News

It has been a pleasure to support the Global CCS Institute and to chart the Institute’s progress in the MENA region. The Institute is the leading global think tank with a mission to accelerate the deployment of CSS. Yesterday, the Institute launched the Global CCS Report 2024 with a webinar presented by the CEO - Jarad Daniels. The Head of the MENA Region is led by Mohammad Abu Zahra. The report stated there were 628 CCS projects globally in the pipeline with 416 Mtpa cumulative capture capacity.

The Middle East and Africa (MEA) region has three projects in operation and six in construction. CCS adoption in the region was initially driven by enhanced oil recovery but the urgent need to achieve climate commitments and carbon neutrality goals has since shifted the focus towards the decarbonisation of carbon-intensive energy and industrial sectors.

The MEA region is a promising hub for CCS technologies, with several operational projects demonstrating the region’s commitment to reducing GHG emissions. In particular, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar, demonstrated their net-zero and climate ambitions in several large-scale operational CCS projects.

In the UAE, ADNOC Group expanded its CCS portfolio by acquiring a 10% stake in Storegga, a UK-based CCS developer and a key player in the Acorn project in Scotland. This investment complements ADNOC’s existing CCS initiatives, such as the operation Al Reyadah project and the Habshan project.  ADNOC also significantly boosted its budget for decarbonisation projects to US$23 billion, aiming to expand both its domestic and international carbon management platforms.

Saudi Arabia has set an overall target of capturing and storing 44 Mtpa CO₂ by 2035 and a key part to this end is the Jubail hub which aims to capture and store 9 MtCO2 emissions per year by 2027. aramco signed partnership agreements with Siemens AG and Spiritus in the field of DAC. Aramco also signed agreements to demonstrate the technical feasibility and commercial viability of a synthetic e-fuel facility with ENOWA. Additionally, Saudi Arabia launched a carbon capture facility in Rabigh to capture CO₂ from a mono-ethylene glycol plant. The Kingdom is preparing for CCS-integrated power generation with projects amounting to 7,200 MW, emphasising carbon capture unit readiness. Aker Carbon Capture and Aramco signed an MoU to explore modular CCS solutions in Saudi Arabia.

HFI is keen to play its part in supporting its clients’ energy transition ventures in the Middle East with our HFI Net Zero Legal Solutions team, including international group structures, local partner ventures, technology licensing/local manufacturing ventures and acquisitions. Please contact Sally Reeves, HFI's Client Relations Manager, to arrange a call if we can be of support with any of your Middle East ventures.