn.

The company has “experienced some delay in terms of due diligence and completing the work required” on the deal, Mr Nasser told investors.

“We are catching up, but this is an important area and the work is still on, on our portfolio optimisation. The objective of the programme is to unlock capital and redeploy to generally higher value for generating value for our investors,” he said.

“China and India are very important markets and we are working on the due diligence terms of that acquisition with Reliance,” he added.

AS IT STANDS IN POOL A

1. Japan - Played 3, Won 3, Points 14

2. Ireland - Played 3, Won 2, Lost 1, Points 11

3. Scotland - Played 2, Won 1, Lost 1, Points 5

Remaining fixtures

Scotland v Russia – Wednesday, 11.15am

Ireland v Samoa – Saturday, 2.45pm

Japan v Scotland – Sunday, 2.45pm

The rules on fostering in the UAE

A foster couple or family must:

  • be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
  • not be younger than 25 years old
  • not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
  • be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
  • have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
  • undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
  • A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
RESULTS

5pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 1,600m
Winner: Omania, Saif Al Balushi (jockey), Ibrahim Al Hadhrami (trainer)
5.30pm: Conditions (PA) Dh85,000 1,600m
Winner: Brehaan, Richard Mullen, Ana Mendez
6pm: Handicap (TB) Dh100,000 1,600m
Winner: Craving, Connor Beasley, Simon Crisford
6.30pm: The President’s Cup Prep (PA) Dh100,000 2,200m
Winner: Rmmas, Tadhg O’Shea, Jean de Roualle
7pm: Wathba Stallions Cup (PA) Dh70,000 1,200m
Winner: Dahess D’Arabie, Connor Beasley, Helal Al Alawi
7.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 1,400m
Winner: Fertile De Croate, Sam Hitchcott, Ibrahim Aseel

ELIO

Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett

Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina

Rating: 4/5

Sole survivors
  • Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
  • George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
  • Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
  • Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
Dust and sand storms compared

Sand storm

  • Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
  • Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
  • Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
  • Travel distance: Limited 
  • Source: Open desert areas with strong winds

Dust storm

  • Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
  • Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
  • Duration: Can linger for days
  • Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
  • Source: Can be carried from distant regions
Key facilities
  • Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
  • Premier League-standard football pitch
  • 400m Olympic running track
  • NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
  • 600-seat auditorium
  • Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
  • An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
  • Specialist robotics and science laboratories
  • AR and VR-enabled learning centres
  • Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
SPEC SHEET

Display: 10.4-inch IPS LCD, 400 nits, toughened glass

CPU: Unisoc T610; Mali G52 GPU

Memory: 4GB

Storage: 64GB, up to 512GB microSD

Camera: 8MP rear, 5MP front

Connectivity: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.0, USB-C, 3.5mm audio

Battery: 8200mAh, up to 10 hours video

Platform: Android 11

Audio: Stereo speakers, 2 mics

Durability: IP52

Biometrics: Face unlock

Price: Dh849

UPI facts

More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions

'Nope'
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Jordan%20Peele%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Daniel%20Kaluuya%2C%20Keke%20Palmer%2C%20Brandon%20Perea%2C%20Steven%20Yeun%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%203.5%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Global Fungi Facts

• Scientists estimate there could be as many as 3 million fungal species globally
• Only about 160,000 have been officially described leaving around 90% undiscovered
• Fungi account for roughly 90% of Earth's unknown biodiversity
• Forest fungi help tackle climate change, absorbing up to 36% of global fossil fuel emissions annually and storing around 5 billion tonnes of carbon in the planet's topsoil

F1 The Movie

Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem

Director: Joseph Kosinski

Rating: 4/5

FIXTURES

All games 6pm UAE on Sunday: 
Arsenal v Watford
Burnley v Brighton
Chelsea v Wolves
Crystal Palace v Tottenham
Everton v Bournemouth
Leicester v Man United
Man City v Norwich
Newcastle v Liverpool
Southampton v Sheffield United
West Ham v Aston Villa

Company Profile

Company name: Fine Diner

Started: March, 2020

Co-founders: Sami Elayan, Saed Elayan and Zaid Azzouka

Based: Dubai

Industry: Technology and food delivery

Initial investment: Dh75,000

Investor: Dtec Startupbootcamp

Future plan: Looking to raise $400,000

Total sales: Over 1,000 deliveries in three months

Key figures in the life of the fort

Sheikh Dhiyab bin Isa (ruled 1761-1793) Built Qasr Al Hosn as a watchtower to guard over the only freshwater well on Abu Dhabi island.

Sheikh Shakhbut bin Dhiyab (ruled 1793-1816) Expanded the tower into a small fort and transferred his ruling place of residence from Liwa Oasis to the fort on the island.

Sheikh Tahnoon bin Shakhbut (ruled 1818-1833) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further as Abu Dhabi grew from a small village of palm huts to a town of more than 5,000 inhabitants.

Sheikh Khalifa bin Shakhbut (ruled 1833-1845) Repaired and fortified the fort.

Sheikh Saeed bin Tahnoon (ruled 1845-1855) Turned Qasr Al Hosn into a strong two-storied structure.

Sheikh Zayed bin Khalifa (ruled 1855-1909) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further to reflect the emirate's increasing prominence.

Sheikh Shakhbut bin Sultan (ruled 1928-1966) Renovated and enlarged Qasr Al Hosn, adding a decorative arch and two new villas.

Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan (ruled 1966-2004) Moved the royal residence to Al Manhal palace and kept his diwan at Qasr Al Hosn.

Sources: Jayanti Maitra, www.adach.ae

MATCH INFO

Wales 1 (Bale 45 3')

Croatia 1 (Vlasic 09')

Updated: August 10, 2021, 3:47 AM`