Abu Dhabi National Oil Co., the UAE's biggest energy producer, is exploring opportunities to work with South Korea's GS Energy on blue hydrogen and carrier fuel export such as blue ammonia, the national oil producer said March 4.
"ADNOC's latest agreement with GS Energy reinforces this foundation in low-carbon energy and innovation, through its focus on blue hydrogen and its carrier fuels as promising areas for development within the fast-evolving global energy mix," it said in a statement.
GS Energy already operates in Abu Dhabi through its 3% stake in ADNOC Onshore and GS Caltex, its subsidiary, is a partner with ADNOC and the InterContinental Exchange in ICE Futures Abu Dhabi, a new exchange that will be launched on March 29. Eight other oil companies are also partners in IFAD, on which the Murban futures contract will be traded. Approximately 10% of South Korea's crude oil is currently imported from the UAE, according to ADNOC.
"As a stakeholder and a partner of the ADNOC upstream concessions, we are excited to strengthen this partnership by jointly seeking opportunities within the blue hydrogen ecosystem," said GS Energy CEO Yongsoo Huh in the statement.
Japan deal
Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry struck the first fuel ammonia cooperation deal with ADNOC in January as Tokyo intends to develop its supply chain of blue ammonia possibly in the Middle East by the late 2020s.
ADNOC, sovereign wealth fund Mubadala Investment Co., and investor ADQ have also formed an alliance to make Abu Dhabi a leader in producing low-carbon green and blue hydrogen , the companies said Jan. 17.
The three companies will create a roadmap for adoption of hydrogen in the country's utilities, mobility and industry with international partners.
ADNOC currently produces around 300,000 mt/year of hydrogen for its downstream operations, and plans to expand this to more than 500,000 mt/year.
Mubadala and Siemens Energy also said Jan. 17 that they have signed a memorandum of understanding to create a partnership to drive investment and development of projects to produce green hydrogen and synthetic fuel.
