CLIMATE CHANGE CARBON CAPTURE
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of CO2 at the EMSTEEL’s facility. Qatar is also applying CCS to capture and store 2.1 Mtpa of CO₂ at its Ras Laffan LNG Facility. In Saudi Arabia, the Uthmaniyah project, a CCS initiative that commenced operations in 2015, is capturing 0.8 Mtpa of CO2 at the Hawiyah Naturals Gas Liquids plant. The country is also taking important steps towards the development of the Al Jubail CCUS industrial Hub, the largest CCS hubs in the world and the first of its kind in the region, aiming to decarbonise industrial facilities, by capturing and storing 9 Mtpa by 2027, which is part of the kingdom’s overall target of 44 Mtpa by 2035. One of the significant barriers to CCS adoption has been cost. Are there innovative funding models or collaborations that could make it more feasible for industries to adopt CCS? Cost has traditionally been a significant barrier to the widespread adoption of clean technological solutions including CCS, but innovative funding models and collaborations are making it increasingly feasible for industries to deploy these technologies. CCS networks have emerged as the dominant model for deployment, as shared infrastructure for transport and storage helps improve project economics, reduce costs, and accelerate adoption. As of mid-2024, 222 dedicated transport and storage projects are in the global CCS pipeline, underscoring the growing prominence of the network model. In the Middle East, countries like Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Oman, and Bahrain are leading the way in evaluating and developing CCS hubs, which enable multiple industries to share the costs of infrastructure and benefit from economies of scale. Abu Dhabi has been at the forefront of CCS efforts in the UAE, leveraging its advanced industrial base and expertise in oil and gas to create a strong foundation for CCS deployment. ADNOC’s focus on low-carbon solutions, highlights the region’s commitment to making CCS economically viable through public-private partnerships. Additionally, regional initiatives in Saudi Arabia’s Jubail industrial CCS hub and Sharjah National Oil Company’s CCS hub showcase how governments
and industries are working together to create integrated CCS ecosystems. These hubs not only address cost barriers, but also position the region as a leader in CO2 sequestration and carbon trading. Government support through financial incentives, such as grants and tax credits, is also playing a crucial role. Public and private stakeholders are aligning to secure funding for large-scale projects. We are seeing the creation of innovative financial mechanisms and exploring new models like carbon capture as a service, carbon storage as a service and carbon contracts for difference. These measures ensure that CCS will become a commercially viable and competitive solution for decarbonization. How can CCS technologies be integrated with the growing renewable energy sector to create a more comprehensive strategy for emission reduction? To reach our shared climate goals and limit the negative effects of climate change, countries will need to design their own energy mix based on their needs and the availability of resources, working towards the deployment of renewables and other key climate mitigation options that can support their national decarbonisation strategies. There is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ solution to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and CCS is an important component of the climate mitigation toolkit we have at our disposal, needed to reach carbon neutrality by 2050. In addition to representing a crucial climate solution for energy-intensive industries, CCS can enable net-zero power generation, supporting decarbonization of power grids while maintaining their reliability and resilience. This ensures there are dispatchable sources in the power mix to complement the variable nature of renewables. Integrating CCS with renewable energy can create synergies, such as using renewable electricity to power CO2 capture processes or combining CCS with hydrogen production from renewable sources to produce low-carbon fuels. Together, these technologies can form a comprehensive and resilient strategy for achieving carbon neutrality by 2050.
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strategic alignment, robust policy support, and collective action, the Middle East is well-positioned to lead in CCS deployment..
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THE FUTURE OF ENERGY
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