New Energy Cooperation

KEPCO President Cho Hwan-Ik (left) and Saudi Aramco President Amin H. Nasser (right) and other two executives pose after signing an MOU in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, on May 23 (local time).
KEPCO President Cho Hwan-Ik (left) and Saudi Aramco President Amin H. Nasser (right) and other two executives pose after signing an MOU in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, on May 23 (local time).

 

Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) has decided to join hands with Saudi Aramco, the world’s largest oil company, in the energy new industry sector.

The company announced on May 24 that it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for energy efficiency with Saudi Aramco in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, on the 23rd (local time). KEPCO is chosen as the first strategic partner in the energy efficiency area by Aramco.

The MOU signing ceremony was attended by KEPCO President Cho Hwan-Ik and Saudi Aramco President Amin H. Nasser. On the same day, the heads of the two companies agreed to cooperate in developing specific business in new energy business and generation sectors. 

Saudi Aramco is Saudi Arabia’s biggest state-run company which accounts for 12.5 percent of total global oil productions. It is also the world’s largest oil firm which posted US$378 billion (435 trillion won) in sales in 2014 and is valued at US$3 trillion (3,450 trillion won) including 261 billion barrels of oil in reserves. In addition, the company has its own 2,000-MW power generation facility.

Recently, the Saudi Arabian government is planning to turn Aramco from an oil firm into a large manufacturing-based company based on “Saudi Vision 2030.”

It has been also running “Energy Efficiency Program” from 2003 in order to improve the energy efficiency. By 2030, it aims to reduce the energy input for production per unit by up to 30 percent compared to 2005. Accordingly, KEPCO and Saudi Aramco will have more opportunity to work together in the energy efficiency area, according to KEPCO.

Under the latest MOU, the two companies will cooperate in four sectors – smart grid systems, aging power plant performance improvement, clean energy generation and energy efficiency improvement R&D. They will decide a business sector as soon as possible and carry out a business feasibility analysis and pilot projects, according to KEPCO.

 

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