ADNOC and Occidental have announced a collaboration to explore investment opportunities in Direct Air Capture (DAC) facilities and carbon dioxide (CO2) sequestration hubs in the USA and the UAE
The companies will look at how they can work together on the potential deployment of carbon capture, utilisation and sequestration technology at scale in the USA and the Middle East and help hard-to-abate industries achieve their net-zero targets through the purchase of carbon dioxide removal credits alongside emissions reduction programmes.
ADNOC will look at participating in DAC plants and CO2 sequestration hubs under development in the USA by Occidental subsidiary, 1PointFive. Occidental and ADNOC and may also look at jointly developing UAE-based CO2 sequestration hubs and a one million tonne-per-year DAC plant, which together would provide emissions reduction solutions for carbon-intensive industrial emitters and other hard-to-abate sectors within the UAE, including aviation and maritime operations.
The companies will also consider opportunities to incorporate innovative CO2-based technologies into the UAE. This includes technologies in which Occidental has made investments, such as emissions-free power and sustainable fuels.
“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,” said Vicki Hollub, Occidental President and CEO. “Partnerships like this one are essential to helping the world reach its climate goals and ensure it has the resources it needs to thrive through the energy transition. We look forward to working with ADNOC on our shared vision of establishing a global net-zero ecosystem.”
The agreement was made in the framework of the UAE-U.S. Partnership for Accelerating Clean Energy (PACE), which was launched in November 2022 and is expected to mobilise US$100bn in clean energy and carbon management projects, including CCS and DAC by 2035.
Musabbeh Al Kaabi, Executive director of Low Carbon Solutions and International Growth at ADNOC said: “This agreement highlights how the UAE-U.S. Partnership for Accelerating Clean Energy is driving innovative climate technologies to decarbonise the energy sector. The need to significantly reduce carbon emissions to address climate change is clear and urgent and carbon capture is an important technology that can be scaled up to decarbonise across all industries.
“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.”
ADNOC announced recently that it is accelerating its decarbonisation initiatives and bringing forward its net zero goal to 2045 from the previous target of 2050. Around US$15bn will be invested in a range of projects up to 2030, including clean power, carbon capture and storage, further electrification of operations, energy efficiency, and zero routine gas flaring.
