Adnoc and Australia’s Santos explore carbon management platform in decarbonisation push

Companies will collaborate on advancing critical carbon capture and storage technologies

An Adnoc LNG plant. The company is targeting a carbon capture capacity of 10 million tonnes a year by the end of the decade. Photo: Adnoc

Adnoc and Australian energy company Santos have signed an agreement to explore the development of a joint global carbon management platform that could support the decarbonisation efforts of their customers.

The companies will work together to advance critical carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies, while exploring the development of a carbon dioxide shipping and transportation infrastructure network, the Abu Dhabi-based energy company said on Tuesday.

“Through this partnership, Adnoc and Santos will work together, aiming to scale-up the carbon management technologies of the future while leveraging our combined expertise and experience in safely transporting, capturing and storing carbon,” said Musabbeh Al Kaabi, executive director, low carbon solutions and international growth at Adnoc.

“Adnoc continues to build on its pioneering role in safely capturing and permanently storing carbon dioxide as we accelerate toward net zero by 2045.”

Carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) involves the trapping of carbon dioxide emissions from industrial activities such as steel and cement production, as well as from fossil fuel combustion in power generation.

The captured carbon dioxide is transported either by ship or through pipelines and securely stored in underground geological formations.

Adnoc operates the Al Reyadah facility, which has the capacity to process 800,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide per year.

Last month, Adnoc Gas awarded a $615 million contract to oil services company Petrofac to build one of the largest carbon capture projects in the Mena region at the Habshan gas processing plant.

The Habshan project will be able to capture and permanently store up to 1.5 million tonnes a year of carbon dioxide within geological formations deep underground, the company said at the time.

“There is an enormous opportunity for traditional energy suppliers like Australia and the UAE to be at the forefront of helping regional decarbonisation through utilisation of our natural competitive advantages in carbon storage and energy supply chains,” said Alan Stuart-Grant, energy solutions executive vice president at Santos.

Adnoc has allocated $15 billion to invest in a range of projects up to 2030 to hasten its low-carbon growth strategy.

The company plans to reach a carbon capture capacity of 10 million tonnes per year by the end of the decade, which is equivalent to taking over 2 million internal combustion vehicles off the road.

Global CCUS uptake needs to expand 120 times from current levels by 2050, rising to at least 4.2 gigatonnes a year of carbon dioxide captured, for countries to achieve their net-zero commitments, according to McKinsey.