(WO) - ADNOC and the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR) announced the signing of a strategic collaboration agreement (SCA) that sets out their intention to collaborate on the potential development of low carbon energy technologies. The SCA follows both ADNOC and SOCAR becoming founding signatories of the Oil and Gas Decarbonization Charter, signed at COP28, that sets shared targets to eliminate routine flaring and zero out methane emissions by 2030 and achieve net zero by 2050.

As part of the SCA, ADNOC and SOCAR will explore opportunities to work together to advance blue hydrogen, carbon management and geothermal technologies that can accelerate the decarbonization of energy systems in the UAE, Azerbaijan and other key markets and support their net zero ambitions.

ADNOC has initially allocated $15 billion to advance and accelerate lower-carbon solutions, new energies and decarbonization technologies as it reduces its carbon intensity by 25% by 2030 and works towards net zero by 2045. ADNOC is also targeting a carbon capture capacity of 10 MMtpa by 2030. On Dec. 4, ADNOC announced the successful start-up of geothermal district cooling in Masdar City, in the first project in the Gulf region to harness geothermal energy.

The SCA builds on the strategic bilateral energy cooperation between the UAE and Azerbaijan, including the 30% stake held by ADNOC in the Absheron gas and condensate field in the Azerbaijan sector of the Caspian Sea. It also builds on ADNOC’s shareholding in Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (Masdar). Recently, Masdar inaugurated the 230MW Garadagh Solar Park in Azerbaijan, which is the region’s largest operational solar park.

Afgan Isayev, SOCAR Vice President for Energy Transition, Environment and Decarbonization, said, “By formalizing our commitment through the signing of the Oil & Gas Decarbonization Charter at COP28, we affirm our proactive stance towards eliminating flaring, mitigating methane emissions and achieving net-zero emissions by 2050. This collaboration signifies our collective pursuit of a greener future, leveraging our combined expertise for sustainable energy practices. This partnership highlights our unwavering commitment to advancing the energy transition and reinforces the strong bilateral ties between SOCAR and ADNOC.”

Musabbeh Al Kaabi, ADNOC Executive Director, Low Carbon Solutions and International Growth, said, “This latest collaboration with SOCAR underscores the importance of our industry working together to advance low-carbon solutions and accelerate decarbonization. Through this agreement ADNOC and SOCAR will leverage our combined knowledge, experience and expertise to advance promising hydrogen, carbon management and geothermal technologies that could make a tangible difference as the world takes bold steps to decarbonize energy value chains.”