Energy company Wood announced on Monday, June 10, 2024 that it has completed the front-end engineering and design (FEED) scope for the first phase of Saudi Aramco's Accelerated Carbon Capture and Sequestration (ACCS) project. 

According to the announcement, the first phase of the ACCS project aims to capture carbon emissions from Aramco's gas processing facilities near Jubail, on the east coast of Saudi Arabia. 

It will also capture emissions from other industrial facilities in the area. Wood designed the new dehydration and compression facilities, as well as an extensive pipeline network that includes a more than 200-kilometer dense-phase CO2 pipeline.

The captured emissions, totaling 9 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) by 2027, will be transported through the pipeline for permanent storage in underground geological formations. Aramco plans to increase its CO2 storage capacity to 14 million MTPA by 2035, contributing to Saudi Arabia's goal of capturing and storing 44 million MTPA of CO2 by 2035.

"We are proud to be at the forefront of designing the future of energy," said Craig Shanaghey, Wood's Executive President of Projects. "Our 20 years of experience in carbon capture engineering will be crucial in bringing the ACCS project to life and supporting Aramco's energy security and transition goals."

Shanaghey added that the project aligns with the goals of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to limit global warming to 2 degrees Celsius as outlined in the Paris Agreement. 

"Investments in world-leading projects like this can make a tangible difference in reducing carbon emissions from heavy industries," he said. 

The FEED study was completed by a team of around 200 engineers from Wood's global Projects and Consulting business units. Upon completion, the project is expected to become the world's largest carbon capture and storage hub.