Abu Dhabi – Mubasher: The first commercial-scale carbon capture, utilisation & storage (CCUS) facility in the Middle East & North Africa (MENA) was announced on Saturday to be operational.
CCUS is developed by Abu Dhabi’s Carbon Capture Company Al Reyadah, a joint venture between Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) by 51% and Masdar, the Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company by 49%, according to a statement.
Sultan Al Jaber, UAE Minister of State, ADNOC CEO and Chairman of Masdar, pinpointed that the project will allow for the more productive use of a valuable commodity, natural gas, whether for power generation, or as petrochemicals feedstock, or for export.
“Al Reyadah exemplifies how the UAE is committed to climate action and responsible energy production through private and public sector partnerships, and it positions the UAE amongst the pioneers of this cutting-edge technology whilst allowing for continued energy production to meet our export targets,” Thani Al Zeyoudi, Minister of Climate Change and Environment, said commented.
The technology works in three stages: carbon dioxide is first captured on site at the Emirates Steel manufacturing complex before being compressed and dehydrated. The third step involves conveying the CO2 via a 43-kilometre underground pipeline for Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) injection into ADNOC’s NEB (Al Rumaitha) and Bab onshore oilfields.
“Over the last ten years, Masdar has played a leading role in the development of the future energy economy, which has invested $2.7 billion in the development of renewable energy and clean technologies in the MENA region and international markets, and today has 2.7 gigawatts (GW) of gross power generating capacity either deployed or under construction,” said Mohamed Al Ramahi, CEO of Masdar.
CEO of Emirates Steel, Said Al Romaithi, noted that the objective at Al Reyadah is to meet ADNOC’s demand for CO₂, supporting its ambitious plans to increase oil and gas production capacity while at the same time contributing to the UAE’s overall sustainable growth strategy, as well as the global effort to mitigate climate change.
