Saudi Arabia "Aiming to Become the World's Largest Hydrogen Exporter"

Prince Abdulaziz Expresses Ambitions at Riyadh Climate Conference on the 24th

Abdulaziz bin Salman Al-Saud, Saudi Energy Minister
[Photo by Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Byung-hee] Saudi Arabia, the world's largest crude oil exporter, dreams of transforming into the world's largest hydrogen exporter.

According to Bloomberg News on the 24th (local time), Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman Al-Saud, Saudi Arabia's Minister of Energy, stated at a climate conference held in the capital Riyadh that Saudi Arabia wants to become the world's largest hydrogen exporter.

He said at the end of last year that Saudi Arabia could become the world's largest exporter of green hydrogen and blue hydrogen. Prince Abdulaziz emphasized on this day that he would keep his word, saying, "Saudi Arabia will make significant investments in the hydrogen market and will be the biggest player in the hydrogen market."

Green hydrogen refers to hydrogen produced using renewable energy sources such as solar and wind power without generating carbon dioxide. Blue hydrogen refers to hydrogen produced by reforming natural gas and separately capturing the carbon dioxide generated during this process.

Prince Abdulaziz also revealed plans to utilize the world's largest Jafurah gas field for blue hydrogen production. Approximately 61 trillion cubic meters of gas are estimated to be reserves in the Jafurah gas field. Saudi Arabia plans to invest about 110 billion dollars to develop the Jafurah gas field. Saudi state-owned energy company Aramco plans to start gas production from Jafurah in 2024.

Prince Abdulaziz announced that Saudi Arabia aims to export about 4 million tons of blue hydrogen to neighboring countries by 2030.

Saudi Arabia also has large-scale investment plans in renewable energy sectors such as solar and wind power, and plans to produce and export green hydrogen in the process. By 2030, Saudi Arabia plans to generate electricity solely from natural gas and renewable energy, no longer using oil as a power source.

Bloomberg forecasted that although the hydrogen market size is still minimal, it could grow to a scale of 700 billion dollars by 2050.

On the previous day, the 23rd, the Saudi government also announced a plan to achieve carbon neutrality by 2060. Earlier, China and Russia set goals to achieve carbon neutrality by 2060. The United States and Eurozone countries aim to achieve carbon neutrality 10 years earlier, by 2050.