Saudi Arabia hits JACKPOT, discovers ‘white gold’ in its oil fields; what it means for the kingdom’s oil-rich economy

Saudi Arabia, whose economy is based around its vast reserves of oil and natural gas, has found another source to diversify its oil-rich economy as the kingdom recently found lithium reserves in its oil fields near the sea.

Saudi Arabia, whose economy is based around its vast reserves of oil and natural gas, has found another source to diversify its oil-rich economy as the kingdom recently found lithium reserves in its oil fields near the sea. According to reports, Saudi Aramco aka Aramco, Saudi Arabia’s state-owned petroleum and natural gas company, extracted lithium under a pilot project from one of its oil fields.

Khalid bin Saleh Al-Mudaifer, Saudi Arabi’s Deputy Minister of Mining Affairs, announced that the kingdom will soon launch a commercial pilot program to promote the direct mining of lithium.

Lithium Infinity, also known as Lihytech, a start-up launched out of King Abdullah University for Science and Technology, will lead the extraction project with cooperation from Saudi mining company Ma’aden and Aramco, Reuters quoted Khalid al-Mudaifer as saying. “They are extracting lithium through their new technology they have developed in King Abdullah University for Science and Technology and they are in accelerated development in this regard,” the minister said.

“They’re building a commercial pilot at the oil fields. So the brines that come out of the field will feed into this commercial pilot on a continuous basis,” added Al-Mudaifer.

Saudi Arabia’s new source of wealth

Al-Mudaifer said the while the cost of extracting lithium from the brine runoffs from oil fields remained higher than the traditional method of extraction from salt flats, he expected that if lithium prices grew the project would soon be commercially viable.

Other oil companies, including Exxon Mobil and Occidental Petroleum (OXY.N), are also planning to take advantage of emerging technologies to filter lithium from brine, as the world seeks to move away from fossil fuels, Reuters reported.

Responding to query about lithium extraction in Saudi Arabia, Aramco said lithium was “an area of interest” for the company and it was evaluating the presence of the metal in its fields and its extraction, the report said.

Saudi Arabia, whose economy for decades has relied on oil, has spent billions on trying to turn itself into a hub for EVs as part of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s attempts to find alternative sources of revenue for the oil-rich kingdom.

Lithium- the future of global energy

As the fossil fuel reserves across the world dwindle, lithium, which is also called ‘white gold’ for its rarity, its tipped to replace oil and other traditional fossil fuels as the number one source for energy around the globe. Currently, Lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries are used to power up almost every electronic gadget from electric cars, laptops, and smartphones, to emergency lights, toys, and pretty every gadget used in daily life.

Li-ion batteries are popular because they are lightweight, have a high energy density, and can be recharged, making them an inexpensive energy solution for a wide range of electronics.

(With inputs from Reuters)