Advertisement
Saudi Aramco invests in cleaner internal combustion engines as it doubles down on oil ahead of jumbo IPO
- Saudi Aramco said it’s investing tens of millions of US dollars a year to help carmakers develop engines that are less prone to carbon emissions
- The move is aimed at ensuring sustainable demand for Aramco’s mainstay petroleum products
Reading Time:3 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
Saudi Aramco, the world’s largest and most cost competitive oil producer, is investing “tens of millions of US dollars” a year to facilitate carmakers’ development of vehicles that are more efficient and less prone to carbon emissions, according to a senior research executive.
Advertisement
The move is aimed at ensuring sustainable short to midterm demand for Aramco’s mainstay petroleum products, which is key to the financial viability of the oil-dependent state-owned behemoth and its owner, the government of Saudi Arabia.
“Our business is [mainly] in liquid hydrocarbon fuel, [so] we aim to make sure its environmental impact is reduced to a point where it remains competitive for internal combustion engines,” Amer Ahmad Amer, chief technologist at Aramco’s research and development centre, said during a recent visit to its facilities in Dharan, Saudi Arabia, ahead of its impending initial public offering (IPO).
“There is an opportunity to look at the engine and the fuel as one system that can be optimised in a synergistic fashion, so that emission can be reduced from the oil wells to car wheels.”
Aramco is doubling down on the internal combustion engine, at a time when the global automobile market is rushing to embrace electric vehicles, and hybrid petroleum-electric engines. Volkswagen, the worlds largest carmaker, has unveiled a plan to invest US$52 billion in electrification as it targets production of at least 2 million electric vehicles a year by 2025.
Advertisement
Advertisement