UAE’s ADNOC awards multibillion gas expansion contracts

Image courtesy: ADNOC Group

UAE’s ADNOC Group has awarded contracts worth $16.9bn to develop an offshore natural gas field that will operate with net zero carbon dioxide emissions.

The two engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contracts for the Hail and Ghasha Offshore Development project will produce 1.5 billion standard cubic feet per day (bscfd) of gas before the decade’s end.

The Hail and Ghasha projects will contribute to UAE gas self-sufficiency and ADNOC’s gas growth and export expansion plans, the state-owned energy firm said.

The first EPC contract for the offshore facilities, which includes facilities on artificial islands and subsea pipelines, was awarded to a joint venture between the National Petroleum Construction Company and Saipem.

ADNOC said the second EPC contract will deliver the onshore scope, including CO2 and sulphur recovery and handling. The contract was awarded to Tecnimont.

“The final investment decision, for Hail and Ghasha, is a major milestone for ADNOC and our strategic partners and we are delighted to progress this pioneering project with net zero carbon dioxide emissions, significantly boosting ADNOC’s carbon capture capacity as we work toward a lower carbon future,” said Abdulmunim Al Kindy, ADNOC Upstream executive director.

“Natural gas is an important transition fuel and ADNOC will continue to responsibly unlock its gas resources to enable gas self-sufficiency for the UAE, grow our export capacity and support global energy security.”

ADNOC said more than 60 per cent of the contracts’ value is expected to flow back into the UAE economy. The company is increasing gas production as consumers around the world look to switch from crude and coal toward cleaner burning fuel, even though gas is still a significant source of carbon and methane emissions.

ADNOC decarbonisation drive

Meanwhile, ADNOC 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 project will capture 1.5 million tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) per year, preventing the harmful gas from reaching the atmosphere, taking the Abu Dhabi energy giant’s committed investment for carbon capture capacity to almost tonnes per year (mtpa).

The company’s use of abatement technology at Ghasha and Habshan is key for its net zero plan. The energy firm aims to capture 10 million tonnes of CO2 by the end of this decade.

“The CO2 will be captured, transported onshore and safely stored underground, while low-carbon hydrogen is produced that can replace fuel gas and further reduce emissions,” the company said in a statement.

In June, ADNOC brought forward its net zero carbon emissions target by five years to 2045 and plans to achieve zero methane emissions by 2030.

The energy firm’s decarbonisation plan covers so-called Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions, which measure the amount of carbon dioxide that comes directly from the company’s own operations and from the energy it uses to run its business.

Read: ADNOC, Occidental to advance direct air capture project in UAE