RIYADH - On behalf of His Royal Highness Prince Muhammad bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Crown Prince, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense, His Royal Highness Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Minister of Energy, inaugurated the 2022 International Petroleum Technology Conference in the presence of a number of Their Highnesses, Excellencies and those interested .

His Highness the Minister of Energy stressed in the opening speech that the conference focuses this year on promoting global recovery through sustainable energy, stating that the Kingdom seeks to ensure the immunity of the three pillars of the energy world, the security of necessary energy supplies, and continuous economic development by providing reliable energy sources, and facing change. Climate change, considering that these three pillars must be observed without sacrificing one for the other.

His Highness noted the role of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and non-OPEC producers (OPEC Plus) in achieving an unprecedented achievement in the global energy markets, through its meeting at the beginning of 2020, which witnessed a distinctive model of cooperation and joint action in order to organize the largest supply cut in history.

His Highness said: "This achievement was successful in achieving its goal, thus halting the dangerous and unprecedented decline in global energy markets. Since the summer of last year, we have developed a careful and balanced plan to restore supplies to meet the increasing needs of the global economy, which is recovering, and the frequency of OPEC Plus meetings shows its commitment to managing Dynamic and unexpected events transparently.

His Highness the Minister of Energy warned that the sharp decline in investment in oil and gas threatens energy security, and there is a real danger that the world will not be able to produce all the energy it needs to promote recovery, saying, "This has exacerbated the state of uncertainty and contradictory signals in policy-making in some parts of the world. This The lack of investment harms the interest of energy consumers, and creates challenges for policy makers by raising prices and raising concerns about tight supplies, indicating that the campaign against new investments in oil and gas has a short-term outlook, and its negative effects on the recovery of the global economy and the welfare of families have begun to appear. Noting that "for this reason, we in the Kingdom continue to invest in clean oil and gas and expand our production capacity."

With regard to sustainability, His Highness the Minister of Energy said that it is a natural result of the circular carbon economy framework that the Kingdom advocates and supported by the leaders of the Group of Twenty, stressing that the energy transition is accelerating, but focusing on only certain elements of this transformation such as renewable or alternative energy would be another fatal mistake.

His Highness indicated that energy security requires that the world continue to use all energy options, including hydrocarbon resources, which have driven economic development for centuries, but at the heart of this strategy lies a challenge related to how to supply hydrocarbon fuels and at the same time reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Technology is an essential pillar to meet this challenge.

His Highness reiterated that innovative technology will be essential in implementing the Green Saudi Initiative, which aspires to generate half of the domestic electricity need from renewable energy by 2030 and reach zero carbon emissions by 2060.

For his part, His Excellency the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Saudi Aramco, Mr. Yasser bin Othman Al-Rumayyan, extended his thanks and appreciation to His Royal Highness, Prince Muhammad bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Crown Prince, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense for his sponsorship of the 2022 International Petroleum Technology Conference, and to His Royal Highness Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Minister of Energy, for his unlimited participation and support.

His Excellency indicated that the world during the last period suffered from the impact of the Corona virus pandemic, and learned through it perseverance and steadfastness from these repercussions, noting that the world is currently witnessing the stage of recovery from the pandemic, praising the efforts made by Saudi Aramco in reducing carbon emissions and reaching zero. Of those emissions, praising the efforts of employees who have many innovations in many areas, including technology, which makes it a factory of ideas.

He noted that Saudi Aramco is interested in the artificial intelligence of its facilities, and has research centers related to the exploitation of storage and projects that can reduce carbon dioxide and its emissions, which are equal to more than tens of millions. It is also working on developing technology related to reducing carbon emissions, and is interested in nanotechnology, which plays a role Important in reducing costs, useful that Aramco has plans to invest in the long term, and looks forward to having new uses of oil and gas through the many resources, and through the stocks that it owns; With the aim of being the leader in terms of the hydrocarbon economy.

Mr. Al-Rumayyan indicated that the International Petroleum Technology Conference will discuss many innovative ideas related to the petroleum industries, and will also discuss new technologies and ideas with the aim of having zero emissions, stressing the importance of establishing an industry based on solving problems and providing solutions that the world needs.

In turn, the Senior Vice President of Exploration and Production in Saudi Aramco, Director of the Organizing Committee of the International Petroleum Technology Conference, Nasser Al-Naimi, expressed his appreciation and thanks to His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Crown Prince, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense, for sponsoring the 2022 International Petroleum Technology Conference, and for His Highness Royal Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Minister of Energy for their unlimited support.

Al-Naimi stressed that petroleum technology faces many challenges, as the Corona pandemic has changed the world economy, and provided many opportunities to work on recovering the economy from the pandemic, indicating that the world needs a lot of innovation now more than before, useful that the International Conference on Petroleum Technology Petroleum 2022 depends on many volunteers around the world.

For his part, the Director-General of the Board of Directors of the International Petroleum Technology Conference 2022, Edif Zulkevi, explained that the conference’s distinction stems from the excellence of its supporters, as it receives support from professional and professional associations, and with a great vision related to oil and gas, the Kingdom’s hosting of the conference is an important event for the contents of the Middle East and the Near East From the diversity of oil and gas resources, the demand for which is increasing, noting that the conference will set goals to eliminate carbon emissions, which cause climate change, so that there will be energy sustainability in the future, and find solutions commensurate with the stage of change.