Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) has announced that its board has increased its budget allocation for investment in decarbonisation projects, technologies and lower-carbon solutions to $23bn.

The decision was taken at a meeting of the board of directors of Adnoc Group in Abu Dhabi on 22 January, which was chaired by Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, UAE President and Ruler of Abu Dhabi. Sheikh Mohamed is also chairman of Adnoc’s board.

Last January, the board of directors allocated $15bn to Adnoc’s decarbonisation budget.

“The increased allocation will include investments to grow the company’s domestic and international carbon management platforms, supporting the decarbonisation journeys of both Adnoc and its customers,” the Abu Dhabi energy giant said in a statement.

The company has set a goal of achieving a carbon capture and storage capacity of 10 million tonnes a year (t/y) by 2030. Adnoc Group has also set an overall target of attaining net-zero emissions by 2045 and reaching zero methane emissions by 2030.

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Adnoc also disclosed its 2022 emissions performance, “which confirmed its position in the top tier of lowest upstream carbon intensity oil and gas producers globally”, it said in the statement, without reporting its emissions data.

Separately, through its shareholding in Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (Masdar), Adnoc aims to support Masdar’s target of reaching 100GW by 2030. 

Adnoc‘s decarbonisation projects, which will enable it to meet its target of a 25 per cent reduction in carbon intensity by 2030, include using clean energy to meet 100 per cent of its onshore grid electricity needs. It has been striving to achieve this goal since the start of 2022 through a scheme known as Project Wave.

ALSO READ: Adnoc buys stake in British carbon capture firm

Through another estimated $3.8bn scheme, known as Project Lightning, Adnoc intends to connect its offshore operations to the grid that, upon completion, can reduce its offshore carbon footprint by up to 50 per cent.

In October, Adnoc Gas – a subsidiary of Adnoc Group – awarded UK-headquartered Petrofac the main contract for a project worth $615m to develop a large carbon capture facility at its Habshan gas processing complex in Abu Dhabi. The planned Habshan carbon capture, use and storage facility will have the capacity to capture and permanently store 1.5 million t/y of carbon dioxide within geological formations deep underground.

The project is expected to triple Adnoc’s carbon capture capacity to 2.3 million t/y, which is equivalent to removing over 500,000 gasoline-powered cars from the road every year.

Localisation investments

The board has also set Adnoc an objective of driving $48.5bn back into the UAE economy over the next five years, building on the $11.2bn that the company generated through its In-Country Value (ICV) localisation programme in 2023.

Adnoc also created 6,500 jobs for UAE nationals in the private sector in 2023 through the ICV programme, in partnership with the Emirati Talent Competitiveness Council (Nafis). These achievements bring the total value driven back into the UAE economy to $51bn, with 11,500 UAE nationals employed in the private sector since the ICV programme was launched in 2018, the company noted in its statement. 

“The board praised Adnoc for prioritising UAE talent development and upskilling its workforce in emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence and digitalisation.”

Moreover, the board “highlighted Adnoc’s focus on supporting the UAE’s Make it in the Emirates initiative by encouraging local manufacturing of critical industrial products in the company’s supply chain.”

Since 2022, Adnoc has signed local manufacturing agreements with UAE and international companies worth $16.9bn. The state enterprise is working to hit its target of locally manufacturing $19bn-worth of products in its procurement pipeline by 2027.

The board also commended Adnoc for its corporate social responsibility (CSR) programme, which has contributed more than $1.36bn to local communities since 2018. “The [CSR] programme has positively impacted 5 million people across the UAE with key investments in science, technology, engineering and mathematics; sports and wellbeing; culture and community; natural heritage; and local environmental projects.”

ALSO READ: UAE and Saudi Arabia lead oil industry decarbonisation charter

Photo credit: Emirates News Agency (Wam)

MEED’s November 2023 special report on the UAE includes: 

> COMMENT: UAE eyes global leadership role
> POLITICS: Abu Dhabi networks on the global stage
> ECONOMY: UAE economy maintains robust growth
> BANKING: UAE banks enjoy the good times
> UPSTREAM: Hail and Ghasha galvanises UAE upstream market
> DOWNSTREAM: Adnoc spurs downstream gas expansions
> POWER: UAE closes ranks ahead of Cop28
> WATER: UAE ramps up decarbonisation of water sector
> PROJECTS: Top 10 UAE clean energy projects
> CONSTRUCTION: UAE construction sector returns to form
> TRANSPORT: UAE aviation returns to growth