This Habshan carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) project — as yet to be built — will have the capacity to capture and permanently store 1.5 million metric tons per annum (MTPA) of carbon dioxide (CO2) within geological formations deep underground. The project is expected to triple ADNOC’s carbon capture capacity to 2.3 MTPA, equivalent to removing over 500,000 gasoline-powered cars from the road per year.

The announcement is part of ADNOC’s wider carbon management strategy to accelerate the delivery of ADNOC and the UAE’s decarbonization goals. As part of this strategy, the company is implementing several innovative, technology-driven pilot projects, including CO2 mineralization and full carbon sequestration in saline aquifers.

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The project will be operated and maintained by ADNOC Gas on behalf of ADNOC. The FID to develop the project 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, “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.

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 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 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.

ADNOC currently acquires 100% of its grid power from the Emirates Water and Electricity Company’s (EWEC) nuclear and solar sources, making the company the first major oil and gas company in the world to decarbonize its power at scale through an agreement of this kind. 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%.

According to IEA, the global energy-related CO2 emissions grew in 2022 by 0.9%, or 321 million tons, reaching a new high of more than 36.8 billion metric tons.