Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) and US-based petroleum company Occidental have agreed to collaborate on carbon dioxide (CO₂) capture and storage (CCS) in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the US.
As part of the deal, which is supported by the UAE-US Partnership for Accelerating Clean Energy (PACE), the companies are exploring the feasibility of building direct air capture (DAC) facilities in the UAE.
Launched in November 2022, PACE aims to unlock $100bn (Dh367bn) of investment by 2035 to support clean energy and carbon management projects.
ADNOC and Occidental will also evaluate the construction of one or more carbon management hubs in the UAE.
These hubs will offer the infrastructure and carbon capture services required to transfer CO₂ from the UAE's carbon-intensive and hard-to-abate sectors and store it in geological formations.
Under the agreement, ADNOC will also participate in several DAC and CO₂ sequestration facilities being developed by Occidental's subsidiary 1PointFive in the US.
ADNOC executive director of low carbon solutions and international growth Musabbeh Al Kaabi said: “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.
“As we accelerate our net-zero ambition to 2045 and decarbonise operations, 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.”
Occidental CEO president and CEO Vicki Hollub said: “We look forward to building on our long-standing 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.
“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.”
The alliance comes close on the heels of ADNOC’s announcement to achieve a net-zero emissions target by 2045.
Previously, the oil giant had aimed to achieve net zero by 2050.
