ADNOC, Occidental to advance direct air capture project in UAE

UAE’s ADNOC Group and Occidental Petroleum have partnered to undertake a joint engineering study for the construction of the first megaton-scale direct air capture (DAC) facility outside the US.

The agreement is the first project to reach the technical feasibility stage since the two energy companies signed a strategic collaboration deal to explore carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) projects in the UAE and the US earlier in August.

The study will assess the proposed one million tonnes per annum (mtpa) DAC facility to be connected to ADNOC’s carbon dioxide (CO2) infrastructure for injection and permanent storage into saline reservoirs not used for oil and gas production.

The Abu Dhabi oil firm is testing the world’s first fully sequestered CO2 injection well in a carbonate saline aquifer in the emirate.

“The speed at which the Oxy and ADNOC teams have developed the feasibility and Pre-FEED plan for a DAC plant in Abu Dhabi underscores the urgency needed to deliver global-scale climate solutions and eliminate greenhouse gas emissions,” Vicki Hollub, president and CEO of Occidental.

“We will continue to leverage our carbon management expertise to deliver value and accelerate our ability to achieve our net-zero targets and help others meet theirs.”

The partnership between the two firms is backed by the agreement between the UAE and the US to invest $100bn (Dhs367bn) in clean energy and carbon management projects, including CCS and DAC by 2035.

The DAC facilities will be able to offer carbon capture services and provide the necessary infrastructure to safely transport carbon dioxide from the UAE’s carbon-intensive and hard-to-abate sectors and permanently store it in Abu Dhabi’s ideal geological formations.

ADNOC’s decarbonisation drive

Meanwhile,  ADNOC reached a final investment decision to develop the Habshan CCUS project, with the capacity to capture up to 1.5 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) for permanent storage in Abu Dhabi’s onshore reservoirs.

The Habshan project will triple the company’s carbon capture capacity to 2.3 mtpa, equivalent to removing over 500,000 gasoline-powered cars from the road per year, ADNOC said in a statement.

The project will be built, operated and maintained by ADNOC Gas. It will include carbon capture units at the Habshan gas processing plant, pipeline infrastructure, and a network of wells for carbon injection.

Similarly, ADNOC Gas awarded a $615m (Dhs2.26bn) engineering, procurement and construction contract for the Habshan carbon capture project to Petrofac Emirates. The project is expected to be commissioned in 2026.

The state energy firm has placed sustainability at the heart of its long-term strategy. The company is decarbonising its operations, investing in renewables and low-carbon fuels and building a global hydrogen value chain.

The Habshan CCUS project is expected to support enhanced oil recovery of low carbon-intensity barrels and the production of low-carbon feedstocks such as hydrogen, as ADNOC builds on its landmark carbon capture facility, Al Reyadah.

Read: ADNOC awards Petrofac $615m carbon capture projects contract