In-depth Research Report on Saudi Arabia's Ecological Policies and the Green Transformation of Oil Extraction

In the Arabian Peninsula—where freshwater is extremely scarce and there are virtually no perennial surface rivers—freshwater is regarded as a more strategically significant and scarcer resource than oil. Early oil extraction, particularly secondary oil recovery operations involving water injection to maintain reservoir pressure, heavily relied on pumping groundwater from underground aquifers. This practice inflicted irreversible damage upon Saudi Arabia’s already fragile groundwater systems. Deep causal analysis reveals that continued consumption of precious fossil groundwater by oilfield operations would directly jeopardize the Kingdom’s national water security, agricultural viability, and long-term social stability. Accordingly, freshwater substitution and ultra-efficient water recycling have become Saudi Aramco’s most critical internal ecological initiatives, centered on the core principle of “reducing dependency and achieving closed-loop circulation.” ● Historical foresight and ongoing expansion of seawater injection technology: To completely eliminate reliance on groundwater, Saudi Aramco invested heavily as early as the late 1970s in constructing the world’s largest oilfield water-injection facility—the Qurayyah Seawater Treatment Plant. This facility treats seawater from the Arabian Gulf to a high standard and delivers it via an extensive, intricate pipeline network to hundreds of inland injection wells, where it is pumped directly into subsurface oil reservoirs to displace crude oil. Relying solely on this single facility, Saudi Aramco has saved over 160 billion gallons of precious groundwater annually for the nation since 1978. Currently, Saudi Arabia continues advancing this initiative in aging oilfields—for instance, the Groundwater Protection Project underway in the Abqaiq region, which, upon completion, is expected to replace 76% of the region’s injection water volume entirely with seawater. ● Produced water treatment and revolutionary Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD): During oil and gas production, formation water co-produced with crude oil is termed “produced water”—the largest-volume and most challenging liquid byproduct from oilfields, containing extremely high concentrations of salts, suspended solids, emulsified hydrocarbons, and toxic heavy metals leached from geological formations. Saudi Aramco not only deploys advanced, multi-stage wastewater treatment systems—from API gravity separation and hydrocyclone separation to membrane filtration—in strict compliance with its exceptionally rigorous engineering standard SAES-A-012, but has also achieved revolutionary technological breakthroughs in recent years. Through a strategic partnership with the National Energy Services Re-organization Company (NESR), Saudi Aramco successfully developed and deployed its proprietary, patented “Zero Liquid Discharge” (ZLD) technology. This technology is transformative because it completely eliminates traditional disposal pathways such as high-pressure deep-well injection or marine discharge. By means of extreme desalination and physicochemical separation, the ZLD system converts highly saline, hazardous wastewater into high-quality industrial water, directly reused for crude oil desalting wash water, shale gas hydraulic fracturing fluid (frac-water), and enhanced oil recovery (EOR) injection water. Even more valuable from a circular economy perspective, the highly concentrated mineral-rich residue remaining after ZLD treatment is not disposed of as waste. Instead, it is further processed into drilling mud additives, subjected to salt recovery, and even evaluated for carbon dioxide mineralization sequestration (CO₂ sequestration via mineralization) and the strategic extraction of lithium—a resource of immense future value.

Comprehensive Guide to Mining Investment in Saudi Arabia: Policy Incentives, Risk Hedging, and Strategic Opportunities for Chinese Enterprises—In-Depth Analysis of Saudi Arabia’s New Mining Investment Law, FMF 2025 Outcomes, and Practical Pathways for Chinese Companies

Introduction From January 14 to 16, 2025, the fourth edition of the Future Minerals Forum (FMF) concluded successfully in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Themed “Year of Impact,” this year’s forum attracted over 20,000 participants from 178 countries—including 75 government representatives, 250 industry leaders, and CEOs from 11 of the world’s top 20 mining companies. Through this global platform, Saudi Arabia signed 126 agreements and memoranda of understanding (MOUs), targeting exploration, mining, financing, R&D, innovation, sustainability, value-added supply chains, and the broader development of the minerals industry. These agreements collectively amount to SAR 107 billion (approximately USD 28.6 billion). Additionally, the Kingdom released high-precision exploration data covering 400,000 square kilometers. By hosting the fourth FMF, Saudi Arabia further solidified its position as a global hub for mining and mineral resources, demonstrating unwavering commitment to economic diversification and sustainable development—and actively advancing the goals of Vision 2030. This forum marks the full-scale implementation phase of Saudi Arabia’s national mining development strategy. This article provides a scientific and comprehensive investment guide for Chinese enterprises, grounded in Saudi Arabia’s revised Mining Investment Law (2021), its Implementing Regulations for the Mining Investment Law, the latest outcomes of FMF 2025, and real-world cases involving Chinese enterprises—analyzing opportunities and challenges across four key dimensions: institutional frameworks, policy incentives, risk mitigation, and compliance pathways. I. The Future Minerals Forum (FMF 2025): A Milestone in Global Mining Cooperation (A) Core Outcomes and Strategic Developments 1. Deepening International Collaboration Saudi Arabia signed MOUs and cooperation agreements with six countries—including Djibouti, Jordan, Zambia, Austria, and France—focusing on critical mineral exploration and supply chain security. Saudi Aramco and Ma’aden (Saudi Arabian Mining Company) jointly announced the establishment of a new joint venture dedicated to exploring and mining critical minerals essential for the energy transition, with a target to achieve commercial lithium production by 2027. Ma’aden announced the discovery of economically viable gold and copper deposits within the Arabian Shield exploration zone and signed an agreement with the Public Investment Fund (PIF) to invest in international mining assets, securing access to strategic minerals. Hadeed (Saudi Iron and Steel Company) announced the full acquisition of Al Rajhi Steel Industries Company and plans to invest SAR 25 billion to meet demand from large-scale infrastructure projects. 2. Participation by Chinese Enterprises Baosteel Group: Collaborating with Saudi Aramco and the Public Investment Fund (PIF) to build its first integrated steel mill overseas—designed to produce 1.5 million tons of steel plates annually—leveraging Saudi Arabia’s low-cost energy (natural gas priced at USD 0.75 per million BTU) to reduce production costs. Zoomlion: Signed intent orders worth nearly RMB 300 million for mining equipment, showcasing the technological strengths of Chinese manufacturing.

NESR, Aramco Agree to Develop Lithium Project in Saudi Arabia

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NESR and Saudi Aramco have agreed to execute a lithium demonstration project producing 2,000 tons per annum of battery-grade lithium carbonate starting in late 2027. The initiative combines Aramco's subsurface expertise with NESR's LiThara direct lithium extraction technology.

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