Qatar will capture and sequester more than 5mn tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) a year by 2025, HE the Minister of State for Energy Affairs Saad Sherida al-Kaabi said on Tuesday.
Addressing the 40th Oil and Money Conference in London under the theme ‘Strategies for the Energy Transition', al-Kaabi said Qatar has successfully commissioned the largest carbon dioxide recovery and sequestration facility in the Middle East and North Africa region with a capacity of 2.1mn tonnes of carbon dioxide a year at Ras Laffan.
"With such new carbon capture and storage projects, Qatar’s LNG (liquefied natural gas) industry will be capturing and sequestering more than 5mn tonnes of carbon dioxide per annum by 2025," said HE al-Kaabi, who is also the president and chief executive of Qatar Petroleum, the country’s hydrocarbons bellwether.
With respect to Greenhouse gas emissions, he said Qatar is investing hundreds of millions of dollars in its North Field LNG expansion project to apply technologies that will result in a 25% reduction in such emissions compared to similar facilities through substantial reduction of fuel gas consumption and capturing and re-injecting carbon dioxide extracted from the feed gas.
"We need to reach the right balance of reliable and secure sources of energy, which maintains our growth needs while at the same time alleviates our environmental concerns," said HE al-Kaabi.
The minister highlighted some of Qatar’s most strategic projects and investments as part of its efforts to address climate change concerns, including establishing Siraj Energy, a new company which is building the first IPP solar power plant in Qatar producing about 700-800 megawatts of power by 2021.
Other investments include the significant steps already taken towards the implementation of a long-term climate and environmental sustainability strategy for Qatar’s LNG industry.
"We believe that natural gas is the destination fuel in that energy transition...We are working with more countries across the globe to ensure the security of their energy supplies and the sustainability of their economic growth," he said, adding Doha is also dedicating greater efforts to produce the industry’s most environmentally sustainable LNG.
The 40th annual Oil and Money Conference is co-hosted by The New York Times and Energy Intelligence, and is attended by senior executives, policymakers, financiers, strategists and experts from the international oil and gas industry.
