Energy Management Program of an Integrated National Oil Company in the Middle-East

Abstract

Saudi Aramco is the largest oil producer/exporter in the world, with a maximum sustained production capacity of over 10 MM bpd of crude oil and 8,000 MM scfd of natural gas. The Company operates approximately 32 large Gas-Oil Separation Plants (GOSPs), 5 wholly-owned oil refineries processing 1600 MBD of crude, 5 gas-processing plants, and 2 condensate fractionation plants. The Company’s total in-Kingdom energy consumption in 2005 was over 50,000 MMBtu/h of fuel gas and liquids, and 1.55 GW of purchased power.

In 2000, the Company published its corporate energy policy, which envisioned a 50% reduction in the corporate energy KPI over a 10-year period. A high-level Energy Management Steering Committee was established to develop strategies to achieve this objective. By the end of 2005, the corporate energy KPI was reduced to 76.5 from its baseline value of 100 in 2000, on track with projections.

This paper addresses the critical elements of a successful energy management program. It describes the organizational structure, strategies employed, resources required, and results achieved. It also describes some of the challenges encountered, both expected and unexpected, especially with respect to non-technical issues such as culture change, knowledge sharing, human resources, project financing, and politics. The paper will provide valuable insights into how to organize and successfully execute a comprehensive energy management program for large bureaucratic corporations with multiple plants and that should be of interest to corporate energy managers and government energy policy makers.