Qatar Sets 7mn t/yr 2030 Carbon Capture Target

Qatar's state-owned QP has set itself a target of reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, including plans to capture and store more than 7mn t/yr of CO2 from its operations by 2030.

It said that the plans, part of a sustainability strategy, act "as a clear direction towards reducing the emissions intensity of Qatar's LNG facilities by 25pc and of its upstream facilities by at least 15pc and reducing flare intensity across upstream facilities by more than 75pc."

The strategy comes as Qatar works on the first phase of expanding its massive liquefaction capacity from 77mn t/yr to 110mn t/yr by 2025, by adding four production trains at the Ras Laffan terminal to export gas from its North Field expansion project. A second phase will expand capacity further, to 126mn t/yr by 2027. Energy minister Saad Sherida al-Kaabi said in October that extra capacity on top of that is a possibility.

QP recently awarded an initial engineering contract to US-based McDermott for five offshore wellhead platforms that will be used in the North Field South project. But, Qatar is yet to award contracts for the construction of the four new production trains at Ras Laffan, each capable of producing 8.25mn t/yr. Bids were submitted in September.

QP's sustainability strategy also sets out a target to eliminate routine flaring by 2030, and to limit methane emissions by setting a methane intensity target of 0.2pc across all facilities by 2025. It requires QP to add more than 4GW of power capacity from renewable sources that would eliminate more than 5mn t/yr of CO2 emissions.

Qatar publishes a sustainability report each year. QP's new strategy is the latest in a series from Mideast Gulf energy companies that aim to solidify their environmental credentials as 'carbon-efficient' producers, including from state-controlled Saudi Aramco and Abu Dhabi state-owned Adnoc.

Both plan crude capacity expansions to meet what they believe will be strong long-term demand — Abu Dhabi to 5mn b/d by 2030 from more than 4mn b/d now, and Aramco to 13mn b/d from 12mn b/d. Adnoc already captures 800,000 t/yr of CO2 from industrial sources, which it uses for enhanced oil recovery (EOR), and it plans to capture six times as much by 2030. Aramco captures around 800,000 t/yr of CO2 from the Hawiyah NGL recovery plant for injection into the Ghawar oil field. Both companies are also interested in exploring the production of blue hydrogen made using gas, and carbon capture technology.