ADNOC to Invest in One of the Largest Carbon Capture Projects in MENA

Final investment decision to proceed with 1.5 million tonnes per year carbon capture, utilization and storage project. The project will triple its installed carbon capture capacity to 2.3 mtpa. Carbon capture is key lever in delivering ADNOC’s Net Zero by 2045 ambition.

ADNOC announced this week a final investment decision (FID) to develop one of the largest carbon capture projects in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. The Habshan carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) project will have the capacity to capture and permanently store 1.5 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) of carbon dioxide (CO₂) within geological formations deep underground.

Goals and ambitions
According to a statement by ADNOC, this is part of the company’s wider carbon management strategy, which aims to create a platform that connects all the sources of emissions and sequestration sites to accelerate the delivery of ADNOC’s and the UAE’s decarbonization goals.

As part of this strategy, the company is implementing several technology driven pilot projects, including CO₂ mineralization and full carbon sequestration in saline aquifers. When complete, the project will triple ADNOC’s carbon capture capacity to 2.3 million tonnes per annum (mtpa), equivalent to removing over 500,000 gasoline-powered cars from the road per year.

The project, to be built, operated and maintained by ADNOC Gas on behalf of ADNOC, will include carbon capture units at the Habshan gas processing plant, pipeline infrastructure, and a network of wells for CO₂ injection. CO₂ will be permanently stored in reservoirs deep in the sub-surface through the deployment of closed-loop CO₂ capture and reinjection technology at the well site.

The FID to develop the project fully aligns with ADNOC’s recently announced Net Zero by 2045 ambition and forms part of the company’s initial $15 billion (AED55 billion) decarbonization investment in low carbon solutions.

Musabbeh Al Kaabi, ADNOC Executive Director of Low Carbon Solutions and International Growth, said: “The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has stated that carbon capture and storage is a critical enabler for the world to achieve net zero by mid-century. This landmark project, is one of many tangible initiatives that ADNOC is delivering as we accelerate our decarbonization plan to meet our Net Zero by 2045 ambition.”

Not the first nor the last
In 2016, ADNOC opened its first carbon capture, transportation and storage facility at Al Reyadah in Abu Dhabi. The facility has the capacity to process up to 800,000 tons of CO₂ per year captured at Emirates Steel Arkan. Building on Al Reyadah, the Habshan carbon capture project could provide for enhanced oil recovery of industry leading low carbon-intensity barrels as well as the production of low-carbon feedstocks such as hydrogen, to help customers decarbonize their operations.

ADNOC and Occidental Petroleum Corporation, an American petroleum company, are also working to assess potential investment opportunities in the UAE and the United States in both carbon capture and storage and direct air capture.

As part of its longstanding decarbonization drive, ADNOC currently acquires 100% of its grid power from the Emirates Water and Electricity Company’s (EWEC) nuclear and solar sources. Furthermore, ADNOC is developing a $3.8 billion (AED14 billion) project to build a sub-sea transmission network, which upon completion, could reduce ADNOC’s offshore carbon intensity by up to 50%.

Reporting directly from Middle East Energy 2023, Energy & Utilities took an in depth look at carbon capture and storage methods.

Energy & Utilities reported ADNOC securing $3 billion to finance hydrogen and carbon capture projects.

David Haziri contributed reporting

Photo credit: ADNOC