President and Chief Executive Officer of Aramco Amin Hassan Al-Nasser stressed that volatility of the oil market after the COVID-19 pandemic and increasing demand have affected the supply chains, adding that there are several factors, mainly higher interest and inflation rates, which led to developing a negative outlook for some. Speaking during a panel discussion as part of the sixth Future Investment Initiative (FII6), Al-Nasser said that Aramco has launched its strategy on sustainability and renewable energy that seeks to reduce carbon by 15% by 2025 compared with 2018, and will reduce 55 million tons in 2025 through investments and increasing the efficiency of solutions based on reducing carbon. He also noted that Aramco adopts carbon circular economy and other technologies that contribute to reducing carbon emissions, renewable energy projects, and investment in energy with lower carbon, such as hydrogen. Aramco president said that the Sustainability Fund, whose value stands at $1.5 billion, invests in technology and is considered the biggest finance of its kind in the world in the sustainability field, and will be directed to important technologies for startups that help reduce impacts of climate change. "The fund will be directed towards breakthrough technologies and startups that will help us to address climate change," Nasser explained. It will target developing technologies locally and abroad, and will focus on carbon capture and green hydrogen among other technology. Al-Nasser also discussed wider issues facing the global oil market, including hurdles expected to be faced by Russia as Europe plans to place sanctions on Russian oil in December. "Realignment is happening and good discounts are being offered," he said, as Russia turns towards Chinese buyers. That being said, Russia still faces "logistical issues" with insurance, and due to the fact that oil has to travel a further distance to China. Al-Nasser also delivered a presentation on blue hydrogen and the hydrogen market and its current and future usages, in addition to the importance of balanced agreement on renewable energy means due to the fact that they are not alternatives with high level of availability compared with supply and demand on traditional energy resources. — Agencies with inputs from SPA
