(Oxy, 3.Oct.2023) — Occidental (NYSE: OXY) announced that its subsidiary 1PointFive and ADNOC signed an agreement to commence a jointly funded preliminary engineering study for a 1 million tonne-per-year Direct Air Capture (DAC) facility in the United Arab Emirates. The Joint Study Agreement for the DAC facility, signed at the ADIPEC conference in Abu Dhabi, is the first project announced since the companies signed a memorandum of understanding on 1 August 2023, to jointly explore carbon capture, utilization and storage projects in the United States and the UAE.
The study will assess the feasibility of building the first megaton-scale DAC facility outside the United States, using the same carbon dioxide (CO2) extraction technology to be deployed in the plant 1PointFive is constructing in Ector County, Texas. The Texas facility, named Stratos, is designed to include DAC technology developed by Canada-based Carbon Engineering and is expected to capture up to 500,000 tonnes of CO2 from the atmosphere each year when fully operational.
1PointFive is marketing carbon dioxide removal (CDR) credits to assist hard-to-abate industries and other companies achieve their net-zero targets. 1PointFive announced a 10-year, 250,000 tonne-CDR credit agreement with Amazon in September and a three-year, 30,000 tonne-CDR credit agreement with All Nippon Airways in August. Both agreements call for sequestering DAC-captured CO2 in saline reservoirs not used for oil and gas production.
If the UAE project is approved, CO2 extracted at the DAC facility is expected to be connected to ADNOC’s CO2 infrastructure in Abu Dhabi for injection and permanent storage into saline reservoirs not used for oil and gas production. ADNOC is in the testing phase of the world’s first fully sequestered CO2 injection well in a carbonate saline aquifer in Abu Dhabi.
“This agreement demonstrates how Oxy and ADNOC are committed to advancing direct air capture technology in the UAE and underscores the necessary urgency needed to deliver global-scale climate solutions,” said Vicki Hollub, Occidental President and CEO. “We will continue leveraging our carbon management expertise to deliver value, engage committed partners and accelerate our ability to achieve our net-zero targets and help others meet theirs.”
Musabbeh Al Kaabi, Executive Director for Low Carbon Solutions and International Growth at ADNOC said: “Today’s announcement represents continued positive momentum in our partnership with Occidental to significantly scale up promising carbon management technologies. This joint investment in the proposed first megaton direct air capture facility in the region exemplifies ADNOC’s commitment to leverage partnerships and promising technology to accelerate our decarbonization journey on the way to net zero by 2045.”
In addition to the preliminary engineering study for a megaton-scale DAC in the UAE, the terms of the memorandum of understanding include:
- ADNOC may evaluate participation in DAC facilities and CO2 sequestration hubs under development in the United States by 1PointFive;
- Occidental and ADNOC may also evaluate jointly developing one or more UAE-located CO2 sequestration hubs; and
- The companies will also consider opportunities to incorporate innovative CO2-based technologies into the UAE, including technologies in which Occidental has made investments, such as emissions-free power and sustainable fuels.
The MOU was enabled by the UAE-U.S. Partnership for Accelerating Clean Energy (PACE), which was launched in November 2022 and is expected to mobilize $100bn in clean energy and carbon management projects, including CCS and DAC by 2035.
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