The UAE is seeking a leading position in the field of blue hydrogen because it hopes to achieve self-sufficiency in natural gas and develop a growing market for low-carbon fuels. "Already in Adnoc, we produce about 300,000 tons of hydrogen per year." Dr. Sultan Al Jaber, managing director and group chief executive officer of Abu Dhabi National Petroleum Corporation, said at a Gastech industry event on Tuesday.

"By leveraging our existing natural gas infrastructure and commercial-scale CCUS carbon capture, utilization and storage] capabilities, the UAE can and will become a major player in the emerging blue hydrogen market." Carbon capture and storage refers to the production of blue hydrogen. The CO2 obtained and stored in the steam methane reforming of the colored hydrogen is used in other industrial processes, including in the oil and natural gas industry, where it is pumped into mature oil wells to increase crude oil production.

"As the world consolidates its recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic, LNG and the broader global natural gas market is tightening, and demand exceeds supply. In the long term, the outlook is also very strong, especially in the Asian market. Pushed forward." Dr. Al Jaber said. Energy consulting firm FGE estimates that the UAE is OPEC’s third largest producer, consuming approximately 7.4 billion cubic feet (cf) of natural gas per day, which is mainly used to meet electricity demand, and the total share of imported fuel is 30%.

UAE industrial upgrading

Abu Dhabi is prioritizing the development of unconventional reserves of natural gas, which were previously deemed not commercially viable to extract. The UAE accounts for approximately 4% of global oil production, most of which comes from oil fields owned and managed by Adnoc. The company announced new reserves of 7 billion barrels of oil, 58 trillion cubic feet of conventional natural gas and 160 tons of unconventional natural gas in 2019. Data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration shows that this has boosted the UAE’s ranking in terms of hydrocarbon reserves.

In 2020, the UAE also announced the discovery of 80 tons cf of shallow natural gas reserves in the area between Abu Dhabi and Dubai-the largest discovery in 15 years. "Today, natural gas provides nearly a quarter of the world's energy supply and will continue to play a key role in the global energy system." said Dr. Al Jaber, who is also the UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology.

"There is no other fuel source that can reliably provide base-load electricity for heating and cooling homes, boosting heavy industry and expanding the economy, while keeping emissions to a minimum." He commented as natural gas prices hit a record high last month. That’s 36%. As the northern hemisphere enters winter, natural gas is expected to continue to rise for the rest of 2021.

Colder than expected weather may push up heating demand and push up prices. The average price of natural gas on Tuesday was slightly less than $5 per million British thermal units. So far in 2021, natural gas prices have soared by nearly 96%, and economies continue to take into account the costs of industry, transportation, and heating caused by supply shortages.

"US$2-3 per mBtu of natural gas is unsustainable. I think we are accepting the reality that new investment needs to be there. We are talking about more than one trillion US dollars to meet the demand for the next few years." Suhail, UAE Minister of Energy and Infrastructure Al Mazrouei said.

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He added that a proper balance of natural gas prices should encourage more investment in the industry while offsetting pressure from developing economies.Editor/XuNing