UAE oil giants are praised for nuclear and solar supply deals, but specific details are needed

Energy experts said that the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) plans to use solar and nuclear energy to power its operations starting next year. This is a “groundbreaking” initiative, but more information is needed to understand the true impact on emissions.

ADNOC exports more than 3 million barrels of oil a day, and it has signed a supply agreement with the Emirates Water and Electricity Corporation (EWEC) to use 100% of the grid’s electricity from nuclear and solar power from January 2022.

ADNOC Managing Director and Group CEO Sultan Al Jaber said: “This landmark clean energy cooperation with EWEC will make ADNOC the first large-scale oil and gas company to decarbonize electricity on a large scale.

Industry observers welcomed the plan, which will use the UAE’s nuclear And solar investment, although the details provided on how it works are limited.

“Several international oil companies have made net-zero commitments to operating emissions. This is very groundbreaking in terms of achieving zero-carbon power across the entire portfolio,” Robin Mills, CEO of Qamar Energy, a UAE energy consulting company Say.

“My estimate is that this can reduce about 7-9 metric tons (million tons) of carbon dioxide emissions per year. If applied to downstream industries, it may be even more,” Mills said.

The assessment was made at the time of the increase facing the big oil Investor pressure Its climate ambitions.

Companies including ADNOC and Saudi Arabia’s Aramco launched climate initiatives a few days in advance COP26, While investing in Increase oil production In the next few years.

Although the ADNOC-EWEC partnership is significant, it does not outline how the Clean Power Agreement will be implemented, nor does it provide specific insights on the expected emissions reductions.

“ADNOC hopes to publicize its progress in reducing emissions and decarbonizing its oil and gas business before COP26,” Ben Cahill, a senior researcher at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told CNBC.

“If ADNOC provided hard data, this announcement would be more meaningful,” Cahill added.

Cahill said that more information is needed to understand how its “Scope 1” and “Scope 2” emissions-two key categories of emissions generated by the company through its own operations and the broader value chain-may be affected.

“When they flesh out their sustainability plans, they will have to provide more data,” Cahill said.

The so-called “Scope 3” emissions are subject to Vague reporting standards In the entire industry, the most polluting industry so far is still the most challenging problem for the wider industry.

BP Announced plan By 2050 or earlier, it will achieve net zero of its business “on an absolute basis.” France’s TotalEnergies also aims to solve Scope 1 and 2 emissions by achieving net zero emissions globally by 2050. Saudi Arabia’s Aramco aims to achieve net zero carbon by 2050.

ADNOC has pledged to reduce the intensity of greenhouse gas emissions by 25% by 2030. The company stated that the carbon intensity of its flagship crude oil Murban is already less than half of the industry average, and that it is due to the agreement.

ADNOC’s Al Jaber added: “This also directly supports our goal of becoming one of the lowest carbon-intensive operators in the oil and gas industry, and emphasizes how hydrocarbons, clean energy and advanced energy can complement each other in the energy transition.” He also served as Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and Special Envoy for Climate Change in the UAE.

ADNOC’s decision to “decarbonize” its power grid also highlights the UAE’s commitment to becoming the first Eliminate carbon emissions by 2050.

“The world continues to need oil and gas, and bold initiatives like this are essential to decarbonize our industry,” the OPEC secretariat tweeted after the announcement.