Carbon capture projects to support Net-Zero strategy

MUSCAT: Investments in Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage (CCUS) initiatives can make a significant contribution to Oman’s goal to become Net Zero by 2050, according to a key official of the Ministry of Energy and Minerals.

Muhannad al Hinai, Director of Hydrogen Policies and Strategies, noted that CCUS can complement renewable energies, sustainable hydrogen, battery technologies and other decarbonisation solutions in supporting CO2 abatement efforts critical to the country’s climate mitigation targets.

CCUS encompasses a suite of technologies that support the capture of planet-warming CO2, generally from large point sources like power generation or industrial facilities that use either fossil fuels or biomass as fuel. The captured CO2 is compressed and transported to be used in a range of applications, or injected into deep geological formations such as depleted oil and gas reservoirs or saline aquifers.

Speaking at a recent forum on Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF), Al Hinai pointed out that CCUS projects can abate as much as 15 per cent of Oman’s total annual CO2 emissions. This compares with a potential contribution of 8 per cent from green hydrogen, 35 per cent from renewables and electrification, 20 per cent from battery technologies, 7 per cent from negative emissions-based solutions, and the rest from other decarbonisation solutions.

Oman’s greenhouse gas emissions are currently estimated at around 90 million tonnes of CO2-equivalent per annum. Of this total, industry, refining and petrochemicals together account for a 32 per cent share, followed by Oil & Gas upstream operations (20 per cent), power generation and buildings (19 per cent), transportation (18 per cent), and farming and waste sector (6 per cent).

“CCUS’s anticipated role is to tackle emissions from existing energy assets,” said Al Hinai. “That includes upstream operations, power and industrial plants, hard-to-abate sectors such as the cement, steel and heavy transportation. It could also be utilized to produce low carbon hydrogen, through steam and methane reforming processes of natural gas, alongside the removal of carbon from the atmosphere through DAC (direct air capture) processes, utilizing carbon in the fertilizer industries such as the production of urea or ammonia, enhanced oil recovery, and the creation of synthetic fuels.” Significantly, a “couple” of CCUS projects are currently under development in the Sultanate of Oman, according to the official. Notable is the ‘Blue Horizons’ project being development by Oman Shell in collaboration with Petroleum Development Oman (PDO).

Also being explored is the potential for storing CO2 in aquifers and depleted oil and gas fields. “We are working closely with some of the interested parties in Oman in developing solutions,” said Al Hinai, while also underlining opportunities for captured carbon to be utilized in different applications, including the production of synthetic fuels, such as Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF).

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