Carbon Management Unit UAE

The UAE's efforts to rein in carbon emissions will receive a fillip with the construction of the country's first carbon capture and storage network, a senior official said in Abu Dhabi yesterday.

"The project in Abu Dhabi that aims to trap 5 million metric tons of carbon emissions annually from four facilities will start between 2012 and 2014," said Sam Nader, Director of Carbon Management Unit of Masdar, Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company.

He was speaking at the World Future Energy Summit in a session titled Carbon Capture and Storage — Industry in the Making.

"The project targeting steel industry will start functioning in 2012," said Nader, adding that the power stations, which contribute 70 per cent of emissions, will be part of the network from 2014.

The carbon capture is one of the most promising ways of reducing emissions by trapping carbon dioxide gases from the source and storing them underground.

The project is significant for the power sector since electricity demand in Abu Dhabi is expected to jump from the current 6,000 megawatts to 23,000 megawatts in 2020, Nader said.

The first construction contract will be awarded in the second half of this year, Nader said. The Abu Dhabi network will be part of a national network which will begin from Taweelah in eastern Abu Dhabi and spread to the western parts of the emirate, said Nader.

Carbondioxide will be captured from power stations in four places: Emirates Steel Industries, Emirates Aluminium, a hydrogen production project, and conventional power stations. It will then be transported to two oilfields and used to raise pressure inside the reservoirs for enhanced oil recovery.