Day: March 21, 2022

ABU DHABI, Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) announced today that it has signed new memorandum of understanding (MoU) and joint study agreements (JSA) with counterparts in Germany in order to accelerate and deepen collaboration in clean hydrogen.

Today’s agreements were announced during the visit of Dr. Robert Habeck, German Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, to the UAE. They build upon the longstanding Emirati-German Energy Partnership as well as the Ministerial Emirati-German Hydrogen Task Force that was inaugurated in November 2021.

On this occasion, Dr. Sultan bin Ahmed Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and Managing Director and Group CEO of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), said, “The UAE and Germany have a deep, longstanding bilateral relationship and a growing partnership in clean energy, helping to enable and accelerate the global energy transition. At ADNOC, we have ambitious growth plans for clean hydrogen, a critical tool in efforts to decarbonise hard-to-abate sectors, which we are actively delivering on to meet demand in Asia, and through today’s partnerships, Europe as well. We remain committed to working with like-minded partners across the public and private sectors to implement tangible projects that will supply the world’s energy needs, while reducing carbon emissions and the carbon intensity of the energy that supports our everyday lives.”

ADNOC, an established hydrogen producer with plans to significantly grow its clean hydrogen production, continues to develop its footprint in the fast-growing clean hydrogen export markets of Asia, such as Japan and South Korea, where ADNOC and Fertiglobe, a strategic partnership between OCI and ADNOC that is listed on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX), have already sold multiple low-carbon ammonia pilot cargos for potential use in a wide range of industrial applications.

With its planned expansion in Europe, ADNOC is expected to further accelerate the delivery of the United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) Hydrogen Leadership Roadmap, which has identified Germany as a key export market with a target of providing up to 25 percent of the country’s imported clean hydrogen.

As part of its ambitious decarbonisation drive, the German government’s National Hydrogen Strategy expects clean hydrogen demand of up to 3 million tonnes per annum (Mtpa) by 2030, of which around 60 percent is expected to be imported. Demand may grow to over 11 Mtpa by 2050.

Meanwhile, Dr. Robert Habeck underlined the importance of the Emirati-German cooperation for advancing on climate action, saying, “The accelerated scale-up of hydrogen supply chains is key for our transition to sustainable energy and for achieving the decarbonisation goals in line with our commitments under the Paris Agreement. Today’s agreements signal a decisive milestone towards meeting our climate action ambitions.”

The following agreements were announced during the visit: Cooperation agreements and low-carbon demonstration cargos: Individual agreements with German companies Aurubis, RWE, GETEC and STEAG to explore opportunities for collaboration in low-carbon and renewable hydrogen derivatives, including the execution of the first low-carbon (blue) ammonia demonstration cargos, produced by Fertiglobe, from the UAE to Germany in 2022 for use in a variety of applications.

Fertiglobe is a key strategic partner for ADNOC in ammonia, and ADNOC will provide low-carbon ammonia to its partners in Germany that is produced by Fertiglobe at its Fertil plant in the Ruwais Industrial Complex in Abu Dhabi. The sales represent a further milestone in the planned scale-up of blue ammonia production capabilities in Abu Dhabi. In addition, ADNOC and its partners are investing in a new world-scale 1 million metric tonnes per annum blue ammonia project at TA’ZIZ in Ruwais, subject to regulatory approvals. ADNOC, with its partners, is also exploring various opportunities in green hydrogen.

Joint Study Agreement between ADNOC, Hydrogenious, JERA, Uniper: ADNOC entered into a JSA with Uniper and Hydrogenious of Germany and JERA to explore hydrogen transportation between UAE and Germany using Hydrogenious’ Liquid Organic Hydrogen Carrier (LOHC) technology. Under the agreement, the parties will explore the opportunity to scale up existing LOHC technology to help meet growing global demand for the transportation of hydrogen.

Memorandum of Understanding between ADNOC, HHLA and AD Ports Group: ADNOC entered into a MoU with HHLA, a Hamburg-based logistics and transportation company specialising in port throughput and container and transport logistics and AD Ports Group to work on realising Hamburg’s ambition to become a hydrogen import hub in Germany.

Source: Emirates News Agency

ABU DHABI, Mubadala Petroleum, the Abu Dhabi headquartered international energy company, has successfully commenced first gas production from the Pegaga gas field in Block SK 320, offshore Malaysia.

This milestone marks the safe and successful culmination of a challenging gas project, during a period in which Mubadala Petroleum navigated the challenges of the global pandemic. As a key strategic development for the local energy sector, Pegaga will be a key producing field supplying gas to PETRONAS LNG Complex, in Bintulu, Sarawak, Malaysia.

Mansoor Mohamed Al Hamed, CEO of Mubadala Petroleum, commented, “The Pegaga achievement is a landmark for Mubadala Petroleum. Having taken this project from discovery to development and now into production with the support of Malaysia Petroleum Management (MPM), PETRONAS, our partners and contractors, this demonstrates our deep capabilities, resilience and commitment as an energy provider. With our strategic focus on gas as a key bridge fuel in the energy transition, this achievement reflects our ambition for the future as a long-term investor and strategic energy partner.”

PETRONAS Senior Vice President of Malaysia Petroleum Management, Mohamed Firouz Asnan said, “On behalf of PETRONAS, I would like to congratulate Mubadala Petroleum and their partners on achieving this key milestone, as the Pegaga field is well positioned to significantly contribute towards sustaining Malaysia’s gas supply for many decades to come.”

“The project, which undertook its Final Investment Decision at the time when the oil market was still recovering in 2018, demonstrates the confidence of investors in Malaysia’s upstream industry. The country’s ecosystem also proved its resiliency with the successful design and fabrication of facilities completed during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic,” he added.

Mubadala Petroleum has been present in Malaysia since 2010 and is the Operator of Block SK 320 with a 55 percent interest. PETRONAS Carigali Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of PETRONAS holds 25 percent, with Sarawak Shell Berhad holding the remaining 20 percent interest.

The Pegaga gas field is located in the Central Luconia province, offshore Sarawak, Malaysia at about 108-meter water depth. The development concept comprises of an Integrated Central Processing Platform (ICPP) consisting of an 8-legged jacket. The facility is designed for gas throughput of 550 million standard cubic feet of gas per day plus condensate. The produced gas will be evacuated through a new 4 KM, 38-inch subsea pipeline tying into an existing offshore gas network and subsequently to the onshore PETRONAS LNG Complex in Bintulu.

At the height of the pandemic in Malaysia, the jacket and wellhead deck which were constructed in Lumut and Kuching fabrication yards, were installed in April 2020 followed by the Pegaga Development Drilling campaign. The ICPP float-over and installation was then safely completed in August 2021.

Source: Emirates News Agency

ABU DHABI, Water projects prominently figure in developmental initiatives of Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD). Estimated at AED2 billion, these initiatives collectively benefited 18 countries while also powering other sectors such as agriculture, industry and energy. The emphasis on water reflects ADFD’s commitment to the world to support efforts to achieve the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, especially SDG6 that seeks to ensure clean water and sanitation for all.

In a report published on World Water Day, which falls on March 22 each year, ADFD stated that the dams and water networks built with its financing in various countries have enabled their populations to obtain clean drinking water. ADFD has also helped reclaim vast arable land, improve crop quality and ensure food security in partner countries.

The theme of World Water Day this year is groundwater, which draws attention to the fact that more than 2 billion people in the world do not have safely managed drinking water services, and that solid measures need to be taken to address the global water crisis. Approximately 40% of the total amount of water used for irrigation is derived from groundwater aquifers.

Mohamed Saif Al Suwaidi, Director General of Abu Dhabi Fund for Development, said: “From the very beginning, ADFD has accorded great importance to the water and irrigation sector, owing to its significance in relation to the sixth Sustainable Development Goal, which is to ensure that everyone in the world has access to clean drinking water by 2030. The effect of the availability of water or the lack of it will reflect on many other sectors.”

He added “that the water, irrigation and agricultural projects financed by ADFD in developing countries have brought many economic and social benefits, including health benefits and self-sufficiency of food, not to mention that they created tens of thousands of work opportunities in beneficiary countries. “The ADFD-financed dams also generate about 9,000 megawatts of hydroelectricity,” H.E. Al Suwaidi said.

The following are the most prominent projects financed by ADFD in the water sector: Water system in Santa – Argentina As part of its efforts to create provisions for potable water for the populations of developing countries, ADFD has financed in 2019 an AED294 million water network project in the province of Santa Fe in Argentina. It satisfies the need of more than 300,000 people in 19 areas.

The Fund also financed the expansion of the main water treatment plant in Desvario Oregon, which is fed by the Corunda River. The project includes supply and extension of about 111km main water lines, and the establishment of 4 pumping stations in four different cities, in addition to the construction of 8 water tanks in various areas of Santa Fe.

Samandini Dam – Burkina Faso ADFD in 2019 contributed AED37 million towards the development of the Samandini Dam in Burkina Faso. The scope of the project comprised construction of a 2,900m-long and 23.9m-high dam with a storage capacity of one billion cubic metres, plus a 2.9MW power plant.

Works also included the establishment of irrigation systems to reclaim 1,500 hectares of agricultural land in the dam’s basin. The project has generated about 100,000 jobs and contributed to the efforts to achieved sustainable economic growth in Burkina Faso.

Rural water project in Zanzibar, Tanzania To ensure adequate water supply in Tanzania, ADFD financed in 1993 a rural water project in Zanzibar of AED 18 million. That has provided a reliable source of drinking water for seven villages on two islands. In addition, it has improved the standard of living and health conditions of the local population.

Serat Dam – Tunisia Abu Dhabi Fund for Development helped build a valley dam with a storage capacity of 21 million cubic metres, mainly to supply irrigation water to Ouled Ghanem and Mahjouba areas. The project boosted agricultural production within a sizeable geographical area with a large number of inhabitants. The project included the construction of the dam, and ensuring facilities for storage, pumping and transportation of water, in addition to the installation of hydromechanical equipment as well as irrigation and drainage systems.

Teesta Dam – Bangladesh ADFD provided an AED54 million concessionary loan for the construction of a dam on the Teesta River. The project involved building a 44-kilometre Dinajpur canal, its secondary and tertiary canals, a bridge over the Bogra canal, and its regulator and exit outlets, allowing for the irrigation of more than 48,000 hectares of land and benefitting over 68,000 people.

Source: Emirates News Agency

ABU DHABI, The Dubai Islamic Bank has donated AED3 million to the Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan Foundation, to support the national healthcare services provided by the foundation in 2022.

Mohammed Haji Al Khouri, Director-General of the Foundation, lauded the bank’s humanitarian activities and its pioneering social responsibility efforts, as well as its support and sponsorship for the foundation’s humanitarian programmes for the 15th consecutive year.

This support is being provided by the bank as part of the cooperation, coordination and social partnership between various national sectors, he added.

The Dubai Islamic Bank has been among the key supporters of the foundation’s initiatives since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020. It has donated AED1.2 million to support the national efforts to address the pandemic, including supporting the educational sector with 3,000 laptops, to enable students to take part in the online learning system.

Source: Emirates News Agency