Abstract
Clean hydrocarbon technologies have a key role to play in achieving the circular carbon economy while meeting climate targets in many countries around the world. The aim of this work is to assess which technology, or combination of technologies, is the most cost-effective in achieving climate targets by 2030 leading to a quick and smooth transition to a low carbon energy system in Saudi Arabia and similar oil-based economies. We find that low carbon policy support by banning crude oil in power generation, leads to accelerated underground oil gasification, in the absence of carbon prices. We also find that setting a policy for carbon reduction targets leads to a more flexible energy system transition enabling more technologies in the mix with an increasing transition period. Our results also show that clean hydrocarbon technologies may be sufficient to achieve new climate targets, as shown by the stabilised emissions in scenario 3 by 2025, without the implementation of renewable sources of energy which most studies do not include. We propose that by investing in clean hydrocarbon technologies over the short term, the transition towards a low carbon economy will be accelerated while developing renewable sources of energy over the long term.
Highlights
Meeting climate targets has always been a global necessity
The energy demand, in transport and power generation sectors, and energy resources for the system shown in Figure 1, are shown in Tables 3 and 4 based on which the technology transition is analysed based on technology costs and policies in Saudi Arabia
We find that setting a policy for a carbon reduction target, 15% reduction by 2030, in Figure 6 leads to a more flexible energy system transition where more technologies appear in the mix with an increasing transition period
Summary
Meeting climate targets has always been a global necessity. The circular carbon economy, achieved via clean hydrocarbons technologies (CHTs), has a key role to play in achieving this target. New hydrocarbon conversion technologies underwent significant breakthroughs to make the future of hydrocarbons more sustainable in a carbon constrained world. New technologies may include carbon capture and storage, and many other new technologies such as direct hydrocarbon fuel cells, conversion of CO2 into fuels, and underground gasification of hydrocarbons which may achieve the circular carbon economy. There is a growing need for understanding the role of hydrocarbon conversion technologies in enabling global energy access while realising energy transition that meets climate targets. The following review presents recent breakthroughs in hydrocarbon conversion technologies which could pave the way for their implementation in a circular carbon economy
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