Maaden, Gulf Cryo sign deal to set up CO2 plant in Ras Al Khair

Saudi Arabian Mining Co. (Maaden) building

Saudi Arabian Mining Co. (Maaden) signed a 20-year agreement with Gulf Cryo to build and operate a CO2 plant in its phosphate complex in Ras Al Khair.

The new plant will capture 300,000 metric tons of CO2 emissions per year from Maaden’s three ammonia plants.

The CO2 will be used for industrial gas applications, replacing the use of fossil fuels, thereby creating a circular carbon economy in Saudi Arabia.

In a statement, of which Argaam picked a copy, part of the CO2 will be distributed to international maritime industries (IMI). The rest will be used in industrial applications such as the enhanced oil recovery (EOR) and water desalination.

This was announced by Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, Saudi Minister of Energy, at the Saudi Green Initiative Forum, which is being held on the sidelines of the 27th session of the Conference of Parties (COP 27) in Sharm Al Sheikh, Egypt.

Maaden was certified to export 138,000 tons of blue ammonia, one of the largest certified volumes in the world to date. The certifications were granted by TÜV Rheinland, an independent testing, inspection and certification agency based in Germany. The Kingdom will send the first shipment of 25,000 tons of blue ammonia to South Korea this month.