RIYADH — Aramco executives championed the role of the circular carbon economy and digital transformation in the global energy transition, as the International Petroleum Technology Conference (IPTC) 2022 concluded in Riyadh on Wednesday.

Ahmed Al-Khowaiter, Aramco’s Chief Technology Officer, stressed the need for stakeholders to transition from debate to consensus to accelerate global decarbonization efforts.

Highlighting the benefits of the circular carbon economy model, he also emphasized the importance of increased transparency across the industry: “A circular carbon economy is how we transition from today to a low carbon future in a technology-agnostic way that encompasses all players holistically and unleashes the power of the existing energy industry.

“It is the most economical thing to do, not only the quickest. There is a huge potential to reduce emissions from the global oil and gas industry, not just through renewables but also through good gas management and petroleum engineering practices. We need regulators to recognize good performance and incentivize transparency because it is good for both our industry and society at large.”

Executive Director of Strategy & Market Analysis Ashraf Al-Ghazzawi explained the need for a stable, practical and inclusive energy transition rooted in reality and not abstract concepts.

“We all know that as the world transitions to a low-carbon economy, there is going to be a fundamental change in our energy infrastructure, our energy systems, and how energy is utilized around the world.

“A one-size-fits-all approach to the energy transition will not work. Developing countries will need to ensure they have affordable access to energy and an inclusive transition is one that will ensure all parties are in it together,” he said.

Nabil Al-Nuaim vice president — digital transformation, said that the evolution of Saudi Arabia’s digital ecosystem, including cloud computing, would help to turbocharge innovation across the energy sector while supporting the sustainability and decarbonization agenda.

“Digital transformation has changed our lives and it will continue to bring disruption and added value to our societies. At Aramco, part of our digital transformation agenda is to create a world class ‘digital ecosystem’ to support our core business and expand for the future.

“Building this ecosystem is not easy — it takes years of hard work with our partners. We are confident that this will lay the foundations of another Silicon Valley for the energy sector.”

Abdul Hameed Al-Rushaid, vice president – drilling & workover, highlighted the important role Aramco has played in ensuring reliable energy supplies to the world in recent years, underscoring the vital function that the company’s resilient infrastructure performs in overcoming adversity, especially throughout the pandemic.

“Change is coming at us from all directions, and as an industry we have to adapt and innovate in this environment if we are to prevail... We managed to increase production during times when the whole world was facing major supply chain interruptions.

“Capitalizing on our localization initiatives through the IKTVA program, and utilizing the latest IR4.0 technologies, allowed us to continue to run our operations, remotely whenever needed, as planned and uninterrupted, keeping the wellbeing of our workforce ahead of all other priorities.”

Hosted by Aramco, this year’s IPTC focused on ‘Fueling Global Recovery Through Sustainable Energy’. The event brought together some of the industry’s leading figures and thought leaders for important discussions around the future of the energy sector. — SG