Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) has announced a significant milestone in its efforts to reduce carbon emissions.
The company’s onshore Shah Field has achieved an industry-leading carbon intensity of 0.1 kilograms of carbon dioxide equivalent per barrel of oil equivalent (kgCO2e/boe), setting a new benchmark among global oil fields.
Located 230 kilometres south of Abu Dhabi, the Shah oil field boasts a production capacity of approximately 70,000 barrels of crude oil per day, sufficient to fuel over one million cars in the UAE.
This remarkable achievement is the result of ADNOC’s strategic implementation of optimised field development, digitalisation, artificial intelligence (AI), and advanced technologies.
Musabbeh Al Kaabi, ADNOC Upstream CEO, emphasised the importance of technology in the company’s journey towards net zero: “By leveraging advanced solutions including AI, digitalisation, remote operations and predictive data analytics, we are optimising operational performance while significantly reducing emissions, reinforcing our position as provider of some of the world’s least carbon-intensive oil and gas.”
Key technologies deployed at the Shah field include:
- Liquid ejector technology: An advanced system designed to recover and reuse gas that would otherwise be wasted, saving power and reducing emissions.
- AI-enabled Centralised Predictive Analytics Diagnostics (CPAD) program: This system reduces maintenance and downtime while enhancing operational efficiency and safety.
The field’s low carbon intensity is further supported by ADNOC’s electrification of its onshore assets, which are powered by nuclear and solar energy sources.
In 2023, ADNOC achieved an upstream carbon intensity of approximately 7kgCO2e/boe, placing the company among the top tier of lowest-carbon-intensity oil and gas producers globally.
Additionally, the company reported a 6.2 million tonnes CO2e reduction in scope 1 and 2 emissions, with approximately 4.8 million tonnes attributed to the use of clean grid energy from solar and nuclear power.
This achievement at the Shah field underscores ADNOC‘s commitment to sustainability and innovation in the oil and gas industry, as the company continues to balance the need for reliable energy supply with the imperative to reduce carbon emissions.
