Saudi Aramco has launched Saudi Arabia’s first direct air capture unit in Dhahran, creating a field laboratory for testing carbon removal technologies in Gulf conditions. The pilot, developed with Siemens Energy, can extract about 12 tonnes of carbon dioxide a year, but its main purpose is to assess new capture materials and system designs in high heat and humidity.

Aramco and Siemens Energy said the site will support trials of sorbents, materials that bind CO₂, and different process layouts to gauge performance and energy use. Engineers aim to understand how direct air capture could be adapted for larger industrial settings in the Middle East, where environmental factors and power costs influence operating choices.

The initiative aligns with Aramco’s wider carbon management strategy. The company is targeting net zero Scope 1 and 2 emissions across its wholly owned and operated assets by 2050 and views carbon capture and storage as a central tool. Aramco, Linde and SLB are advancing a carbon storage hub in Jubail that aims to handle about 9mn tonnes of CO₂ a year in its first phase. The DAC site is intended to act as a complementary source of concentrated CO₂ for potential use in low carbon fuels and chemicals.

For regional researchers, the Dhahran installation offers rare operational data. The pilot will allow teams to monitor capture efficiency, regeneration energy and system availability across seasons. Analysts say the results could shape later projects across the Gulf, where heat, dust and shifting electricity prices weigh on the economics of emerging climate technologies.

The effort comes as other Middle Eastern energy groups expand research into carbon management. In the United Arab Emirates, ADNOC and partners are testing carbon mineralisation in Fujairah to convert captured CO₂ into solid rock, while Abu Dhabi institutions are examining advanced sensing tools for subsurface monitoring.

As the DAC unit completes its initial year of operation, attention is likely to turn to evidence of lower costs and higher capture rates. Any progress would support regional plans to pair conventional fuel production with the development of carbon removal technologies suited to desert environments.

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