Saudi oil giant Aramco announced on Tuesday that it has finalized agreements to acquire 50% of the blue hydrogen industrial gases business of Air Products Qudra (APQ), advancing the kingdom’s ambition to become a leading hydrogen producer.
Although financial details of the transaction for Blue Hydrogen Industrial Gases Company (BHIG) were not disclosed, Aramco mentioned that the deal includes options to purchase hydrogen and nitrogen.
APQ is a joint venture between U.S. industrial gases producer Air Products and Saudi start-up Qudra Energy, which was established in 2017. Saudi Arabia and its neighbors are heavily investing in hydrogen, spending billions to establish themselves as key suppliers of what they consider the fuel of the future.
In 2021, Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman al-Saud stated that the kingdom aims to become the world’s largest supplier of hydrogen.
This initiative is part of a broader economic strategy to reduce the top oil exporter’s dependence on crude oil, led by its sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund (PIF).
Saudi Arabia has also approved an $8.4 billion green hydrogen plant, being developed by NEOM Green Hydrogen Company, a joint venture involving Air Products, ACWA Power, and NEOM. PIF fully owns NEOM, a planned futuristic city in the desert, and holds a 44.16% stake in ACWA Power.
