DEPARTMENTS • ENVIRONMENT, SOCIAL AND GOVERNANCE
IADC North Sea Chapter
calls for balanced approach
to UK’s energy transition
The site of ADNOC’s fully sequestered CO 2 injection well in a carbonate saline
aquifer. The company says it expects to initially fully sequester at least 18,000
tons of CO 2 per year in Abu Dhabi’s onshore carbonate aquifers.

ADNOC begins work on injection well as part of fully
sequestered CO 2 injection project in carbonate rock
ADNOC has begun work on what the
company says will be the world’s first
fully sequestered CO 2 injection well in a
carbonate saline aquifer. The company
expects to begin injecting CO 2 in Q2 2023 .

“At Al Reyadah, ADNOC deployed the
region’s first carbon capture project at
scale, and we are taking another tangible
step to deliver on our $15 billion decar-
bonization action plan with the world’s
first fully sequestered CO 2 injection well,”
said Yaser Saeed Almazrouei, ADNOC
Upstream Executive Director.

Th e project follow s guidance from
ADNOC’s Board of Directors to accelerate
delivery of its low-carbon growth strat-
egy and for the allocation of $15 billion to
decarbonize ADNOC’s operations.

Once operational, the project will ini-
tially aim to fully sequester at least 18,000
tons of CO 2 per year via injection into Abu
Dhabi’s onshore carbonate aquifers .

The well location for CO 2 injection,
as well as targeted geological forma-
tions, were identified using the results of
ADNOC’s 3D seismic survey and the com-
pany’s subsurface modeling capacity.

ADNOC says it expects the project will
contribute to the production of lower-
carbon ammonia, a cost-competitive
hydrogen carrier that can be scaled up
quickly and has lower-carbon intensity
than other fuels. The project will also be
monitored and assessed using advanced
technology at ADNOC’s Thamama Digital
Centre of Excellence .

Denbury to develop CO 2 sequestration in Wyoming
Denbury finalized a n agreement for
the right to develop a CO 2 sequestration
site on nearly 15,000 acres in Campbell
County, Wyo ., directly underneath the
company’s Greencore CO 2 Pipeline.

Potential CO 2 sequestration capacity of
the site , named Corvus, is estimated at
40 million metric tons.

The company also announced goals
to execute additional CO 2 transporta-
tion and/or storage agreements from
8 both brownfield and greenfield projects
so that, by the end of 2023, Denbury’s
cumulative agreements will cover CO 2
emissions totaling 30 million metric
tons per year.

Denbury is working to further expand
its dedicated CO 2 storage portfolio with
the acquisition of additional sequestra-
tion sites; these will likely be located
near areas with high concentrations of
current and future CO 2 emissions.

The IADC North Sea Chapter issued a
statement in February urging the Scottish
and UK governments and all areas of the
oil and gas industry to cooperate to better
effect and ensure the sector takes a bal-
anced, long-term approach to the energy
transition. This comes in response to the
North Sea Transition Authority stating
that “a wave of new opportunities” for
the UK’s offshore supply chain will be
created by projects following a study it
conducted in conjunction with the Global
Underwater Hub .

While the IADC North Sea Chapter
back s the report’s general findings, with
oil and gas supporting 75% of the UK’s
energy requirements, it believes taking a
longer-term outlook is needed in order to
secure jobs across the industry, stabilize
the UK economy and ensure a safe transi-
tion to cleaner energy.

“The recently announced projects rep-
resent a fraction of what is truly needed
to meet growing UK energy demands,
as well as strengthen regional energy
security, but frustratingly only amounts
to minimal opportunities for drilling con-
tractors,” said Darren Sutherland, Chair of
the IADC North Sea Chapter.

He added: “The oil and gas industry
is aware of the environmental need to
change the way the sector operates.

However, it is a process that is likely to
take decades to achieve and will involve
all areas of industry, including drilling
contractors. The transition to cleaner
energy has to be done safely, sensibly
and securely in terms of the national
economy, national energy supply and pro-
tection of jobs across the UK.”
IADC Regional Director Stuart Clow
said, “The North Sea continues to be a
significant source of the UK’s energy sup-
ply, and drilling contractors are ready to
work with operators and governments to
ensure that supply is not interrupted. The
experience, knowledge and ingenuity of
workers from the far north of Scotland
to the south of England is driving the
energy transition in a similar way that
generations before them built the oil and
gas industry into the crucial economic
driver it has become.”
M A R C H/A P R I L 2023 • D R I L L I N G C O N T R AC T O R