Masdar, an Abu Dhabi government initiative, has selected Houston, Texas-based Mustang Engineering to provide front-end engineering and design (FEED) services for Masdar's Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) project in the UAE.

Masdar is owned by Mubadala Development Company, while Mustang is a subsidiary of international energy services company John Wood Group.

The project constitutes the first phase in a series of facilities capturing carbon dioxide emissions from Abu Dhabi's industrial and power generation plants.

The CO2 will be transported in a pipeline network and injected in Abu Dhabi's oil reservoirs for enhanced oil recovery. The objective of the CCS network is to reduce Abu Dhabi's carbon footprint and replace the vast amount of natural gas currently re-injected into oil reservoirs.

The first phase consists of five million tonnes of CO2 gas captured per year as of end 2013 from three emission sources: a gas-fired power plant, an aluminium smelter and a steel mill.

"This project marks a major milestone in our leadership's vision to provide clean energy, reduce carbon emissions and promote sustainable development," said Masdar CEO Dr Sultan Al Jaber.

"We selected Mustang Engineering because of their industry-leading position in CO2 recovery, conditioning and injection projects, as well as their expertise in energy production projects worldwide. This series of projects will reduce our carbon footprint, and position Masdar and Abu Dhabi as global leaders in clean power."

The FEED follows a successful eight-month feasibility study conducted by Masdar in 2007 to investigate CO2 emission sources in Abu Dhabi and evaluate the technical and economic feasibility of CO2 capture and transportation to oil reservoirs.

"Mustang is excited to be part of this strategic initiative with Masdar. This world-class CCS development greatly complements our extensive experience with CO2 related projects. We are committed to the support of sustainable development and look forward to seeing the impact this project will have on the environment of the region," said Steve Knowles, Mustang president.

J P Kenny, also a Wood Group company and operating from their Abu Dhabi office, will be responsible for FEED services for the CO2 pipeline network that will connect the capture sites in Abu Dhabi to the oilfield injection sites. This work is scheduled for completion in the 4th quarter 2009. -TradeArabia News Service