In Pictures: After oil, gas and renewables head GCC’s energy agenda

Natural gas, renewables and clean energy – these will be the dominant themes Gulf’s oil producers are working on and building new capacities. As with everything they did with fossil fuel, upstream and downstream, their new focus areas will have some massive operational scale.

The UAE reiterated those intentions, at the opening of the high-profile Gastech conference. The ADNOC Group CEO, Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jabar, elevated the role of natural gas as fueling the growth of UAE economy for the next 50 years.

“Gas will play a pivotal role in this blueprint for growth, as the essential fuel stock for our downstream hub in Ruwais and our industrial joint venture Ta’ziz,” said Dr. Al Jaber, who is the UAE Minister for Industry and Advanced Technology as well as Managing Director of ADNOC Group.

Earlier this year, the UAE announced its aim to become a major hydrogen producer and reduce carbon emissions by 24 per cent by 2030. Plans include investments in ‘green’ hydrogen, which is produced using renewable energy, alongside carbon-capture technologies to create what is known as ‘blue’ hydrogen.

The UAE’s objectives are to develop “green mobility”, through curbing emissions from industries that produce large amounts of carbon, as well as transportation and utility.

Why gas? With sustainable development the only way forward, investments in developing gas resources to full potential will be a cornerstone of UAE policy as are investments in solar.

In May, Abu Dhabi Ports announced that a private company will be spending more than $1 billion to build a solar-powered hydrogen and ammonia plant at the Khalifa Industrial Zone. Following Abu Dhabi, Dubai commissioned its first green hydrogen project at Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park. This is the first of its kind in the Middle East and North Africa to produce eco-friendly hydrogen using renewable energy as the source.

In fact, the GCC’s energy sectors are resonating with the shift to the ‘hydrogen project’. In Saudi Arabia, a green hydrogen venture will be ready by 2025 with a capacity of 650 tonnes and 1.2 million tonnes of green ammonia - one of the largest such in the world. In Kuwait, the National Petroleum Company has completed a hydrocracker unit at a cost of a whopping $16 billion that can produce 454,000 tonnes of clean fuel, while Oman Oil Company is implementing projects to produce 1.8 million tonnes of green hydrogen at a cost of $30 billion using solar and wind energy.

The billions of dollars will be well spent as the transition gathers pace for a cleaner, sustainable and renewable energy future.

As Dr. Al Jaber puts it, “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. 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.”