Aramco tightens its carbon footprint through efficiency, methane cuts, carbon capture, renewables and nature projects in order to reach the net-zero Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2050

The urgency of climate action is reshaping how energy companies plan, invest and operate. Therefore, for Saudi Aramco, the question is no longer whether to decarbonise operations, but how to do so at speed and scale while sustaining reliable, affordable energy supplies.

The company’s pathway focuses on reducing operational emissions across its value chain, tightening methane performance, scaling carbon capture and storage, integrating renewable power, and advancing nature-based solutions.

These are underpinned by better measurement, stronger governance and deeper collaboration.

The goal is to shrink the carbon intensity of every produced barrel and processed molecule, proving that operational excellence and emissions reduction can be pursued together rather than traded off.

In 2024, Aramco reported an upstream operational carbon intensity of 11.2 kg CO2e per boe (location-based) or 9.7 kg CO2e per boe (market-based), alongside Scope 1 emissions of 56.1 MtCO2e and Scope 2 emissions of 18.5 MtCO2e (location-based) or 12.4 MtCO2e (market-based.

Aramco’s playbook is deliberately practical. It targets near-term, material gains from efficiency and methane abatement, then layers in system-level changes such as electrification, renewable integration and carbon capture.

Digital tools, including AI, digital twins and advanced analytics, sit alongside engineering classics like heat integration and waste-heat recovery.

In parallel, nature-based projects are being mobilised to sequester carbon and restore ecosystems along the Kingdom’s coasts.

The combined effect is intended to deliver measurable, auditable reductions today, while building the foundations for deeper cuts through 2030 and beyond.

EFFICIENCY, METHANE & MEASUREMENT

Energy efficiency remains the lowest-cost tonne of abatement, and Aramco has treated it as a core engineering discipline for years.

Khurais oil plant ... there has been a persistent reduction in energy intensity per unit of Aramco’s production

In 2024 alone, 101 energy-efficiency initiatives were implemented, with 43 facilities certified to ISO 50001 standards.

These projects delivered 1,243 MMBtu per hour of permanent energy savings and avoided 0.57 MtCO2e.

Flaring reductions remain central. Upstream flaring intensity was cut to 6.07 scf per boe in 2024, with total flared gas at 28,846 millions of standard cu ft (MMscf). Flare gas recovery systems avoided 7,319 MMscf of gas.

Notable successes include a North Ghawar project that reduced continuous flaring by about 70 per cent (115 MMscf) and a Berri Gas Plant initiative that cut planned flaring by 65 per cent, equivalent to 16 MMscf avoided.

Across the company’s upstream and downstream assets, teams have implemented continuous improvement programmes that optimise furnaces and boilers, recover waste heat, trim steam losses, insulate critical equipment, and deploy variable speed drives on large electric motors and pumps.

Process control upgrades stabilise units at higher yields and lower fuel burn, while power-from-steam and cogeneration projects convert thermal losses into electricity.

On the wells and gathering side, optimised lift strategies, real-time pump tuning and compressor set-point management shave tens of megawatts without affecting throughput.

In 2024 these projects achieved 1,243 MMBtu per hour of permanent savings and about 0.57 MMtCO2e of avoided emissions.

The cumulative impact is significant: Reduced fuel gas consumption, lower flaring in start-up and upset conditions, and a persistent reduction in energy intensity per unit of production.

Digitalisation multiplies those gains. Digital twins now mirror complex facilities, testing what-if scenarios to reveal the most carbon-efficient operating envelopes before changes are rolled out to live assets.

Machine learning (ML) models sift through over 10,000 sensor tags at complex sites to flag anomalies that, left unaddressed, would lead to higher energy use or fugitive emissions.

Condition-based maintenance has begun to replace calendar-based routines, cutting avoidable venting by keeping seals, valves and compressors in tighter operating ranges for longer.

Even small interventions like dynamic set-point optimisation during transient operations can avoid unnecessary fuel spikes, delivering tens of thousands of avoided tonnes annually.

Methane reduction is the other early-win pillar. Because methane has a global warming potential 84 times higher than CO2 over 20 years, detecting and eliminating leaks offers an outsized climate benefit.

In 2024, upstream methane emissions dropped 11.4 per cent to 24,548 tonnes CH2, lowering intensity to 0.04 per cent.

Aramco has scaled a layered leak detection and repair (LDAR) programme. It is combining satellites that can detect leaks as small as 100 kg per hour, aircraft and drones for targeted flyovers, and fixed infrared sensors and laser spectroscopy for continuous in-plant monitoring. It covered 30 facilities in 2024.

This hierarchy shortens the time between detection and fix, so that episodic leaks do not become chronic emitters.

On the mitigation side, the company is upgrading compressor seals and standardising best-practice maintenance on dehydration units and storage tanks.

Routine flaring is being engineered out via flare-gas recovery systems, smart purge reduction and improved shutdown/start-up procedures that avoid prolonged high-flame periods.

Measurement and governance are evolving just as quickly. The shift from factor-based emissions accounting to direct measurement builds confidence in the numbers and helps prioritise the right fixes. Instrumentation upgrades, calibrated sensors, frequent surveys and QA/QC protocols are being embedded into operating standards.

That data backbone supports clearer targets at asset level and sharper executive oversight. It also enhances external disclosure, aligning with emerging global frameworks on methane intensity and operational greenhouse gases.

Training and culture change matter, too: Operators and technicians are being equipped to spot and escalate emissions risks as part of everyday safety and reliability routines, so that "find and fix" becomes muscle memory.

CARBON CAPTURE, RENEWABLES, NATURE AND LOWER-CARBON FUELS

Beyond operational optimisation, Aramco is investing in technologies that change the emissions profile of entire systems.

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is the most prominent. The company is progressing a hub-and-cluster model that aggregates CO2 from industrial and power sources, compresses it, and injects it into deep geological formations for permanent storage.

Designing for scale from the outset helps lower unit costs and allows third parties to connect over time, spreading infrastructure benefits and accelerating learning curves.

Its flagship initiative is the Jubail CCS hub, expected to capture and store 9 MtCO2 annually by 2028 (6 Mt for Aramco and 3 Mt for third parties).

This feeds into the company’s 2035 ambition to mitigate or abate 52 MtCO2e annually, of which CCS will contribute 14 MtCO2e.

Electrification and renewable power complement CCS. Where technically and commercially feasible, rotating equipment is being electrified, enabling emissions reductions when the grid is supplied by low-carbon power.

Inside the fence, solar installations can shave daytime load; outside it, power purchase agreements (PPAs) for utility-scale solar and wind help green the electricity that drives processing plants, terminals and offices.

In 2024, renewable capacity reached 4.2 GWac, including Sudair (1,500 MWac), Al Shuaibah 1 (600 MWac) and Al Shuaibah 2 (2,060 MWac).

A further 5.5 GWac of projects, such as Haden, Muwayh and Al-Khushaybi, reached financial close, and will begin operations by 2027.

Energy storage (thermal and electrochemical) improves the usability of intermittent renewables in desert conditions, stabilising operations without over-sizing gas-fired backup.

The combined effect is to decouple production volumes from combustion-based electricity and steam generation, flattening the emissions curve even as facilities expand or modernise.

Nature-based solutions are accelerating. Aramco planted 12.5 million mangroves in 2024, contributing to its ambition of 300 million by 2035. These projects are expected to mitigate around 16 MtCO2e annually by 2035 (see report on P12).

Beyond mangroves, arid-land afforestation around facilities provides microclimate benefits, dust suppression and community co-benefits when designed with native species and water-efficient irrigation.

In voluntary carbon markets, Aramco retired 513,103 credits in 2024 and purchased 1.1 million credits.

It also completed five verified carbon-offset crude shipments totaling 10 million barrels, each averaging a lifecycle carbon intensity of 7.48 kg CO2e per boe.

GAS & LOWER-CARBON MOLECULES

Lower-carbon molecules are another lever. The company is piloting lower-carbon hydrogen and ammonia pathways that leverage carbon capture at scale, positioning for industrial use and export markets as demand materialises.

Parallel work on synthetic and advanced drop-in fuels aims to decarbonise hard-to-electrify segments of transport, complementing efficiency improvements in engines and hybrid powertrains.

Natural gas remains pivotal in Aramco’s transition strategy. The Jafurah basin, one of the world’s largest shale gas plays, holds 229 trillion cu ft of raw gas, with the first phase due online in 2025.

This will be supported by the Master Gas System Phase III expansion, boosting supply to 11 industrial clusters.

Work on lower-carbon hydrogen and ammonia is ongoing. By 2035, lower-carbon hydrogen and fuels are expected to contribute 9 MtCO2e of annual mitigation.

Crucially, innovation is not confined to laboratories. Field trials are being run in live assets; on capture units, on instrument-air retrofits that eliminate pneumatic methane sources, on advanced flaring controls, on AI-assisted energy management that suggests operator actions in real time.

Lessons learned are codified into standards, ensuring that successes spread laterally rather than staying as pilots.

Venture investments complement internal R&D, bringing in external technologies, such as materials, sensors, software that accelerate progress and unlock fresh abatement curves.

All of this sits within broader collaboration. Aramco engages with international initiatives on methane and flaring, contributes to technical working groups on measurement and verification, and aligns its disclosures with evolving market expectations.

Inside Saudi Arabia, the company’s efforts dovetail with national programmes to scale renewables, enhance energy efficiency and expand nature-based carbon sinks, creating system-level consistency that makes each individual project more effective.

Supply-chain engagement is deepening, too: emissions-informed procurement criteria and vendor enablement help lower embodied carbon in materials and equipment that enter projects, while logistics optimisation reduces transport-related emissions.

The human element is central. Engineers, operators and contractors are trained not just on the "how" of abatement technologies, but on the "why".

They try to understand how emissions reduction protects the licence to operate, creates value by lowering fuel costs and exposure to carbon pricing, and strengthens resilience as customer expectations change.

Visual dashboards make emissions as visible as safety and throughput KPIs. Incentives are being tuned so that energy and emissions performance is rewarded alongside conventional reliability and cost metrics, aligning daily decision-making with the company’s longer-term climate objectives.

LOOKING AHEAD

Aramco has set interim decarbonisation benchmarks: cutting upstream carbon intensity to 8.6 kg CO2e per boe by 2030 and 7.7 kg by 2035.

The company acknowledges the challenges: CCS deployment requires permitting clarity; renewable integration must overcome intermittency and grid constraints; methane measurement faces standardisation hurdles; and competition for digital and low-carbon skills is intense.

Yet the strategy reflects both urgency and pragmatism. By attacking combustion and fugitive emissions through efficiency and methane programmes, electrifying where feasible, scaling CCS and renewables, and investing in nature-based and molecular solutions, Aramco is building a diversified portfolio of answers.

Scale is its edge; once validated, improvements can be rolled out rapidly across a vast asset base, turning individual projects into system-wide emissions declines.

In a decade defined by climate constraints and growing energy demand, that replication capability may prove one of its most powerful levers.