In The Spotlight
FLIR, a Teledyne Technologies company, has launched the Si1-LD industrial acoustic imaging camera that provides fast and accurate compressed air leak detection
Compressed air systems typically lose 25-30% of their air to leaks, resulting in proportionally higher energy bills, costly unplanned production stoppages, shorter compressor operating life, the need to purchase extra compressor capacity, and increased maintenance expenses for the additional equipment.
Leveraging ultrasonic technology, the new FLIR Si1-LD pinpoints leaks with enhanced imaging sensitivity at an affordable price. Features include:
An array of 96 microphones (2-100 kHz) facilitating the automatic detection, location, and measurement of compressed air and vacuum leaks from a safe distance of up to 130 m.
12 MP colour camera with 8× digital zoom and LED lamp, facilitating the easy capture of visual details.
Bandpass filtering allows inspectors to effectively tune out any confusing and/or incorrect sources of ultrasound without manual tuning
Touch-screen interface displays high-resolution images for easy issue identification with real-time, on-device quantification in terms of leak volume flow rate and leak cost per year
Wireless data transfer ensures seamless reporting/analytics options, using either the online FLIR Acoustic Viewer or offline FLIR Thermal Studio, with the ability to create reports through pre-built or fully customisable templates.
“Many manufacturing and process plants are seeing their energy bills creep up through leaky compressed air systems, increasing OPEX [operational expenditure] and eroding margins,” said Darrell Taylor, global acoustic business development manager at FLIR. “If you want to find leaks quickly and easily with minimal technician training, our new Si1-LD industrial acoustic imaging camera provides a fast and precise solution that supports sustainable manufacturing.
“As well as reduced energy consumption, the new device helps you save on maintenance, repair, operation, and capital/OPEX costs all while enhancing worker safety. With its minimum detected leak rate [MDLR] of 0.01 L/min at 2.5 m, our Si1-LD offers the market´s best combination of performance and ease-of-use in its price point.”
Two versions of the Si1-LD are available, with and without WiFi.
Global gas demand reached a new all-time high in 2024, while oil demand growth slowed markedly, according to the IEA’s newly-released Global Energy Review 2025
Demand for all energy sources increased in 2024, as global energy demand rose by 2.2% last year, considerably faster than the average over the last decade, with surging electricity consumption being a major factor.
Emerging and developing economies accounted for over 80% of the increase in global energy demand in 2024, despite slower growth in China, with the advanced economies seeing a return to growth and a 1% increased in energy demand.
Renewables accounted for most of the growth in global energy supply (38%), followed by natural gas (28%), coal (15%), oil (11%) and nuclear (8%).
The report highlights the surge in global electricity consumption, which rose by nearly 1,100 terawatt-hours, or 4.3%, nearly double the annual average over the past decade, driven by record global temperatures, rising consumption from industry, the electrification of transport, and the growth of data centres and artificial intelligence.
80% of the increase in global electricity generation in 2024 was met by renewable sources and nuclear, with renewables accounting for 32% of total generation, and new renewable power capacity installed worldwide rising to around 700 gigawatts. The supply of natural gas-fired generation also increased steadily in response to rising electricity demand.
Rising demand for gas
Global gas demand rose by 2.7% in 2024, or 115bn cubic metres (bcm), compared with an average of around 75 bcm annually over the past decade, with over three-quarters of growth coming from emerging market and developing economies. Higher demand was focused in fast-growing Asian markets, with growth of over 7% in China, and over 10% in India. Globally, demand growth was driven by higher industrial use, and by increased gas use in power generation (partly as a result of extreme weather).
Natural gas continued to displace oil and oil products in various sectors, supported by policies, regulations and market dynamics, for example In the Middle East, where gas is replacing oil in the power sector. In road transport, the rapid scaling up of natural gas-powered trucks in China – with record sales in 2024 – contributed to lower diesel demand there. The use of LNG as a bunkering fuel is also expected to increase amid more stringent emissions regulations for shipping.
The slowing growth in oil demand to 0.8%, compared to 1.9% in 2023, reflected the end of the post-pandemic mobility rebound, slower industrial growth and the increasing impact of electric vehicles, with one in five cars sold globally now being electric. However growth in demand for aviation fuel and petrochemicals is higher, with feedstock demand remaining strong. Oil’s share of total energy demand fell below 30% for the first time ever.
While global CO2 emissions rose 0.8% to 37.8bn tonnes, a key driver being record high temperatures, this figure would be considerably higher if it were not for the deployment of solar PV, wind, nuclear, electric cars and heat pumps, which mitigates 2.6 billion tonnes of CO2 annually, the equivalent of 7% of global emissions.
IEA executive director Fatih Birol said, “What is certain is that electricity use is growing rapidly, pulling overall energy demand along with it to such an extent that it is enough to reverse years of declining energy consumption in advanced economies. The result is that demand for all major fuels and energy technologies increased in 2024, with renewables covering the largest share of the growth, followed by natural gas. And the strong expansion of solar, wind, nuclear power and EVs is increasingly loosening the links between economic growth and emissions.”
The report is available at http://www.iea.org/reports/global-energy-review-2025
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Aramco is exploring options to capture CO2 both at the point of emissions and directly from the atmosphere. (Image source: Adobe Stock)
Aramco has launched Saudi Arabia’s first CO2 Direct Air Capture (DAC) test unit, capable of removing 12 tons of carbon dioxide per year from the atmosphere
Direct air capture (DAC) technologies extract CO2 directly from the atmosphere at any location, for storage or utilisation, unlike carbon capture which is generally carried out at the point of emissions,. It is the most expensive application of carbon capture, although the IEA points out that Innovation in CO2 use opportunities, including synthetic fuels, could drive down costs and provide a market for DAC. There are currently around 130 DAC facilities in various stages of development globally.
The Aramco pilot plant, developed in collaboration with Siemens Energy, will be used as a testing platform for next-generation CO2 capture materials and will also seek to achieve cost reductions that could help accelerate the deployment of DAC technologies in the region. Aramco and Siemens Energy intend to continue working closely together with the aim of scaling up the technology, potentially leading to the establishment of large-scale DAC facilities in the future.
Carbon capture is a key pillar in Aramco’s ambition to achieve net-zero Scope 1 and Scope 2 greenhouse gas emissions across its wholly-owned operated assets by 2050. The company is exploring options to capture CO2 both at the point of emissions and directly from the atmosphere, through its circular carbon economy approach and the deployment of innovative technology solutions.
The launch of the DAC test facility follows the announcement in December 2024 that Aramco and its partners, Linde and SLB, had signed a shareholders’ agreement progressing the development of a Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) hub in Jubail, set to be one of the largest in the world. Phase one of the CCS hub will have the capacity to capture nine million tonnes of CO2 from three Aramco gas plants and other industrial sources, with the potential for expansion in later phases.
Ali A. Al-Meshari, Aramco senior vice president of Technology Oversight and Coordination, said, “Technologies that directly capture carbon dioxide from the air will likely play an important role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions moving forward, particularly in hard-to-abate sectors. The test facility launched by Aramco is a key step in our efforts to scale up viable DAC systems, for deployment in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and beyond. In addition to helping address emissions, the CO2 extracted through this process can in turn be used to produce more sustainable chemicals and fuels.”
In December, King Abdullah Petroleum Studies and Research Center (KAPSARC) and Climeworks, a global leader in carbon dioxide removal technology, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to jointly explore and advance Direct Air Capture (DAC) technologies within Saudi Arabia. The MoU outlines a roadmap to assess the deployment of new DAC systems in the Kingdom, focusing on availability of natural resources including subsurface CO2 storage.
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bp has received final government ratification for its contract to invest in the redevelopment of several giant oil fields in Kirkuk, in the north of Iraq, following the agreement of terms in February
The contract between North Oil Company (NOC), North Gas Company (NGC) and bp includes the rehabilitation and redevelopment of the fields, spanning oil, gas, power and water with potential for investment in exploration.
“bp has a decades-long history in Iraq, and we look forward to building on this as we embark on our next chapter of production in the country,” said bp chief executive Murray Auchincloss. “From signing a memorandum of understanding last year to now fully completing our agreement, we’re looking forward to getting to work. Together with our partners, we aim to deliver world-class operations, combining deep local knowledge with our expertise in managing giant fields and safely executing major projects.
bp sees the project as an enormous opportunity aligning with its plans to ramp up oil and gas production and scale back renewables investments, as part of a revised growth strategy focusing more on hydrocarbons.
bp will now work under the guidance of the Government to set up a new operator – an unincorporated organisation comprising predominantly personnel from NOC and NGC, but also with secondees from bp – to prepare for the initial stages of development.
The agreement is for an initial phase that includes oil and gas production of more than 3bn barrels of oil equivalent. It includes the Baba and Avanah domes of the Kirkuk oil field and three adjacent fields in Federal Iraq – Bai Hassan, Jambur and Khabbaz – all of which are currently operated by the NOC. The wider resource opportunity across the contract and surrounding area is believed to include up to 20bn barrels of oil equivalent.
bp has a long history at Kirkuk, supporting NOC and the Iraq government on technical studies between 2013 and 2019 to explore the potential for redevelopment. It was also a member of the consortium of firms that discovered oil at Kirkuk in the 1920s.
LNG remains the dominant alternative marine fuel readily available to the shipping industry, according to Lloyd’s Register’s (LR) latest Fuel for Thought report
The report highlights LNG’s growing adoption and its cost-effectiveness under tightening emissions regulations, and the growth in orders for LNG-capable vessels, with an expanding global fleet and rapidly growing bunkering infrastructure. Currently, 14% of all vessels on order will have LNG dual-fuel engines installed.
The report forecasts that LNG will remain the most cost-effective fuel choice for foreseeable transition pathways up to 2049. LR’s modelling suggests that LNG-fuelled vessels could generate substantial compliance savings compared to ships running on very low sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO), with additional benefits from regulatory mechanisms such as pooling.
However, the report cautions that LNG’s long-term sustainability depends on tackling methane slip — unburned methane emissions that reduce its overall GHG advantage— and that its ability to meet stricter targets in the 2040s will depend on advances in cleaner LNG production, particularly through biomethane and synthetic e-LNG, as well as the development of onboard carbon capture technologies.
Panos Mitrou, LR’s global gas segment director, said, “As regulations emerge that place a real financial impact on greenhouse gas emissions, ship operators are realising that LNG is one of few low-carbon fuels to be available immediately, widely, with established safety protocols and at relatively predictable cost.
“There are several opportunities to improve the long-term sustainability of LNG. These are already being addressed, and the measures that are being worked on – from cleaner production and supply processes to bio-LNG and OCCS, through the uptake of onboard methane abatement technologies, as well as regulatory acceptance of these improvements – are likely to increase uptake of LNG even further.”
The report also highlights specific examples of innovation, such as the use of high-manganese steel for LNG tanks, which has significantly reduced costs while maintaining cryogenic handling properties. This technology has been successfully implemented in vessels like the Advantage Tankers LLC’s VLCCs, demonstrating the increasing uptake of LNG across diverse vessel segments.
Nick Potter, president & CEO of AET, said, “LNG is a key component of AET’s Decarbonisation Strategy, providing immediate emissions reductions while we also invest in net-zero carbon solutions. Through our tiered decarbonisation strategy, we are integrating energy efficiency technologies, innovative propulsion systems, and future fuel capabilities, including ammonia, to help meet our 2030 GHG emissions intensity target.
“While LNG is a viable option today, its long-term role will depend on developments in bio-LNG, synthetic LNG, and the commercial and regulatory landscape for fuels such as methanol, ammonia, and hydrogen. We see LNG as part of a multi-fuel future, complementing alternative energy sources as we move towards our 2050 net-zero goal as part of the MISC Group.”
As the world pivots towards a low-carbon future, the petrochemical industry finds itself at a crossroads, balancing growth prospects with evolving regulatory and sustainability challenges
The global energy transition is reshaping industries, compelling them to integrate clean energy solutions alongside their continued reliance on fossil fuels. While much of the focus has been on the deceleration of oil and gas consumption as primary energy sources, petrochemicals remain a critical segment with sustained demand projected well into the coming decades.
This sector, heavily dependent on fossil fuel-based feedstocks, produces essential chemicals that form the backbone of numerous industries, including plastics, fertilizers, and pharmaceuticals. Unlike transportation fuels, whose consumption forecasts have fluctuated, petrochemicals are expected to witness steady demand with fewer disruptions. The International Energy Agency (IEA) projects that petrochemicals will account for more than a third of oil demand growth by 2030, primarily driven by rising consumption in developing economies. In India, for example, demand for key petrochemicals such as ethylene and propylene is expected to increase two- to three-fold over the next two decades, fueled by urbanisation, industrial expansion, and the drive for decarbonisation.
Complex sustainability imperatives
However, this growth trajectory exists alongside increasing scrutiny of the industry’s environmental footprint. Governments and regulatory bodies worldwide are tightening climate policies, imposing restrictions on single-use plastics, and advancing circular economy initiatives. As a result, petrochemical producers must navigate complex sustainability imperatives while maintaining competitiveness.
The environmental impact of petrochemical production has become a focal point for policymakers, investors, and consumers. The industry accounts for approximately 18% of global industrial carbon emissions, with energy-intensive processes such as refining and steam cracking being major contributors. Key challenges include:
• Regulatory pressures: Carbon pricing mechanisms, plastic bans, and stricter emissions controls are being implemented globally, increasing production costs and pressuring profit margins.
• Circular economy and recycling: Advances in chemical recycling, biodegradable alternatives, and closed-loop manufacturing systems threaten to reduce reliance on virgin petrochemical feedstocks, reshaping traditional demand patterns.
• Investor sentiment: ESG-focused investment strategies are compelling oil majors and petrochemical producers to present credible decarbonisation roadmaps, with capital allocation increasingly favouring companies with sustainable practices.
To ensure long-term viability, petrochemical producers are exploring multiple strategic pathways:
• Feedstock diversification: Investments in bio-based and recycled feedstocks are gaining traction as companies seek to lower emissions and align with sustainability goals.
• Carbon capture and utilisation (CCU): The integration of CCU technologies is emerging as a key solution to mitigate emissions, though economic feasibility remains a challenge.
• Advanced materials innovation: Research into high-performance polymers, biodegradable plastics, and alternative chemicals is accelerating, offering new avenues for growth beyond conventional petrochemicals.
• Integration with renewable energy: Shifting production facilities towards renewable power sources and hydrogen-based processes is becoming a priority for reducing the sector’s carbon footprint.
The petrochemical industry stands at a pivotal juncture, balancing robust demand with the imperative to adapt to a rapidly evolving regulatory and sustainability landscape. While traditional growth drivers remain intact, companies that embrace innovation, diversify feedstocks, and integrate low-carbon solutions will emerge as industry leaders. The coming decade will serve as a litmus test for the sector’s resilience, ultimately shaping its role in a decarbonising world.
This article is authored by Synergy Consulting IFA.
A new report from the IEA highlights the pivotal role of innovation in advancing national energy and economic goals, with the range of new energy technologies offering potential for progress in energy security, affordability and sustainability
The report – The State of Energy Innovation – provides a global review of energy technology innovation trends, covering more than 150 innovation highlights and surveying nearly 300 practitioners from 34 countries. It says that progress on innovation is more important than ever, as it will play a decisive role in determining countries’ long-term economic resilience and ability to meet energy and climate goals.
Recent years have seen a steady increase in innovation activity, the report points out. Public and corporate energy R&D spending has grown at an average annual rate of 6%, although growth may be slowing in some advanced economies. Corporate energy R&D has outpaced economic growth, particularly in the automotive and renewable energy sectors. However, R&D spending as a share of revenues in the cement and steel sectors remains 20% to 70% below that of the automotive and renewables sectors, respectively, while the aviation and shipping sectors have reduced the share of their revenue spent on R&D over the past decade.
R&D advances
In 2024, significant energy R&D advances covered solid-state that could avoid environmentally harmful refrigerants; high-confinement plasma for nuclear fusion; a prototype solid-state EV battery that could allow cars to be charged in nine minutes; and higher-speed geothermal drilling through hard rock. Among larger-scale projects, first-of-a-kind progress was reported for perovskite PV manufacturing, ammonia use as a marine fuel, underground thermal and compressed CO2 long-duration energy storage, lithium recovery from geothermal brine, cellulosic bioethanol facilities and CCUS for cement production, among others. These projects are supported by countries including Australia, Brazil, China, Finland, Germany, Italy, Japan, Singapore and the United Kingdom.
Some technology areas – including battery technologies, CCUS, critical mineral sourcing, geothermal and solar PV – made significant recent advances across all main innovation phases.
“Innovation is the lifeblood of the energy sector, particularly in today’s fast-moving times with the global energy mix shifting and major trends such as electrification having far-reaching effects,” said IEA executive director Fatih Birol. “A wide range of technologies now appears to be coming close to market, offering hope for improvements in energy security, affordability and sustainability over the long term. But we require investment, both public and private, to scale up innovative solutions. The payback may not always be quick, but it will be lasting.”
VC funding
Venture capital (VC) funding for energy technologies rose more than sixfold from 2015 to 2022, supporting around 1,800 energy start-ups. However, it declined by more than 20% in 2023 and 2024 amid tighter financial conditions, with AI being the only sector to see growth in VC funding.
Innovation efforts have also become increasingly global. China overtook Japan and the United States in 2021 as the leading country for energy patenting, with over 95% of its patents focused on low-emissions technologies. Since 2000, patenting globally for low-emissions technologies has grown 4.5 times as fast as it has for fossil fuels,.
Public and private financing earmarked for large-scale energy technology demonstration projects this decade has reached around US$60bn. These projects are critical for commercialising emerging technologies but face delays due to inflation and policy uncertainty. Most projects have still not reached final investment decision, and 95% of demonstration funding is concentrated in North America, Europe and China. Sectors with urgent innovation needs to validate low-emissions options – such as heavy industry and long-distance transport – account for just 17% of the total.
The report stresses the importance of maintaining momentum and addressing structural gaps in the global innovation system. It recommends targeted policies to increase public energy R&D spending, support technology developers through economic cycles and strengthen international cooperation to bring clean energy demonstration projects to market.
Oil Review Middle East hosted a very well-attended webinar on 20 November on the future of offshore operations, in association with SAFEEN Group, part of AD Ports Group
The webinar explored the latest trends and challenges in the rapidly evolving world of offshore operations, focusing on groundbreaking innovations that are driving sustainable and efficient practices. In particular, it highlighted SAFEEN Green – a revolutionary unmanned surface vessel (USV), setting new benchmarks for sustainable and efficient maritime operations.
Erik Tonne, MD and head of Market Analysis at Clarksons, gave an overview of the offshore market, highlighting that current oil price levels are supportive for offshore developments, and global offshore capex is increasing strongly. The Middle East region will see significant capex increase over the coming years, with the need for rigs and vessels likely to remain high. Offshore wind is also seeing increased spending. Global rig activity is growing, while the subsea EPC backlog has never been higher, with regional EPC contracts seeing very high activity. Tonne forecast that demand for subsea vessels and other support vessels will continue to increase.
Tareq Abdulla Al Marzooqi, CEO SAFEEN Subsea, AD Ports Group, introduced SAFEEN Subsea, a joint venture with NMDC, which offers reliable and innovative survey, subsea and offshore solutions to support major offshore and EPC projects across the region. He highlighted the company’s commitment to sustainability, internationalisation and local content, and how it is a hub for innovations and new ideas, taking conceptual designs and converting them to commercial projects. A key project is SAFEEN Green, which offers an optimised inspection and survey solution.
Tareq Al Marzooqi and Ronald J Kraft, CTO, Sovereign Global Solutions ME and RC Dock Engineering BV. outlined the benefits and capabilities of SAFEEN Green as compared with commercial vessels, in terms of safety, efficiency, profitability and sustainability. It is 30-40% more efficient through the use of advanced technologies, provides a safer working environment given it is operated 24/7 remotely from a control centre, and offers swappable payload capacity. Vessels are containerised and can be transported easily to other regions. In terms of fuel consumption, the vessel is environment-friendly and highly competitive, reducing emissions by 90% compared with conventional vessels, with the ability to operate on 100% biofuel.
As for future plans, SAFEEN Green 2.0 is under development, which will be capable of carrying two inspection work-class ROVs simultaneously. A priority will be to collect data to create functional AI models for vessels and operations, with the first agent-controlled payload systems in prospect by around 2027.
To view the webinar, go to https://alaincharles.zoom.us/rec/share/mNHjZhAhQzn1sPzmFWZCgrq7_SckfLRcSb4w81I7aVlokO9sgHM_zVeOqgN3DgJS.bO4OIRqNeFP09SPu?startTime=1732095689000
UK-headquartered Carbon Clean has announced the successful completion of the world’s first industrial deployment of its CycloneCC carbon capture technology at the Al Ruwais Industrial Complex in Abu Dhabi
CycloneCC is Carbon Clean’s breakthrough modular technology, which provides a viable alternative to conventional carbon capture plants. Process intensification reduces mass transfer equipment by a factor of 10, decreasing the overall footprint by up to 50%. The combination of rotating packed beds (RPBs) and Carbon Clean’s proprietary amine-promoted buffer salt APBS-CDRMax solvent increases the efficiency of the carbon capture process while delivering extremely high performance.
The mobile CycloneCC unit was installed on site in under a week at Fertiglobe’s nitrogen fertiliser plant in the Al Ruwais Industrial Complex in Abu Dhabi – a record for the carbon capture sector.
The CO2 captured from a reformer flue gas stack has been used by Fertiglobe in urea production.
The modular unit has achieved the major milestone of around 4,000 operating hours over a six-month period. CycloneCC has been operating continuously, delivering a high purity CO2 product, which exceeds the projected target and meets Fertiglobe’s CO2 purity requirements.
System validation has confirmed that the industrial demonstration unit can now be further scaled up and commercialised.
Leveraging Carbon Clean-developed Artificial Intelligence (AI) has contributed to the plant’s increased reliability and availability, as well as maximising the performance of the solvent. The plant has been operating in open loop mode, with human operators implementing AI-suggested recommendations.
Aniruddha Sharma, chair and CEO of Carbon Clean, said, “Fertiglobe’s willingness to invest in first-of-a-kind (FOAK) projects cements its status as a decarbonisation pioneer. Our collaboration with Fertiglobe for this industrial demonstration unit is a major step towards CycloneCC’s full commercialisation, so that it can be deployed at scale globally. Installing a carbon capture plant in less than a week is a feat never achieved before. We’re excited to have delivered this industry first in carbon capture.”
Ahmed El-Hoshy, CEO of Fertiglobe, added, “At Fertiglobe, creating value via sustainability is at the heart of our operations. We are committed to meeting the increasing global demand for low-carbon solutions, which bring us closer to a more sustainable future. This collaboration with Carbon Clean at our facility in Al Ruwais reflects our commitment to leveraging advanced technologies, including AI, to advance our decarbonisation goals and meet rising global demand for our products.”