DUBAI: Masdar Carbon, one of the five integrated units of Masdar, and Abu Dhabi Gas Industries Ltd (GASCO), an Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) group company, announced in a press release on Monday the registration of their Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) project in Abu Dhabi under the United Nations' Kyoto Protocol. The registration means that Masdar and GASCO will be able to monetize Certified Emission Reductions (CERs) and generate revenues from this project as early as next year and throughout the next 10 years according to the project's crediting period. The retrofit project for saving fuel gas is expected to generate approximately 7,770 CERs per year. One CER equates to one ton of carbon dioxide equivalent. Located at the Asab and Bab gas processing plants in Abu Dhabi, the energy efficiency project has become the fifth CDM project in the UAE to be registered under the Kyoto Protocol. It is the first ADNOC Group Company registered project and the first project to adopt the CDM methodology “AMS II-D” of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in the oil and gas sector of the MENA region. The UNFCCC-approved “AMS II-D” methodology refers to a set of guidelines that a CDM project needs to comply with to ensure that energy efficiency and fuel switching measures are undertaken at industrial facilities. Badar al-Lamki, the Associate Director of Masdar Carbon, said in the company's release that “the GASCO CDM project helps to reduce CO2 emissions through installation of a device in the flare line to considerably reduce the consumption of fuel gas, thereby ensuring lower greenhouse gas emissions. The project contributes to Abu Dhabi's and ADNOC's goals for sustainable development while improving air quality in the region. “The Masdar Carbon team has developed significant expertise in this field, having registered four out of five projects in the UAE, and will now work through the remaining process in an effort to ensure credit issuance from the UNFCCC. CDM projects in general improve working conditions and allow for better occupational health and safety. We are confident that the utilization of such a clean technology will be replicated across the region and promote the development of additional CDM projects in the country,” he continued. Abdulla al-Minhali, the Senior Vice-President Technical Affairs at GASCO, said “the registration demonstrates the huge potential for CDM in Abu Dhabi and the UAE for small scale projects, especially in the fuel gas saving and the energy efficiency sectors. Abu Dhabi so far has registered five projects but the emirate's industry base and energy consumption rate offer many opportunities for CDM investors. “Moreover, with the expected growth in energy demand in the UAE, it is likely that more CDM projects will be implemented to shift the country's industries to using natural gas,” he added. Masdar Carbon and GASCO collaborated closely to retrofit the existing flare header with velocity seals to reduce fuel gas consumption without compromising the operation and safety of the plant, the press release said. As a result, the new velocity seals have been operating for over six months consuming less natural gas in the flare header and resulting in lower GHG emissions. BM
