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
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