The UAE is seeking a leadership position in blue hydrogen as it looks to achieve self-sufficiency in natural gas and tap the growing market for low-carbon fuel.
"Already at Adnoc, we produce about 300,000 tonnes of hydrogen a year," Dr Sultan Al Jaber, managing director and group chief executive of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company said at the Gastech industry event on Tuesday.
"By leveraging our existing gas infrastructure and commercial-scale CCUS [carbon capture utilisation and storage] capabilities, the UAE can and will become a major player in the emerging blue hydrogen market."
Carbon capture and sequestration refers to the procurement and storage of carbon dioxide from steam methane reformation that is used to produce blue hydrogen. The CO2 is used in other industrial processes, including in the oil and gas sector where it is pumped into mature oil wells to boost crude output.
"As the world consolidates its recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic, LNG [liqufied natural gas] and broader gas markets globally are tightening, with demand outpacing supply. Longer-term, the outlook is also robust, driven particularly by markets in Asia,” Dr Al Jaber said.
The UAE, Opec's third-largest producer, consumes around 7.4 billion cubic feet (bcf/d) of gas per day largely to meet power demand, with the total share of imported fuel at 30 per cent, energy consultancy FGE estimated.
Abu Dhabi is prioritising the development of gas from unconventional reserves, which are deposits that were earlier considered commercially unviable to exploit.
The UAE accounts for about 4 per cent of global oil production, with the bulk of the output from fields owned and managed by Adnoc.
The company announced the discovery of additional reserves of 7 billion "stock tank" barrels of oil, 58 trillion cf of conventional gas and 160tcf of unconventional gas in 2019.
This pushed the UAE up the rankings in terms of hydrocarbon reserves, data from the US Energy Information Administration showed.
Last year, the UAE also announced a discovery of 80tcf of shallow gas reserves in an area between Abu Dhabi and Dubai – the biggest discovery in 15 years.
"Today, gas provides almost one quarter of the world’s energy supply and will continue to play a critical role in the global energy system," said Dr Al Jaber, who is also the UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology.
"No other fuel source can reliably supply the baseload power to heat and cool homes, drive heavy industry and expand economies, all while keeping emissions at a minimum."
His comments come amid record prices for gas, which have increased by 36 per cent over the last month.
Gas is expected to continue to trade higher for the rest of the year as the Northern Hemisphere enters its winter.
Colder-than-expected weather could drive up requirements for heating and inflate prices.
The price of natural gas averaged just below $5 per million British thermal units on Tuesday. Gas prices have surged nearly 96 per cent year-to-date while economies continue to factor in costs for industry, transportation, and heating from the shortage in supply.
"Gas wasn't sustainable at $2-3 per mBtu and I think we're getting to the reality that new investments need to be there. We're talking about north of a trillion dollars to satisfy the requirements of the years to come," said Suhail Al Mazrouei, UAE minister for energy and infrastructure.
The right balance in gas prices should incentivise more investment to the sector while offsetting pressures on developing economies, he added.
U19 WORLD CUP, WEST INDIES
UAE group fixtures (all in St Kitts)
- Saturday 15 January: UAE beat Canada by 49 runs
- Thursday 20 January: v England
- Saturday 22 January: v Bangladesh
UAE squad:
Alishan Sharafu (captain), Shival Bawa, Jash Giyanani, Sailles
Jaishankar, Nilansh Keswani, Aayan Khan, Punya Mehra, Ali Naseer, Ronak Panoly,
Dhruv Parashar, Vinayak Raghavan, Soorya Sathish, Aryansh Sharma, Adithya
Shetty, Kai Smith
TRAP
Starring: Josh Hartnett, Saleka Shyamalan, Ariel Donaghue
Director: M Night Shyamalan
Rating: 3/5
How to turn your property into a holiday home
- Ensure decoration and styling – and portal photography – quality is high to achieve maximum rates.
- Research equivalent Airbnb homes in your location to ensure competitiveness.
- Post on all relevant platforms to reach the widest audience; whether you let personally or via an agency know your potential guest profile – aiming for the wrong demographic may leave your property empty.
- Factor in costs when working out if holiday letting is beneficial. The annual DCTM fee runs from Dh370 for a one-bedroom flat to Dh1,200. Tourism tax is Dh10-15 per bedroom, per night.
- Check your management company has a physical office, a valid DTCM licence and is licencing your property and paying tourism taxes. For transparency, regularly view your booking calendar.
China and the UAE agree comprehensive strategic partnership
China and the UAE forged even closer links between the two countries during the landmark state visit after finalising a ten-point agreement on a range of issues, from international affairs to the economy and trade and renewable energy.
1. Politics: The two countries agreed to support each other on issues of security and to work together on regional and international challenges. The nations also confirmed that the number of high-level state visits between China and the UAE will increase.
2. Economy: The UAE offers its full support to China's Belt and Road Initiative, which will combine a land 'economic belt" and a "maritime silk road" that will link China with the Arabian Gulf as well as Southeast, South and Central China, North Africa and, eventually, Europe.
3. Business and innovation: The two nations are committed to exploring new partnerships in sectors such as Artificial Intelligence, energy, the aviation and transport industries and have vowed to build economic co-operation through the UAE-China Business Committee.
4. Education, science and technology: The Partnership Programme between Arab countries in Science and Technology will encourage young Emirati scientists to conduct research in China, while the nations will work together on the peaceful use of nuclear energy, renewable energy and space projects.
5. Renewable energy and water: The two countries will partner to develop renewable energy schemes and work to reduce climate change. The nations have also reiterated their support for the Abu Dhabi-based International Renewable Energy Agency.
6. Oil and gas: The UAE and China will work in partnership in the crude oil trade and the exploration and development of oil and natural gas resources.
7. Military and law enforcement and security fields: Joint training will take place between the Chinese and UAE armed forces, while the two nations will step up efforts to combat terrorism and organised crime.
8. Culture and humanitarian issues: Joint cultural projects will be developed and partnerships will be cultivated on the preservation of heritage, contemporary art and tourism.
9. Movement between countries: China and the UAE made clear their intent to encourage travel between the countries through a wide-ranging visa waiver agreement.
10. Implementing the strategic partnership: The Intergovernmental Co-operation Committee, established last year, will be used to ensure the objectives of the partnership are implemented.
88 Video's most popular rentals
Avengers 3: Infinity War: an American superhero film released in 2018 and based on the Marvel Comics story.
Sholay: a 1975 Indian action-adventure film. It follows the adventures of two criminals hired by police to catch a vagabond. The film was panned on release but is now considered a classic.
Lucifer: is a 2019 Malayalam-language action film. It dives into the gritty world of Kerala’s politics and has become one of the highest-grossing Malayalam films of all time.
Director: Laxman Utekar
Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna
Rating: 1/5
