OREANDA-NEWS. November 05, 2013. Saudi Aramco continues to attract global attention to its work in reducing energy intensity and encouraging wise use of energy resources both within the company and the Kingdom.

The latest example of this is an international award from the Association of Energy Engineers (AEE) received at the 36th annual AEE Awards Banquet.

The award honors individuals and companies that the AEE believes have provided notable contributions to the energy industry on the national and international levels. Established in 1977, the AEE is a nonprofit professional society of more than 16,000 members in 89 countries dedicated to furthering education in energy and management.

Ahmad A. Sa’adi, vice president of Gas Operations, accepted the award on behalf of Saudi Aramco. Sa’adi used his acceptance speech as an opportunity to emphasize that the company has been focused on energy efficiency initiatives for more than a decade under its energy efficiency program.

Sa’adi also said that, as part of the Accelerated Transformation Program, Saudi Aramco has been working with Saudi Arabia’s national power company to expand the energy efficiency program throughout the country.

This aggressive push, he said, strives to improve energy efficiency Kingdomwide by about 100 percent — or in other words, doubling energy efficiency in power generation — by the mid-2030s.

Sa’adi also said that Saudi Aramco was committed to continuing its involvement with the AEE.
This year, Saudi Aramco sent 19 engineers through AEE’s internationally recognized Certified Energy Management (CEM) program. A graduation ceremony was held for the group on Sept. 26.

The CEM certification distinguishes individuals who have demonstrated high levels of experience, competence, proficiency and ethical fitness in the energy management progression.

The awards banquet was part of the World Energy Engineering Conference (WEEC), presented by the AEE and held in Washington, D.C.

The WEEC is regarded as one of the most important international energy events for end-users and professionals in the energy world.

The conference featured a large, multi-track agenda highlighting seminars on several current topics, including energy auditing, advanced energy efficiency technologies and cost savings.

Hussain Qahtani, manager of Saudi Aramco’s Process and Control Systems Department, highlighted the company’s advancements in energy efficiency at the conference’s New Technologies Breakfast.

Qahtani referenced the Energy Management Program and its initiatives, including Saudi Aramco’s efforts to lead by example in using energy efficient technologies in new projects and renovations, its collaboration with local universities in energy management research and the company’s deployment of solar photovoltaic systems.

Qahtani pointed out impressive statistics such as Saudi Aramco’s 3.07 percent improvement in energy savings, which has allowed the company to save 130 million barrels per day of oil equivalent and to avoid 1.51 tons of CO2 emissions since 2000.

The WEEC also included a comprehensive exposition of the market’s most promising new technologies, where Saudi Aramco hosted a booth demonstrating the company’s energy efficiency achievements.

Members of Aramco Services Co.’s Houston and Washington, D.C., offices were also on hand at the booth to meet with conference delegates and assist in recruiting and interviewing potential hires for Saudi Aramco’s Gas Operations team.