Adnoc and Masdar are setting up a carbon dioxide compression facility and a 50 km pipeline under a joint venture pact they signed for exploring and developing commercial-scale projects for carbon capture, usage and storage (CCUS).

The agreement for the joint venture, first of its kind in the Middle East, was signed at Adipec 2013.

Located in Abu Dhabi, the JV’s first CCUS project consists of three core components. First, CO2 will be captured onsite at Emirates Steel. Second, the CO2 will be compressed and transported along the 50 km pipeline to Adnoc-operated oil fields. Third, Adnoc will inject the CO2 into oil fields to enhance oil recovery, while storing the injected CO2 underground. The project will sequester up to 800,000 tonnes of CO2 annually. Completion is set for 2016.

“The implementation of this technology is a demonstration of Masdar and Adnoc’s commitment to decarbonising the UAE’s growing economy,” said Dr Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, CEO of Masdar, Abu Dhabi’s renewable energy company. 

The UAE has traditionally used hydrocarbon gases in some of the Abu Dhabi fields to enhance oil production. However, with the nation’s rise in its energy demand, this CCUS project will allow it to preserve its natural gas for domestic electricity generation.

Abdulla Nasser Al Suwaidi, Adnoc director general, said: “We are committed to finding and adopting real-world solutions that have economic and environmental returns.”

The JV is the first phase of an industrial-scale CCUS network planned as part of Abu Dhabi’s commitment to decarbonise its economy and create a low-carbon power generation industry. It will also collaborate with Adnoc’s Petroleum Institute and Masdar’s Institute of Science and Technology in developing leading edge technologies to optimise CO2 management in Abu Dhabi.

“CCUS presents a viable technology for energy-intensive industries to lower their carbon footprint,” said engineer Saeed G Al Romaithi, CEO of Emirates Steel.