The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) announced today an investment in UK-based carbon capture and storage project developer Storegga, acquiring a 10.1% stake in the company, and marking the energy giant’s first international equity investment in carbon management platforms.

According to ADNOC, the investment forms part of the company’s initiative, announced last year, to allocate $15 billion to low-carbon solutions and decarbonization technologies, which includes carbon capture and storage (CCS) as a target investment area, in addition to areas including clean power, electrification, and energy efficiency.

ADNOC said that it is targeting carbon capture capacity of 10 million tonnes annually (mtpa) by 2030. The company has announced projects taking its committed investment for carbon capture capacity to almost 4 mtpa.

Musabbeh Al Kaabi, ADNOC Executive Director for Low Carbon Solutions and International Growth, said:

“This strategic investment marks an important milestone in ADNOC’s decarbonization journey and highlights our commitment to work with partners across industries to deliver practical solutions to enable a net zero energy future. Carbon capture is an important tool to responsibly reduce carbon emissions and meet global climate goals and ADNOC will continue to scale-up this technology as we work towards net zero by 2045.”

Founded in 2020, London-based Storegga develops infrastructure across the carbon ecosystem, including carbon capture, transport and permanent deep geological storage, with a portfolio of CCS projects across the UK, U.S. and Norway. In 2020, the company acquired Pale Blue Dot, the lead developer of the Acorn CCS and the Acorn Hydrogen Project in North East Scotland, which is positioned to store up to 10 million tonnes of CO2 annually by 2030.

According to Storegga, the investment forms part of the company’s fourth funding round, which also includes participation from existing shareholders including GIC and Macquarie. Proceeds from the investment round will be used to deliver ongoing projects and business development activities, the company said.

Storegga CEO Nick Cooper said:

“Over the past three years we have transformed from a single-project developer in Scotland to an international force driving global decarbonization efforts. We are excited to now see ADNOC join our shareholder group. Storegga is fortunate to be backed by investors with the necessary vision and ambition for the rapid deployment of CCS and carbon removal technologies that are imperative for meeting the global net zero objectives.”