Mubadala Energy cuts CO2 by 41% in low carbon drive

WAM

• Decarbonisation strategy launched last year
• Overall energy intensity slashed by 20% over 2021-22
• Recent partnerships include Italy’s Eni

The oil and gas unit of Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund Mubadala Investment Company said it reduced its carbon emissions by 41 percent between 2021 and 2022, mainly by expanding its lower-carbon gas operations.

Mubadala Energy – previously known as Mubadala Petroleum – which had a portfolio that was almost two-thirds natural gas as of 2021, on Tuesday published its latest sustainability report. 

The company launched a strategy last year to expand its activities in the low-carbon energy sector, to support the UAE’s efforts to become net zero by 2050.

Among other initiatives, it is looking to form global partnerships to invest in renewables and carbon capture in the coming years. 

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In its report, Mubadala Energy said it cut Scope 1 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions intensity – which covers emissions from sources the company owns or controls directly – by 41 percent year on year by the end of 2022. 

It also reduced its overall energy intensity – that of their total production processes – by 20 percent over the same period.

Both achievements were attributed to a heightened focus on producing gas as a lower-carbon fuel source.

The company said it produced the equivalent of 500,000 barrels of oil per day in total, of which almost 70 percent was natural gas. 

Mubadala Energy has been gradually increasing its involvement in decarbonisation projects. In 2021 it struck a deal with Italy’s Eni to look at joint investments in areas such as hydrogen and carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) in the Middle East and beyond. 

In July this year, it signed an agreement with Indonesian firm Pertamina to explore CCUS initiatives there.

The companies may also look at potential joint investments in upstream oil and gas projects that use CCUS applications, they said at the time.  

Another initiative the company has undertaken since it launched its strategy was to plant mangrove trees in Al Zorah Natural Reserve in Ajman in 2022. The trees are expected to contribute towards the removal of 308,000 kilograms of carbon dioxide over their 25-year lifespan, the firm claims. 

Mansoor Mohamed Al Hamed, chief executive of Mubadala Energy, said in a statement this week that the company will aim to double down on efforts to further reduce greenhouse gas emissions from its operations. 

“2022 was the year we set the business on a path to play an even more proactive role in the energy transition. [This will be done] through our expanding gas portfolio, by exploring new energy sectors and driving decarbonisation across our portfolio,” he said. 

“We were also able to deliver on several significant milestones, including [producing the] first gas at our Pegaga gas field in Malaysia.”

Al Hamed added: “In the UAE’s Year of Sustainability, and with the UAE hosting the critical climate dialogues as part of Cop28 later this year, I am pleased we are making significant progress on key environmental benchmarks, including our emissions intensity position.”