Hussain Sultan Lootah has been appointed acting chief executive officer of ENOC Group. (Image source: ENOC Group)

The UAE’s ENOC Group has appointed Hussain Sultan Lootah as acting chief executive office, succeeding Saif Humaid Al Falasi, who has led the Group for the last 10 years

The company said in a statement that the appointment aligns with the Group's commitment to drive the future of energy and support Dubai's ambitious plans of economic diversification and sustainable development.

Lootah has three decades of leadership experience in the oil & gas industry, with strong expertise in finance, commercial strategy, project management, and talent development. Throughout his career he has held key leadership roles, leading operations and driving significant progress in Emiratisation and human capital development.

Lootah said, “ENOC Group is at the forefront of building a more sustainable energy landscape for the UAE and the wider region. I am honoured to step into this new role and be part of the ENOC Group success journey, and look forward to working closely with ENOC’s talent and leaders to build on its legacy of innovation and excellence.”

A wholly owned entity of the Government of Dubai, ENOC has over the past 30 years evolved from a local oil and gas player to an integrated global player with assets and operations across the energy sector value chain. Its energy business currently comprise Exploration and Production, Supply Trading and Processing, Terminals, Fuel Retail, Aviation and Products.

The WDDM concession is located around 90 km offshore Egypt.

Independent engineering consultancy Longitude Engineering, part of the Oslo-listed ABL Group ASA, has won a contract to provide engineering and project management services for Egypt’s Phase X1 Deepwater Project of the West Delta Deep Marine (WDDM) concession

The contract was awarded by Petroleum Marine Services (PMS), the main EPIC (Engineering, Procurement, Installation, and Commissioning) contractor for the project, and is Longitude’s second consecutive project within the WDDM concession, also for PMS.

The WDDM concession is located around 90 km offshore Egypt, in the north-western Nile Delta region of the Mediterranean Sea, and is operated by Shell through its joint venture, Burullus Gas Company. The area includes 17 gas fields at water depths ranging from 300 to 1,200 m. These reservoirs have been progressively developed to provide gas for the Egyptian domestic market and the Egyptian Liquefied Natural Gas (ELNG) plant.

WDDM Phase XI

The Phase XI development of the Burullus gas field involves the tie-in of three subsea twin deep-water natural gas wells. The scope of work includes engineering, procurement, fabrication, installation, and commissioning support for five subsea M-shape rigid jumpers equipped with deep-water specialised connectors, multiphase gas meters, and sand detection systems; compact twin-well configurations, to be installed in a brownfield environment adjacent to an existing live natural gas deep-water system ; a tie-in structure designed to accommodate multiple jumpers within a single subsea module; and subsea control system components to support well operation and chemical injection.

Longitude’s engineering scope comprises the detailed design of deep-water rigid jumpers, development of fabrication drawings, onshore and offshore handling procedures, offshore installation engineering, process and stress modelling, and key HSE studies and engineering workshops.

“We are delighted to secure this contract following the success of our previous work on Phase X. The West Delta Deep Marine development is of major significance to Egypt’s oil and gas sector, and we remain committed to delivering the highest quality of service to PMS and, ultimately, to the operator,” said Daniel McGowan, Offshore Project director at Longitude Engineering

Projects such a s the development of the WDDM are critical for reversing the decline in Egypt’s gas production, which led to it resuming LNG imports in 2024 for the first time since 2018.The Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS) has recently awarded six new blocks to several international companies to boost exploration and production, with investments of around US$245mn, to involve the drilling of at least 13 new exploratory wells. The awarded blocks include four new offshore blocks in the Mediterranean, which were part of the 2024 international bid round, and two onshore blocks in the Nile Delta and North Sinai.

CO₂ pipelines will need to grow from 9,500 km today to over 200,000 km by 2050 to support industrial decarbonisation.

DNV, the global independent energy expert and assurance provider, is advancing Skylark, a joint industry project to enhance the understanding of carbon dioxide (CO₂) pipeline operations and facilitate CCS expansion

The three-year project aligns with DNV’s Energy Transition Outlook 2024 report, which forecasts that CO₂ pipelines will need to grow from 9,500 km today to over 200,000 km by 2050 to support industrial decarbonisation.

Skylark will provide essential safety insights through advanced modelling, real-world testing, and emergency response analysis to enable this expansion. It will validate CO₂ dispersion models for varied terrain, develop emergency response best practices, and inform safety guidelines for pipeline routing, risk assessment and venting.

A key focus is understanding CO₂ behaviour during pipeline incidents, including dispersion patterns under different terrain and weather conditions. Emergency response protocols will also be tested in real-world scenarios with first responders. These insights will help operators enhance safety measures and regulators strengthen frameworks as CCS deployment accelerates, and will directly inform DNV’s CCS Safety Guidelines.

Hari Vamadevan, senior vice president and regional director, UK & Ireland, Energy Systems at DNV, explained: “Skylark addresses one of the biggest barriers to CCS adoption—confidence in safe operations at scale. By combining decades of pipeline expertise with new technologies, we’re helping build the infrastructure needed to meet net-zero targets.”

Developed in collaboration with the UK Health and Safety Executive Science Division (HSE SD), University of Arkansas, Ricardo’s UK National Chemical Emergency Centre, the National Centre for Atmospheric Science (NCAS), and the UK Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ), the Skylark JIP has already attracted significant industry interest, with nine organisations participating.

The initiative is still open to industry participation; interested companies can contact DNV at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

LNG is increasingly being integrated into long-term energy strategies.

 Suresh Ramanujan, vice president - Qatar, Kuwait, Iraq & Jordan at Emerson argues that technology and partnership are imperatives for achieving sustainable energy security

Achieving energy security is not necessarily in conflict with ensuring sustainability. Focusing on energy security at the cost of sustainable practices can only lead to short-term gains. Striking a balance is crucial especially in the context of a global transition to a low-carbon future. While renewable energy sources continue to grow in importance and influence, the transition cannot happen overnight. Liquefied natural gas (LNG) has emerged as a vital component of this shift — not as a competitor to renewables, but as a complementary, lower-emission fuel that supports reliability where intermittent sources fall short. With up to 50% lower carbon emissions than compared to other fossil fuels, LNG is a viable transition fuel that provides reliable energy for countries where renewables alone cannot meet current demand.

As countries prioritise both energy access and climate action, LNG is increasingly being integrated into long-term energy strategies. National development plans and capital projects around the world are scaling up LNG infrastructure to meet projected demand through 2035 and beyond. Shell's LNG Outlook 2024 predicts that global LNG demand will grow by approximately 50% by 2040, driven by emerging economies like India and Vietnam that are prioritising lower-emission energy sources to fuel their development while meeting climate commitments.

This raises a critical question: how can we scale LNG responsibly while lowering its environmental impact?

Qatar’s experience provides a good example of how to strike this balance. The nation is undertaking a massive North Field Expansion project that will boost its LNG production capacity from 77 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) to approximately 126 MTPA by 2027.

What makes this expansion noteworthy is its parallel commitment to sustainability. Qatar is investing substantially in carbon capture technology, with plans to sequester 9 million tons of CO₂ annually by 2030.

Technology as an enabler of sustainable energy

Advances in process optimisation, emissions reduction, and energy efficiency are transforming how LNG facilities operate, significantly improving their environmental performance.

The Qatargas Jetty Boil-Off Gas Recovery Facility exemplifies this approach. By implementing advanced automation technology provided by Emerson’s LNG Solutions Center in Qatar, the facility eliminates flaring at Ras Laffan, recovering 600,000 tons of LNG annually while reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 1.6 million tons per year.

Technology partnerships like this will be beneficial to supporting the energy transition in Qatar, and elsewhere in the world. Through advanced control systems, optimisation software from AspenTech, and precision instrumentation and valve technologies, Emerson enables LNG operators to run safer, more efficient, and more reliable operations. These solutions not only help reduce emissions and optimise energy use but also ensure process consistency across the entire lifecycle of LNG facilities—from design and commissioning to maintenance and digital transformation.

Innovations and expertise gained from such partnerships will enable businesses to achieve sustainability and operational excellence; it will also empower local industries with tools to remain competitive in a rapidly evolving global market.

Developing local expertise to address transition challenges

Technology alone, no matter how sophisticated, cannot drive sustainable transformation without the human expertise to implement and optimise it.

Qatar's National Vision 2030 recognises this reality, emphasising economic progression through innovation, sustainability, and human development. Emerson’s LNG Solutions Center is supporting this vision by providing programmes that will cultivate local expertise needed to facilitate the country’s transition to a carbon-neutral future. This provides immersive training environments where engineers and technicians can develop proficiency with cutting-edge technologies before implementing them in operational facilities. They create spaces for collaboration between operators, technology providers, and academic institutions. And they function as innovation hubs where solutions to industry challenges can be explored, tested, and refined.

Beyond production: the entire value chain

A comprehensive approach to ensuring a balance between energy security and sustainability must consider the entire LNG value chain – from production and processing to transportation and utilisation.

In transportation, for instance, the foremost considerations include solutions for safe transfer of liquefied gas as well as carrier operations. These are essential for maintaining safety and environmental integrity. Accurate containment monitoring and custody technologies can help ensure safe transfer when loading or unloading LNG, while specialised carrier systems support safety, environmental compliance, and reliability for LNG carriers.

At the consumption end, technologies that optimise combustion processes, minimise methane slip, and support fuel switching in power generation and industrial applications help maximise the environmental benefits of choosing natural gas over higher-carbon alternatives.

LNG in a net-zero future

LNG has the potential to remain valuable even in a highly decarbonised energy system. A number of factors support this view. First, the integration of carbon capture and storage technology can dramatically reduce the lifecycle emissions of natural gas. Second, existing LNG infrastructure can be repurposed for transportation and storage of hydrogen energy when this resource becomes more mainstream or as green and blue hydrogen production gains wider adoption. Finally, the reliability and disposability of gas-fired power generation make it an ideal complement to intermittent renewable energy sources like wind and solar.

Without a doubt, the path forward will require continued innovation in technology, policy frameworks and regulations, as well as market structures and business models. The balanced approach advocated here considers both the immediate necessity of reliable energy access and the imperative of addressing climate change.