UAE's ADNOC eyes major project for air capture of carbon dioxide

Emirati oil company ADNOC said Tuesday it would partner with a US firm to study the feasibility of a major project to extract carbon dioxide from the air.

The "preliminary engineering study" by the state-owned firm and Occidental Petroleum is the product of a deal signed earlier this year to explore carbon capture and storage (CCS) and direct air capture (DAC) projects in the United Arab Emirates and the United States, a statement said.

The proposed project would capture one million tonnes of carbon dioxide per year and store it in "saline reservoirs not used for oil and gas production", the statement said.

That would make it "the first megaton-scale direct air capture (DAC) facility outside the United States," the statement said.

The UN's International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) considers capturing carbon dioxide directly from the atmosphere one of the methods necessary to combat global warming.

But the sector is still marginal -- there are just 27 existing carbon capture sites commissioned worldwide, according to the International Energy Agency, though at least 130 projects are under development.

ADNOC is trying to broadcast its commitment to fighting climate change ahead of COP28 talks set to kick off next month in Dubai.

The president-designate of the talks is ADNOC head Sultan Al Jaber.

In a separate announcement on Tuesday, the firm's gas subsidiary said it had awarded a $615 million contract for a project announced last month to build "carbon capture units, pipeline infrastructure and a network of wells for carbon dioxide injection".

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