Serving as a catalyst for Vision 2030, TAQA is driving transformative change through energy innovation and women's empowerment in line with the kingdom's development goals, Rayed Eskandrani, Vice President - North Middle East (NME), tells OGN

Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 is meant to be a roadmap that enhances the Kingdom’s national strengths, including its strategic location, investment strength, and its important position in the Arab and Islamic worlds.

Launched in April 2016 by His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Crown Prince, Prime Minister, and Chairman of the Council of Economic and Development Affairs, under the guidance of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, it is built around three primary themes: A vibrant society, a thriving economy, and an ambitious nation.

From these pillars, a total of 96 strategic goals have branched out that will be achieved through multiple programmes and initiatives and undertaken by all stakeholders including the public, private, and non-profit sectors.

Essentially, Vision 2030 has targeted all sectors through revolutionary reforms to achieve comprehensive and sustainable development in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

For example, when it comes to the oil and gas industry, the vision aims to increase the percentage of local content in the industry from 40 per cent to 75 per cent.

The reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is also a key objective, and the target is to achieve net-zero emissions by 2060 in addition to generating, at least, 50 per cent of local power consumption from renewable energy sources by 2030.

TAQA, A TRUE BELIEVER IN THE POWER OF SAUDI VISION 2030

TAQA, a Saudi joint stock company, is mainly owned by the Public Investment Fund (PIF). Its other shareholders, which collectively represent almost half of the ownership, are joint stock companies and several private and industrial investors, such as Saudi Aramco Development Company (SADCO), the Arab Energy Fund (formerly Arab Petroleum Investment Corporation), General Organization for Social Insurance (GOSI) and Riyad Bank. Directed by its board of directors and executive management, TAQA has paid unparalleled attention to the Saudi Vision 2030, and has in this regard taken many key decisions and implemented new programmes and initiatives.

TAQA’S JOURNEY IN WOMEN'S EMPOWERMENT

Vision 2030, which heavily emphasises empowering women in Saudi Arabia, launched many initiatives to increase female economic participation from 22 per cent to 30 per cent by 2030.

These initiatives have been embedded in all the relevant government bodies, social organisations, and industry sectors.

Eskandrani ... embracing ambitious goals

As a result of Saudi Arabia’s serious commitment to women empowerment, Saudi women these days are active in many areas within the public roles and occupy leadership positions in both the government bodies and the Shura Council. They are contributing greatly to the economic sector and social spheres.

On its part, TAQA has orchestrated several programmes to enforce and ensure the successful deployment of competent women in the organisation while launching several women empowerment initiatives under the principles of diversity, equity and inclusion.

TAQA’s focus on women in leadership has driven a blend of strategy and operational steps on the ground to achieve a consistent global approach in the way it can lead its internal community towards the objective of women's empowerment.

TAQA’S ENDEAVOUR TO A GREENER WORLD - UNLOCKING GEOTHERMAL ENERGY IN THE KINGDOM

The Paris Agreement of 2016 fostered a new culture creating a global behavioural trend targeting the elimination of GHG emissions.

This is not strange at all when you think of the risk that human race faces, a risk that can change the face of our planet and drastically affect the human race.

Under the Paris Agreement and in line with Vision 2030, Saudi Arabia has set aggressive nationally determined contribution (NDC) targets to reduce its GHG emissions and has identified clear roadmaps for achieving those targets.

NDC targets is to reduce GHG emissions by 278 million tonnes by 2030. To achieve such an ambitious goal, the Saudi NDC plan took many measures, including increasing the share of renewable energy to reach 50 per cent of the national energy mix by 2030.

In this regard, geothermal energy is one of the main targeted sources of renewable energy.

According to the Saudi NDC report, Saudi will also seek to localise a significant portion of the renewable energy value chain, including research and development and manufacturing.

Zooming in on Saudi Arabia's geothermal energy development initiative, which is mainly driven by Saudi NDC Targets and Vision 2030, several key local government bodies, academic institutions, and industry sectors have started to fulfill their role of responsibility as per the vision.

Realising the strategic importance of perusing geothermal energy, TAQA, has entered a joint venture with a leading Icelandic company, Reykjavik Geothermal Company (RG), globally recognised as a pioneer in sustainable geothermal power development.

This collaboration, named TAQA Geothermal, is anticipated to play a crucial role in enabling Saudi Arabia to achieve its carbon reduction objectives.

TAQA Geothermal aims to initiate geothermal development projects that will produce, at least, 1 GW of electricity or its equivalent in the foreseeable future.

The most recent TAQA Geothermal project was signed with King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) in December 2023 to deliver a pilot well for research on geothermal energy utilisation.

KAUST researchers will use data obtained from this well to optimise the development of geothermal energy resources within the Kingdom.

With this project, TAQA Geothermal is already heavily engaged in exploring, evaluating, and harnessing geothermal resources in the Kingdom, with the aim of reducing the country’s carbon footprint and move towards greener energy.

TAQA’S INNOVATION – LOCALISING OILFIELD SOLUTIONS AND HIGH TIER TECHNOLOGIES

Due to the logarithmic growth TAQA went through in the last decade, the company currently offers a wide spectrum of services and solutions that cover most of the oilfield upstream service sector.

In line with Vision 2030, which aims to increase the percentage of local content in the oil and gas industry, TAQA has worked instrumentally on localising industries and high-tier oilfield solutions and technologies.

Utilising its research and development (R&D) capabilities, the company has developed organic and inorganic growth strategies underpinned by the ambitious desire of localising oilfield services technologies over a short span of time.

TAQA today runs one of the biggest laboratories in the Middle East region that specialises in providing the most innovative solutions for cementing, acidising, and stimulation operations.

It also works on developing many innovative software solutions utilising Artificial Intelligence (AI) to optimise the workflow and increase output accuracy.

In conclusion, TAQA's commitment to Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 is evident through its multifaceted initiatives spanning women's empowerment, renewable energy, and innovation in the oil and gas sector.

By partnering with leading entities and embracing ambitious goals, TAQA embodies the spirit of national development outlined in the Vision.

From unlocking geothermal energy to localising high-tier technologies, TAQA exemplifies the transformative potential of public-private collaboration in realising a sustainable and prosperous future for Saudi Arabia, and thus paving the way for a brighter, greener, and more inclusive Kingdom.