Saudi Aramco planning to build KSA's largest solar plant CRACOV, POLAND: The Kingdom is committed to ensuring the world has a steady energy supply into the future, said Engineer Ali Bin Ibrahim Al-Naimi, Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, recently. Al-Naimi was speaking at a gathering where he was awarded an honorary PhD by the University of Garniczo-Hutnicza for Sciences and Technology of Poland. He also highlighted the partnership between the Polish university and King Abdullah University for Science and Technology (KAUST). Al-Naimi said that King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, the founder of the university, wanted the institution to create further interaction between the Kingdom and the rest of the world. Al-Naimi said he expects mutually-beneficial cooperation between the two research centers in the future. He outlined the breakthroughs achieved by Poland in oil-related research, forecasting that there would be more discoveries in the field of conversion technologies and non-classical gas reserves contained in certain types of rock in Poland. He said the Kingdom's proven reserves of 264 billion barrels of petroleum are helping to ensure it fulfills its commitment to provide the world with reliable energy flows. He noted that this commitment is reflected in the Kingdom's investment of US$125 billion over five years in different parts of the oil industry. The Kingdom is also involved in research to find further sources of energy that will ensure sustainability of supply. He explained that Saudi Arabia has expanded its work to include other sources of energy, including solar energy. In this regard, the universities, particularly KAUST, will play a pioneering role, he noted. He said the two universities will play a pivotal role in ensuring energy supply meets demand, particularly from fast-growing Asian countries. He said that fossil fuel, led by petroleum and gas, will meet most of the world's energy needs over the next few decades. However, other energy sources will be needed into the future. He said KAUST and Saudi Aramco are working in the field of low-cost solar energy solutions for industrial activities including cooling, water desalination and pumping. He disclosed that Saudi Aramco is planning to build the Kingdom's largest solar energy plant that would produce 10 megawatts of energy in Dhahran.
