Saudi Aramco to acquire 50% stake in APQ’s blue hydrogen

The Saudi oil and gas behemoth Saudi Aramco declared that it has finalized agreements to purchase a share of the Blue Hydrogen Industrial Gases Company (BHIG), a wholly owned subsidiary of Air Products Qudra (APQ) with its headquarters located in Jubail.

According to a press release from the business, Saudi Aramco will also have options to offtake nitrogen and hydrogen as part of the deal, which is subject to customary closing conditions.

After the deal closes, Saudi Aramco and APQ—a joint venture between Air Products and Qudra Energy, a Vision Invest subsidiary from Saudi Arabia—are anticipated to hold 50% of BHIG each.

In tandem with Saudi Aramco’s Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) operations, BHIG is designed to start commercial operations and generate lower-carbon hydrogen while capturing and storing CO2.

Saudi Aramco, APQ, ACWA Power, and Air Products have a $12 billion gasification and power joint venture in which Saudi Aramco owns a 20% share.

Saudi Aramco provides feedstock to the joint venture (JV), which is based in the Jazan Economic City and has a 25-year contract in which it produces power, steam, hydrogen, and other utilities for the company’s Jazan refinery in exchange for a set monthly fee.

Saudi Arabia is constructing the biggest green hydrogen plant in the world in order to generate green ammonia on a large scale by 2026 at NEOM. ACWA Power, Air Products, and NEOM are partners in the project.