Saudi Arabia burned just over 900,000 b/d of liquid fuels in its power plants last year, down 7% from the 2017 record (see chart). The volumes involved indicate that the recent pledge by Saudi Minister of Energy Khalid al-Falih that “over the coming decade liquids burning in our utilities will be virtually eliminated” is a tough challenge.
Mr Falih aims for gas to generate 70% of electricity by 2030, up from 50% today. Given Saudi Arabia’s substantial gas reserves and stated plans to become a gas exporter this looks an eminently achievable target (MEES, 25 January). The remaining 30% is slated to come from renewables, up from virtually zero currently. This renewables target seems to contradict Mr Falih’s new target for renewables capacity of 59GW by 2030. This week the ministry began tendering for 1.5GW of solar (see box). (CONTINUED - 697 WORDS)
