World Energy Resources | 2016

WORLD ENERGY COUNCIL | WORLD ENERGY RESO URCES
use in EOR. The project has a number of research objectives and includes a
comprehensive monitoring and surveillance plan. Several institutions in Saudi Arabia are
engaged in CCS research. Saudi Arabia is also home to a large CO2 capture and
purification plant as feedstock for non-EOR utilisation purposes. While this type of utilisation
is not the same as permanent beneath ground storage options, it can help drive down costs
associated with capture (and those cost reductions are transferrable), it can enhance
experience with transport infrastructure, and it can impact the rate of CO2 additions to the
atmosphere.
CO2 capture capacity: Approximately 0.5-1 Mtpa
Saudi Arabia is a noteworthy country in terms of natural gas due to both their significant
natural gas potential and current natural gas utilisation. As of 2014, Saudi Arabia’s total
proved natural gas reserves were 8,488.9 bcm, which gave them the sixth most proved
natural gas reserves globally and the third most in the Middle East specifically. This huge
base of proved natural gas reserves has allowed Saudi Arabia to be a large natural gas
producer throughout the years.
Saudi Arabia produced 102.4 bcm of natural gas in 2014, which made them the eighth
largest natural gas producer in the world. Additionally, it marked the fifth consecutive year
of increasing natural gas production in Saudi Arabia, illustrating that Saudi Arabia has
emphasised growing their domestic production in order to continue to meet their energy
demand.
Furthermore, Saudi Arabia was the world’s fifth largest consumer of natural gas in 2014 as
they consumed 108.2 bcm. The country’s natural gas consumption has continued to grow
as has natural gas’s role in Saudi Arabia’s current energy mix. In 2014, natural gas made
up ~40.7% of Saudi Arabia’s primary energy consumption.
Currently, Saudi Arabia does not import or export natural gas and therefore they have not
established themselves as a global natural gas supplier even though they produce
significant amounts of it. Additionally, Saudi Arabia has been able to achieve important
energy security of supply due to the fact that they only rely on themselves to meet their
natural gas consumption. However, this also means that Saudi Arabia will have to continue
to produce at a high levels going forward to meet their domestic demand.
Saudi Arabia has also pursued becoming a shale gas producer in the coming years and is
now expected to produce shale gas by 2020. Furthermore, Saudi Aramco plans to invest an
additional US$7bn into developing Saudi Arabia’s shale gas resources. In order to fully take
advantage of their shale gas potential, Saudi Arabia will need to address permeability,
water scarcity, and workforce concerns.
Saudi Arabia plans to construct 16 nuclear power reactors over the next 20 years at a cost
of more than US$80 billion, with the first reactor on line in 2022. It projects 17 GWe of
nuclear capacity by 2040 to provide 15% of the power then, along with over 40 GWe of
solar capacity. In March 2015, the Argentinian state-owned INVAP (Investigacion Aplicada)
and Saudi state-owned technology innovation company Taqnia set up a joint venture
company, Invania, to develop nuclear technology for Saudi Arabia's nuclear power
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