The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) and Occidental Petroleum have announced a new agreement that may see the two companies jointly develop carbon capture and storage (CCS) hubs across the UAE and US.
Under the new partnership, ADNOC and Houston-based Occidental are in talks to develop direct air capture (DAC) projects in the UAE, including what would be the first megaton DAC unit to be constructed outside of the US.
Musabbeh Al Kaabi, the executive director of low-carbon solutions for ADNOC, said, “Partnerships like this offer the potential to transform the systems that will be vital to provide the lower-carbon energy the world needs for the energy transition.”
The announcement was made a day after ADNOC sharedits decision to move its net zero target for carbon emissions up by 5 years to 2045, with a related pledge to achieve net zero methane emissions by 2030.
ADNOC revealed its interest in DAC technology earlier this year when it partnered with a startup called 44.01 that plans to permanently mineralize carbon dioxide in a highly reactive rock formation that spans the UAE and neighboring Oman.
An Occidental subsidiary focused on commercializing CCS began construction last year in the Permian Basin of Texas on what will be the world’s largest DAC facility in the world. Called Stratos DAC, the facility is expected to be operational in 2025 at which point Occidental said it will be capable of pulling 500,000 mtpa of CO2 out of the atmosphere.
ADNOC said it will “explore” the idea of participating in the DAC plant in Texas as part of the new agreement along with other proposed decarbonization projects in the US that are being led by Occidental.
“We look forward to building on our longstanding partnership with ADNOC as we advance our plans to globally deploy DAC technology and engage partners who are committed to developing carbon solutions at climate-relevant scale,” Vicki Hollub, president and CEO of Occidental, said in a statement.
Occidental holds interests in several key projects across the UAE including 35-year concessions for two massive onshore blocks covering more than 2.5 million acres.
