Saudi oil giant Aramco clarified it is not pausing its plans for blue hydrogen, adding that media reports with these “claims are inaccurate.”
“The company’s goal of producing up to 11 million tons of blue ammonia, a carrier of blue hydrogen, by 2030 remains unchanged,” Aramco noted in a press release.
In a call with analysts this week, Amin Nasser, CEO of oil major Aramco said developing its blue hydrogen programme has been “very expensive” and that the company has not been able to secure any long-term off-take agreements for the clean fuel.
“It’s a lot of capital and you need customers. So we will not sanction a project without securing an off-take agreement,” he explained.
“It’s a lot of capital and you need customers. So we will not sanction a project without securing an off-take agreement,” he explained.
“Even the customers in Japan and Korea [which are planning massive hydrogen economies] are waiting for government incentives. Until they get these incentives, it’ll be costly for them to pursue that blue hydrogen,” Aramco’s chief added.
Nasser’s comments were interpreted by the media as a signal that Aramco is planning to slow down hydrogen projects because of the difficulty in finding off-takers for blue hydrogen
Aramco, however, clarified today that it continues to work with potential customers and other stakeholders around the world, and is making “real progress” across the blue hydrogen value chain including receiving the world’s first independent certification with SABIC for blue ammonia and blue hydrogen production, as well as delivering three shipments of blue ammonia to customers in Asia.
