Saudi Aramco exports the world’s first shipment of blue ammonia

Saudi Aramco and the Japan Energy Economics Institute (IEEJ), in partnership with the Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC), succeeded in producing and exporting the first shipment of blue ammonia from Saudi Arabia to Japan with the support of the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI); Forty tons of high-quality blue ammonia was exported to Japan for use in carbon-free power generation.

This achievement comes amid growing expectations for the role that hydrogen will play in the global energy system. Ammonia – a compound made up of three atoms of hydrogen and one atom of nitrogen – can contribute to meeting the challenges of rising global energy demand in a reliable, sustainable and affordable way.
The Saudi-Japanese blue ammonia supply network extends across the entire value chain, including converting hydrocarbons into hydrogen and then into ammonia, and at the same time capturing associated carbon dioxide emissions, and the challenges associated with shipping blue ammonia to Japan for use in power plants. 30 tons of carbon dioxide was captured during the process designated for use in methanol production at SABIC’s Ibn Sina facility, and another 20 tons of captured carbon dioxide were used to improve the oil recovery (EOR) process in the Uthmaniyah field.

This achievement highlights one of the many pathways within the Circular Carbon Economy (CCE) concept, which is a framework in which carbon dioxide emissions are reduced, removed, recycled, and reused – rather than released into the atmosphere.
Saudi Aramco’s chief technical officer, Ahmed Al-Khwaiter, expects the use of hydrogen in the global energy system to increase. This first shipment in the world represents an important opportunity for Saudi Aramco to display the potential of hydrocarbons as a reliable source of low-carbon hydrogen and ammonia, noting the successful partnership between Saudi Arabia and Japan, which is essential in achieving a circular carbon economy, which the Kingdom supports during its current presidency of the G20 He pointed out that Saudi Aramco is working with different partners from around the world in finding solutions by deploying advanced technologies to produce low-carbon energy to meet the global climate challenge.
For his part, Chairman and CEO of the Japan Energy Economics Institute, Masakazu Toyoda, considered blue ammonia to be very important to Japan’s ambitions in terms of reducing carbon emissions in order to maintain a balance between the environment and the economy, and about 10% of the energy in Japan can be generated by 30 million tons of blue ammonia. Emphasizing the possibility of starting to release this substance jointly in the current power plants, and then finally moving on to mono-burning with 100% blue ammonia; As there are countries like Japan that cannot necessarily benefit from carbon capture, exploitation and storage or oil recovery process due to their geological conditions, but neutral ammonia / blue carbon hydrogen gas will help overcome this obstacle.

In turn, Dr. Fahad Al-Sherhi, Vice President of Energy Efficiency and Carbon Management at SABIC, noted the possibility of economically benefiting from the existing infrastructure for hydrogen and ammonia production through carbon dioxide capture. Experience in the complete supply chain along with integrated petrochemical facilities will play an important role in providing blue ammonia to the world.
Ammonia contains about 18% of hydrogen by weight, a chemical that is widely traded globally, does not release carbon dioxide emissions when burned in the thermal power plant, and has the potential to make a major contribution to the future of clean, safe and affordable energy. SABIC and Mitsubishi – represented in the study team of the Japan Energy Economics Institute – oversee the logistical transportation process in partnership with JGC Corporation, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries – Engineering, Mitsubishi Shipbuilding, and UBE Industries.