Water conservation
As an energy company founded and operating in a desert nation, we understand the importance of managing water resources and have a long history of applying circular principles to our water management practices.
Our water conservation roadmap governs our use of this precious resource in our operations, ensuring that we supplement water supplies with nontraditional sources, implement water-efficient practices, increase wastewater reuse, reduce water losses, and promote water-conservation awareness among our employees and their families, as well as in local communities.
We provide comprehensive assessments of the Kingdom’s water and energy infrastructure, and demand forecasts, and collaborate with government, local authorities, and regulators to mitigate our impact on communities.
Our policy in action
Aramco created our original Water Conservation Policy in 2011, and updated it in 2020, expanding it to cover our latest water conservation strategies. The Company’s freshwater consumption in the Kingdom is about 30 million cubic meters, which is about 0.2% of the Kingdom’s annual groundwater demand, the vast majority of which (70% as of 2023 according to according to Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Water, Environment, and Agriculture) is utilized for agriculture.
We aim to source 60% of our freshwater from regions that are not classified as water-stressed. And we disclose our usage figures in our annual Sustainability Report.
Thanks to our ongoing investment and conservation efforts, as of the end of 2024, the freshwater consumption recorded for Aramco’s wholly owned and operated facilities was 83 million cubic meters of freshwater, a reduction of 7.7% compared to our 2023 figure (89.9 million cubic meters).
Qurayyah Sea Water Plant injects seawater, rather than groundwater, into reservoirs to support oil production.
Qurayyah Sea Water Plant
In the late 1970s, Aramco established the Qurayyah Sea Water Plant to inject seawater, rather than groundwater, into reservoirs for the process of improving oil recovery. The treated seawater is conveyed through a complex pipeline network to hundreds of injection wells.
Aramco has been able to conserve more than 160 billion gallons of groundwater annually, since 1978.
