Ashraf AboArafe
Riyadh hosted the second symposium on “Carbon Emission Reduction Pathways in the Downstream Petroleum Industries,” organized by the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC) under the auspices of the Ministry of Energy. This symposium builds on the success of the first edition, held in the capital, Riyadh, in 2024.
The second symposium witnessed broad participation from OAPEC member states, along with a number of international organizations and bodies, in addition to more than 15 international companies specializing in carbon emission reduction technologies, and approximately 20 Arab and foreign countries. Approximately 140 participants, including experts and stakeholders, attended the event. Approximately 23 technical papers will be presented, reviewing the latest developments in this vital field. Engineer Khaled Al-Muhaid, Undersecretary for Sustainability and Climate Change at the Ministry of Energy, opened the symposium with a speech in which he congratulated the organization’s General Secretariat on its recent developments. He noted that the announcement of changing its name to the Arab Energy Organization reflects the organization’s evolving vision, which will focus its future work on all energy sources, serving the development needs of the region’s countries and adapting to their diverse circumstances.
He emphasized that adopting deep carbon reduction strategies contributes to enhancing operational sustainability and achieving a balance between energy security, development needs, and environmental protection. He explained that the World Energy Forum calls on producing and consuming countries to focus on carbon management solutions and adopt an integrated approach to addressing the energy trilemma.
Noting the upcoming 30th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP30), he emphasized the importance of developing joint Arab climate action and strengthening efforts to transition from negotiation to climate cooperation. He emphasized the importance of relying on scientific findings that underscore the crucial role of implementing all clean energy technologies in achieving net-zero neutrality. For his part, OAPEC Secretary General Eng. Jamal Issa Al-Loughani emphasized the pivotal role of the Ministry of Energy and the directives of His Royal Highness Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Minister of Energy, which had a significant impact on the success of the first edition of the symposium and paved the way for its second edition, serving to enhance Arab and international dialogue on emission reduction strategies across various technical and technological aspects. He noted that the symposium comes at a time when the oil and gas sector faces a number of environmental challenges. He explained that OAPEC member states are continuing their efforts to transition to a low-emission economy by investing in renewable energy projects, carbon capture, storage, and reuse, and improving operational efficiency. He praised the Kingdom’s pioneering initiatives, such as the Saudi Green Initiative and the Green Middle East Initiative, in addition to the “Al-Riyada” carbon capture project in the United Arab Emirates, and similar projects in Algeria, Kuwait, Qatar, Iraq, Egypt, and Bahrain.
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