Petro Environment 2019: balancing energy sustainability with environmental protection

Held for the third time in Saudi Arabia, the 25-year-old “Symposium and Exhibition on Environmental Progress in the Petroleum & Petrochemical Industry” hosted by the Environmental Technology & Management Association, gathers the oil and gas, and petrochemicals sectors for an interactive symposium and commercial exhibition.

The event’s patron, HRH Prince Saud ibn Nayef ibn ‘Abd al-’Aziz Al Sa’ud, Governor of the Eastern Province, honored the occasion by attending the opening ceremony, which was held to a packed audience of environmental and engineering professionals, executives, and government officials.

Omar S. Abdulhamid, Petro Environment 2019 chairman and Saudi Aramco Environmental Protection Department (EPD) manager, said environmental sustainability was increasingly important for ensuring continuous global and regional development. “The symposium is focusing on the role of innovative solutions, technological advancements, sharing best practices and fostering partnership among various stakeholders to address environmental challenges and support sustainability objectives,” said Abdulhamid. 

Saudi Aramco senior vice president of Technical Services Ahmad A. Al Sa’adi delivered the opening ceremony’s keynote address. “Climate change presents a grand challenge for the oil and gas industry in addressing the ambitious targets set by the 2015 Paris Agreement, by delivering energy to satisfy global economic growth while reducing greenhouse gas emissions and mitigating the climate change impact.”

Al Sa’adi said Saudi Aramco had a strategic focus on the future and was facilitating a diverse low carbon future through initiatives such as manufacturing chemicals from crude oil, deploying nonmetallic materials into its operations, breathtaking technologies for higher transport efficiency, and the conversion of carbon dioxide (CO2) into valuable products. 

Citing the company’s flagship innovations in carbon reduction, such as the Master Gas System, energy efficiency, and flaring reduction, he stated: “Saudi Arabia has one of the lowest flaring intensities in the world, which additionally contributes significantly to greenhouse gas emission avoidances.

Saudi Aramco’s massive operating areas are often home to significant patches of high quality habitats, including threatened and migratory species.  
By safeguarding these valuable natural resources, the company helps to fortify the Kingdom’s biodiversity for future generations, replenish land and marine ecosystems, and provide a seed source for reducing desertification Kingdomwide.

Petro Environment 2019 combined two events under one roof — an interactive symposium for strategic and technical topics, and a commercial exhibition where companies can showcase their expertise and services. As a principle sponsor of Petro Environment 2019, Saudi Aramco had a booth that exhibited the company’s inspirational environmental protection efforts with an emphasis on topics related to carbon management and climate change, air monitoring, marine pollution, wastewater treatment and reuse, groundwater, and occupational and public health. Visitors were warmly welcomed, and treated to stunning video displays of the company’s tree plantings, reintroduced graceful gazelles, and underwater ocean floors being nurtured. Hundreds of attendees representing governments, universities, private companies, as well as the public, visited the booth to learn more about the company’s initiatives and projects.

Petro Environment 2019 was addressed by 112 experts, delivered 80 presentations and 35 poster papers, displayed more than 40 exhibition stands, and was supported by the Ministry of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources, Saudi Aramco, General Presidency of Meteorology and Environment Protection and Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu’, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Prince Mohammad bin Fahd University, and Al-Asala University. 

More information about the ‘Environmental Technology and Management Association’