The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC)has confirmed its final investment decision (FID) to develop the Habshan carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) facility, one of the largest carbon capture projects in the Middle East and North Africa region.
The project in Al Gharbia, Abu Dhabi Emirate, southwestern UAE, will have the capacity to capture and permanently store 1.5 million tonnes per year (mtpa) of CO2 within geological formations deep underground.
The facility will 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 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 CO2 injection wells.
As part of ADNOC's decarbonization efforts, CO2 will be stored permanently in reservoirs deep in the subsurface via closed-loop CO2 capture and reinjection technology at the well site.
ADNOC added that the FID aligns with its recently announced Net Zero by 2045 ambition and forms part of the company’s initial $15 billion decarbonization investment in low-carbon solutions.
The project is expected to be completed in 2026.
“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,” said Musabbeh Al Kaabi, ADNOC's executive director of low- carbon solutions and international growth. “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.”
ADNOC is decarbonizing its operations while also investing in renewables and low-carbon fuels, building a global hydrogen value chain, deploying climate technology solutions, and advancing nature-based solutions such as planting mangroves in the UAE.
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, ADNOC said it believes the Habshan carbon capture project could provide for enhanced oil recovery of low-carbon-intensity barrels as well as the production of low-carbon feedstocks such as hydrogen to help customers decarbonize their operations.
ADNOC currently acquires 100% of its grid power from the Emirates Water and Electricity Company’s nuclear and solar sources, making the company the first major oil and gas company in the world to decarbonize its power at scale though an agreement of this kind, according to ADNOC.
Additionally, ADNOC is developing a $3.8-billion project to build a subsea transmission network, which upon completion, could reduce ADNOC’s offshore carbon intensity by up to 50%.
