ESCWA organized in collaboration with Masdar Institute of Science and Technology an expert group meeting (EGM) on “Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage (CCUS) in ESCWA Member States: Enhancing the Sustainability of the Energy System in a Carbon Constrained Development Context” on 6-7 November 2013 in Abu Dhabi, UAE. The meeting addressed the CCUS technology development in the region, CCUS in relation to enhanced oil recovery (EOR), and highlighted the issues and challenges facing an inceptive CCUS industry.

 

With the global rate of implementation of renewable energy, energy efficiency and energy conservation measures below the level of world energy demand increase, fossil fuels are seeing their shares in the global energy mix growing steadily. The resulting rise of anthropogenic atmospheric CO2 emissions is increasingly straining the climate system and inducing severe environmental occurrences.

 

CCUS is a viable tool for reducing atmospheric CO2 emissions from large point sources and will alleviate the transition to carbon-free energy alternatives. However, CCUS integration with new and existing power and industrial plants requires large capital investments and adds significantly to the operating costs of the integrated complexes (up to 75%). Furthermore CO2 has no or very little commercial value.

 

While CO2 raw material has applications in several industrial processes, one of the most important applications is in the oil and gas extraction industry where it is used for EOR in mature fields. Oil producing countries in the ESCWA Region are exhibiting increased interest in CCUS technology for EOR and climate change mitigation. Many of them are investing in CCUS technology transfer, CCUS programmes within established local academic institutions, as well as new CCUS research and development facilities, and are deploying pilot CCUS technology in large industries and power plants, using the captured CO2 for EOR.

 

The objective of the EGM was to contribute to the body of knowledge on CCUS options in the ESCWA  region. The meeting covered the following areas:

 

a)      Map/analyze current CCUS research and projects in the region;

b)      Identify/assess enabling conditions for a CCUS industry in the region;

c)      Review/discuss feasibility for CCUS deployment beyond EOR applications;

d)      Discuss the options for CCUS deployment and cross-border projects collaboration.