Page 4 - MEOG Week 46

MEOG COMMENTARY MEOG

ADNOC heralds delivery

of gas amid ADIPEC

announcements

The Emirati firm used the annual ADIPEC event to announce progress on several fronts,
with the delivery of first unconventional gas grabbing the bulk of the headlines.

UAE AS has become customary, Abu Dhabi National gas strategy, setting out plans to exploit new-
Oil Co. (ADNOC) used the occasion of last ly-discovered and difficult-to-access reserves
week’s ADIPEC event to make several significant in order to return the emirate to a position first
WHAT: announcements relating to the company’s of self-sufficiency and then of net exporter. The
ADNOC made several While the company has been at the forefront SPC had approved the policy a week earlier.
announcements during of the push to monetise assets throughout the ADNOC is targeting 10.3 bcm per year of
ADIPEC when the eyes of value chain, the latest announcements illustrate unconventional gas production by 2030 and
the energy world focus on that ADNOC keeps making progress despite CEO Sultan al-Jaber claimed to have received
Abu Dhabi. maintaining a broad focus. significant interest from other firms about tak-
The key declaration was that ADNOC and ing stakes in further unconventional oil and gas
WHY: partner French super-major Total had delivered concessions.
The company is first gas from the Ruwais Diyab unconventional
expanding its capabilities gas concession, 200km west of the capital. CCUS agreement
throughout the value In November 2018, Total signed an agree- The two companies signed a partnership deal
chain, though the most ment to acquire a 40% stake alongside ADNOC to “explore joint research, development and
notable update came in the newly-created Ruwais Diyab concession, deployment partnership opportunities in the
in terms of the delivery which covers around 6,000 square km in the areas of carbon dioxide (CO2) emission reduc-
of first gas from an western Al Dhafra region of the emirate, close to tions and carbon capture, utilisation and storage
unconventional project the state firm’s main existing onshore gas-pro- (CCUS)”.
with Total. cessing facilities. The deal was signed by Dr Sultan Ahmed Al
In a statement to press, ADNOC said that Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Tech-
WHAT NEXT: the delivery of gas “is an important step towards nology and Adnoc Group CEO, and Total CEO
ADNOC is now looking ADNOC’s target of producing 1bn cubic feet Patrick Pouyanné.
to become an industry (28mn cubic metres) of gas from the concession Al Jaber said that the deal “builds on our
leader in carbon capture, before 2030”. sustainability goal to decrease greenhouse gas
utilisation and storage In late 2019, Abu Dhabi’s Supreme Petro- (GHG) intensity by 25% by 2030”.
(CCUS). leum Council (SPC) announced the discovery The move comes as Gulf NOCs are taking a
of 160trn cubic feet (4.5trn cubic metres) of far greater interest in GHG emission reduction,
unconventional gas recoverable resources and hydrogen and the circular carbon economy.
ADNOC noted its efforts to “de-risk unconven- Enhanced oil recovery (EOR) is expected to
tional gas resources” across the emirate. be one of the core focuses of ADNOC’s CCUS
The concession – the first of its kind – encom- efforts.
passes a two-phase exploration and appraisal Meanwhile, the company has already estab-
period of six-seven years followed by a 40-year lished the Al Reyadah facility, the first commer-
development and production term should the cial-scale CCUS facility in the Middle East. This
reserves be deemed commercially viable. has capacity to capture 800,000 tonnes per year
Speaking in 2018, Total’s CEO Patrick Pouy- of CO2. ADNOC expects to increase this pro-
anne said: “The Diyab play has the potential to gramme “six-fold” by capturing CO2 from its
be a high-impact play ranking alongside the own gas plants, with the aim of reaching 5 mil-
most-prolific North American shale gas plays lion tonnes per year of CO2 by 2030.
and is an excellent addition to our exploration The move adheres to Abu Dhabi’s plans to
portfolio.” become a leaser in the nascent hydrogen sector
The delivery of gas comes almost two years to and follows the recent pilot project by Saudi Ara-
the day since ADNOC proclaimed its integrated mco and Japan’s IEEJ to generate blue hydrogen

P4 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 46 18•November•2020