ENVIRONMENT, SOCIAL AND GOVERNANCE • DEPARTMENTS
Nabors affiliate to merge
with solar power company
Nabors Energy Transition Corp (NETC),
an affiliate of Nabors Industries, has
entered a business combination agree-
ment with Vast, a solar power company.
NETC is a special purpose acquisition
company that Nabors formed in 2021, and
Vast marks Nabors’ ninth and largest
energy transition investment to date.
Nabors also recently launched Energy
Without Compromise, the company’s
vision to guide its energy transition
efforts. The vision aims to unite Nabors’
sustainability efforts from both its core
business and its other energy initiatives.
Under the Accelerated Energy Decarbonization Scenario (AEDS), part of GECF
Global Gas Outlook 2050, natural gas-based blue hydrogen with CCS will ac-
count for 40% of total hydrogen output by 2050. That would require more than
930 billion cu m of natural gas.
GECF commentary: Natural gas-based blue hydrogen
with CCS will be a key player in the energy transition
The Gas Exporting Countries Forum
(GECF) recently issued a commentary
highlighting the critical role that blue
hydrogen can play in the energy transi-
tion. Compared with green hydrogen,
which is produced through the electroly-
sis of water using renewable power, blue
hydrogen is natural gas based. As such,
it is currently more cost-competitive
because it uses the existing natural gas
infrastructure and technologies for car-
bon capture and storage (CCS). While
cost depends on factors like location,
production method and scale of produc-
tion, each kilogram of blue hydrogen is
currently estimated to cost between $1.5
to $3, while green hydrogen is estimated
to cost up to $6/kg. However, as renew-
able energy sources become cheaper
and more widespread, the cost of green
hydrogen is expected to decline – by an
estimated 50% by 2030. The cost of blue
hydrogen is also expected to fall in the
next decade, as CCS technology improves
and becomes more widely adopted.
Under the GECF’s Accelerated Energy
Decarbonization Scenario (AEDS), it’s
expected that approximately 200 million
tonnes of hydrogen will be generated
using natural gas with CCS, accounting
for 40% of total output, by 2050. This level
of hydrogen production will require more
than 930 billion cu m of natural gas by
that year, according to the AEDS.
Cross-border CO 2 storage
being studied in Europe
CapeOmega and Neptune Energy
announced NoordKaap, a concept for
cross-border CO 2 storage for industri-
al emitters across Europe. NoordKaap
would involve transporting CO 2 via ves-
sels suitable for directly injecting the CO 2
at offshore locations and for terminal
offloading . The project will examine the
potential for a network-based approach to
carbon capture & storage (CCS) via marine
transport . The overall objective is to pro-
vide cost-effective, scalable infrastructure
solutions to facilitate large-scale, flexible
CO 2 transport and storage from multiple
industrial emitters clusters.
NoordKaap aims to offer CCS solutions
to industrial clusters where ship trans-
port is the primary or earliest available
export option. It would provide access to
CO 2 subsurface storage sites offshore the
Netherlands and Norway .
Report shows geothermal industry in Texas may be poised to make a breakthrough
Researchers at five universities –
UT Austin, Southern Methodist University,
Rice University, Texas A&M University
and the University of Houston – as well
as the University Lands Office and the
International Energy Agency have pub-
lished “The Future of Geothermal in
Texas: The Coming Century of Growth
& Prosperity in the Lone Star State.” The
report includes analyses of the location
and quality of Texas geothermal resources,
evaluations of technology developments,
the role that the oil and gas industry can
play , as well as environmental, regulatory,
economic and legal issues .
Researchers hope the report can provide
a scientific basis for informed decision
making among elected officials, regulators
and others . The map at right shows the
temperature of Texas geothermal resourc-
es at 6.5 km depth. M uch of the state is
believed to be at or near conventional
minimum viable temperatures for geother-
mal power generation.
Source: Adapted from SMU Geothermal
Laboratory D R I L L I N G C O N T R AC T O R • M A R C H/A P R I L 2023
9