Adnoc has announced a final investment decision to develop the largest carbon capture projects in the Mena region

The Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region's largest carbon capture project will be developed, according to an announcement by Adnoc. The ground-breaking Habshan carbon capture, utilisation, and storage (CCUS) project will be able to capture and permanently store 1.5 million tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) each year (mtpa) inside subterranean geological formations.

The statement made on Wednesday is a component of Adnoc's larger carbon management plan, which intends to build a special platform that connects all the emission sources and sequestration locations to hasten the achievement of Adnoc's and the UAE's decarbonization objectives. The business is putting into practise a number of cutting-edge, technologically driven pilot projects as part of this approach, including CO2 mineralisation and complete carbon sequestration in saline aquifers.

The project will increase Adnoc's ability to collect carbon to 2.3 mtpa using best-in-class technology, which is the equivalent of eliminating over 500,000 gas-powered automobiles off the road each year. The project will feature carbon capture units at the Habshan gas processing facility, pipeline infrastructure, and a network of wells for injecting CO2. Adnoc Gas will build, manage, and maintain the project on behalf of Adnoc.

Adnoc will use closed-loop CO2 capture and reinjection technology at the well site to permanently store CO2 in deep subsurface reservoirs as part of its continuous decarbonization initiatives. The FID to construct the project is part of the company's first $15 billion (Dh55 billion) decarbonization investment in low carbon solutions, which is entirely in line with Adnoc's newly declared net zero by 2045 aim.

Adnoc is implementing innovative climate technology solutions, decarbonizing its operations, investing in renewables and low-carbon fuels, developing a worldwide hydrogen value chain, pushing nature-based solutions, such as planting mangroves in the UAE. At Al Reyadah in Abu Dhabi, Adnoc inaugurated its first carbon capture, transportation, and storage facility in 2016. Up to 800,000 tonnes of CO2 per year collected from Emirates Steel Arkan can be processed at the plant. The Habshan carbon capture project, which builds on Al Reyadah, might enable better oil recovery from industry-leading low carbon intensity barrels and the creation of low-carbon feedstocks, such hydrogen, to assist clients in decarbonizing their operations.

Adnoc and Occidental are also evaluating possible investment prospects in direct air capture and carbon capture and storage in the United States and the United Arab Emirates.

Adnoc is the first major oil and gas company in the world to decarbonize its power at scale through an agreement of this kind. Adnoc currently purchases 100% of its grid power from the Emirates Water and Electricity Company's (EWEC) nuclear and solar sources as part of its long-standing decarbonization drive.

Adnoc is also developing a $3.8 billion (Dh14 billion) project to build a sub-sea transmission network, which could reduce Adnoc’s offshore carbon intensity by up to 50 per cent, upon completion.