Press Release: Adnoc set to be second biggest expander of oil and gas extraction, while announcing investment in “decarbonisation projects”

In response to the United Arab Emirates national oil company Adnoc’s announcement that it will  increase investment in “decarbonisation projects” from $15bn to $23bn by 2030, Myriam Douo, Senior Campaigner with Oil Change International, said:

“Adnoc’s plan to increase investment in ‘decarbonisation projects’, particularly controversial ‘carbon capture’, raises serious concerns. Carbon capture has a 50 year history of failing to live up to promises, has major technical challenges and safety risks, and primarily serves to extract more oil and gas. The reality is that, in order to avoid catastrophic climate breakdown that would do irreparable harm to people and the planet, more than half of fossil fuels in existing fields and mines must stay in the ground. Scenarios from the IEA and IPCC prove that an immediate halt to investments in new coal, oil, and gas and phasing out fossil fuels must be central to any science-based strategy to avoid irreversible climate impacts.

“In defiance of the clear science and the recent decision at the United Nations Climate Change Conference to globally transition away from fossil fuels, Adnoc is set to be the second biggest expander of oil and gas extraction in the near term. Adnoc’s climate pledges are a joke while it continues to spend $150bn mainly to expand oil and gas production. New oil and gas extraction in Adnoc’s approval pipeline between 2023 and 2025 could lock in the equivalent to one year of fossil fuel CO2 emissions from all the countries in the European Union.”