Saudi Arabia and Belgium are involved in talks to build a collaborative partnership to introduce carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology to the Middle Eastern state.

CCS is keenly sought by Saudi Arabia as it is currently pushing ahead with plans to pump carbon dioxide into the Ghawar field, the largest oilfield in the world.

In a statement made to Arab News yesterday (October 25th), Bart Ouvry, a spokesperson for the Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, confirmed that CCS had featured prominently in negotiations held earlier in the day.

He added: "Two important subjects - the Middle East peace process and Afghanistan -were discussed besides several other issues of common concerns."

Developing the new technology is likely to result in a skills boost for Saudi Arabian workers as the requisite training and development programmes are established to ensure efficient production and maintenance of CCS systems.

Under the national Saudization programme, international firms need to sign up to accords guaranteeing priority jobs for domestic workers.

Getenergy event for GCC countries November 2009