meed-logo

line1 line2 line3
SIGN IN / REGISTER

Linde wins Hail and Ghasha project CO2 capture contract

30 October 2024

Register for MEED’s 14-day trial access 

Germany-headquartered Linde Engineering has announced winning a contract to provide carbon capture technology for Abu Dhabi National Oil Company’s (Adnoc) estimated $17bn Hail and Ghasha sour gas field development project.

The deal has been awarded to Linde as a sub-contract by NextChem, a subsidiary of Italy-based Maire, the main contractor performing engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) works on the $8.74bn onshore package of the Hail and Ghasha project.

In June, Maire appointed NextChem as the technology design integrator to develop the process design package (PDP) for the hydrogen and carbon dioxide (CO2) recovery unit of the Hail and Ghasha onshore package.

As part of its contract, Linde will provide its adsorption-based carbon capture technology Hisorp CC, plus the core units, to capture and purify CO2 for sequestration (CCS). The CO2 recovery facility will have a total capacity to capture and store 1.5 million tonnes a year of emissions from the Hail and Ghasha scheme.

Linde’s Hisorp CC is an electrically-driven technology that can power the carbon capture process with renewable energy. It combines pressure swing adsorption with cryogenic separation and compression to achieve CO2 capture rates of over 99%. The process does not require steam for regeneration, so it does not increase the carbon footprint.

Hail and Ghasha scheme

The Ghasha concession consists of the Hail and Ghasha fields, along with the Hair Dalma, Satah, Bu Haseer, Nasr, Sarb, Shuwaihat and Mubarraz fields.

Adnoc Group owns and operates the Ghasha concession, holding the majority 55% stake. The other stakeholders in the asset are Italian energy major Eni with a 25% stake, Thailand’s PTTEP Holding with 10% and Austria’s OMV and Russia’s Lukoil with 5% interests each.

Adnoc expects total gas production from the concession to ramp up to more than 1.5 billion cubic feet a day (cf/d) before the end of the decade. This target will mainly be achieved through the Hail and Ghasha sour gas development project.

In October last year, Adnoc and its partners awarded $16.94bn of EPC contracts for its Hail and Ghasha project – the biggest capital expenditure made by the Abu Dhabi energy company on a single project in its history.

While Adnoc awarded the onshore EPC package to Tecnimont, the offshore EPC package was awarded to a consortium of Abu Dhabi’s NMDC Energy and Italian contractor Saipem.

The $8.2bn contract relates to EPC work on offshore facilities, including facilities on artificial islands and subsea pipelines.

Prior to reaching the final investment decision on the Hail and Ghasha project last year, the Ghasha concession partners, led by Adnoc, awarded two EPC contracts worth $1.46bn in November 2021 to execute offshore and onshore EPC works on the Dalma gas development project.

ALSO READ: Tecnimont awards sub-contracts on Hail and Ghasha scheme

https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/12819918/main5129.jpg
Indrajit Sen

Register for MEED's guest program now to access this article.

Click here to register
Exclusive from Meed
Related Articles
  • Tabreed finishes the year on a high

    17 December 2025

     

    Tabreed is consolidating its position as a leading regional district cooling provider following a series of major transactions and new concessions that will reshape its portfolio in the UAE and beyond.

    In 2025, the company completed the AED3.87bn ($1bn) acquisition of PAL Cooling Holding (PCH) in consortium with CVC DIF, and finalised the long-term district cooling concession for Palm Jebel Ali in Dubai as part of a joint venture (JV) with Dubai Holding Investments.

    The PCH deal will eventually add about 600,000 refrigeration tons (RT) of capacity across eight long-term concessions in Abu Dhabi, raising Tabreed’s total connected capacity by 13% to 1.55 million RT. The AED1.5bn Palm Jebel Ali JV will ultimately deliver a further 250,000RT.

    Speaking to MEED, Tabreed CEO Khalid Al-Marzooqi outlined how the company is integrating the newly acquired brownfield assets, developing greenfield projects and advancing a new generation of sustainable cooling solutions, including geothermal energy for data centres.

    Tabreed’s recent milestones span both greenfield and brownfield investments, each requiring a different approach, says Al-Marzooqi. 

    Greenfield projects, such as Palm Jebel Ali, remain Tabreed’s preferred route for new capacity, he adds. “The beauty of a greenfield is that you can optimise it the way you want. You build it as you want.” 

    For new plants, Tabreed designs the civil structure to accommodate long-term capacity, while phasing in mechanical equipment in line with demand. By contrast, the acquisition of PCH is a large-scale brownfield integration, bringing in a portfolio of existing and future plants and networks, mainly on Abu Dhabi’s main island and Reem Island.

    The immediate focus is on integration and driving network synergies. “That’s the beauty of district cooling. If you achieve the synergies, the benefits literally double up and triple up as well,” Al-Marzooqi says.

    By interconnecting plants, Tabreed can avoid building for peak capacity at each individual site and instead leverage shared spare capacity across the network.

    Growth strategy

    Acquiring a competitor in Abu Dhabi is part of a strategy to sustain growth in a sector where many contracts follow build-own-operate-transfer or similarly time-bound models.

    Organic growth via new concessions and inorganic growth via acquisitions are both seen as key to maintaining and expanding the asset base.

    Tabreed’s portfolio remains weighted towards the UAE, with the home market accounting for the bulk of its business. 

    Beyond the UAE, Tabreed has built a regional presence, with a partially owned business in Saudi Arabia, where it sees significant growth potential as district cooling is integrated into gigaprojects and major urban developments; a wholly owned operation in Bahrain; and a majority stake in Tabreed Oman, a market that Al-Marzooqi says is expanding well.

    Despite the energy and lifecycle cost benefits of district cooling, Al-Marzooqi says tariff subsidies on conventional, building-level cooling are a barrier to adoption in parts of the UAE.

    “The killer for us is subsidy,” he says, explaining that artificially low tariffs for individual customers make it harder for district cooling to compete on price in Abu Dhabi compared to Dubai.

    He says that policy support and regulatory mandates are needed, particularly as existing buildings approach the end of life for their standalone cooling systems. At that point, compulsory connection to district cooling could lock in significant energy savings and emissions reductions at city scale.

    Raising Abu Dhabi’s district cooling penetration from about 15% towards Dubai’s estimated 30% remains a key concern and strategic objective.

    In Abu Dhabi, Tabreed has developed … the Middle East’s first geothermal-powered district cooling plant

    Geothermal breakthrough

    Alongside portfolio growth, Tabreed is investing in new technologies to decarbonise cooling, with a focus on large campuses, major developments and, increasingly, data centres.

    At Masdar City in Abu Dhabi, Tabreed has developed what Al-Marzooqi describes as the Middle East’s first geothermal-powered district cooling plant. 

    “We have started off by building the region’s first geothermal plant, to prove the concept of using geothermal energy to provide cooling,” he says. 

    The pilot plant is already achieving efficiency levels in the range of 0.5-0.6 kilowatts per ton (kW/ton) of cooling, better than Tabreed’s typical district cooling benchmark of about 0.85kW/ton. Conventional, standalone cooling systems generally consume about twice as much energy per ton.

    “This is proof that if you really want to pursue a sustainable cooling solution for data centres in this area, this is the one,” he says.

    Data centres are emerging as a priority growth segment for Tabreed. The facilities have high, continuous cooling loads and increasingly stringent decarbonisation requirements, making them a natural fit with both district cooling and geothermal systems.

    Al-Marzooqi says geothermal cooling is a “godsend solution” for data centres, combining 24/7 availability with the potential for near-zero operational emissions.

    For hyperscale and colocation data centre operators facing mounting pressure to reduce their carbon footprint, geothermal district cooling could offer a differentiated, long-term solution in the Gulf region, particularly where grid power is still largely fossil-fuel based.

    Tabreed’s technology agenda is not limited to low-carbon generation. The utility is in the second phase of connecting its plants to a centralised digital control centre, enabling remote operation and optimisation.

    The long-term goal is for the majority of plants to be unmanned, with operations centrally monitored and controlled. This integrated view of the network will enable the application of artificial intelligence and advanced analytics to fine-tune performance, optimise energy use and predict maintenance requirements. 

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/15266676/main.gif
    Colin Foreman
  • Dutco wins $190m Amali Island villas deal

    17 December 2025

    Dubai-based firm Dutco Construction has won a AED700m ($190m) contract to build 24 waterfront villas on Amali Island, part of The World Islands off the Dubai coast.

    The contract was awarded by the project developer, Amali Properties.

    Construction works are expected to begin shortly, with the project slated for completion by 2027.

    Dutco Construction is already undertaking the project’s marine works, while Dutch firm Van Oord is carrying out the dredging works.

    In a statement, Amali Properties said the marine works, along with infrastructure, deep services, and the utility hub and substation buildings, are more than 50% complete.

    Dubai’s heightened real estate activity aligns with UK analytics firm GlobalData’s forecast that the construction industry will register annual growth of 3.9% in 2025-27, supported by investment in infrastructure, renewable energy, oil and gas, housing, industrial and tourism projects.

     The residential construction sector is expected to record an annual average growth rate of 2.7% in 2025-28, supported by private investment in the residential housing sector, along with government initiatives to meet rising housing demand.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/15265355/main5009.jpg
    Yasir Iqbal
  • AD Ports to potentially operate Kuwait’s Shuaiba port

    16 December 2025

    Abu Dhabi Ports Group (AD Ports) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Kuwait Ports Authority (KPA) to explore developing and operating the container terminal at Kuwait’s Shuaiba port under a concession agreement.

    Established in the 1960s, Shuaiba is Kuwait’s oldest port. It covers 2.2 million square metres (sq m) and has 20 berths. According to KPA’s website, the container terminal has a storage area of 318,000 sq m.

    Located about 60km south of Kuwait City, the port handles commercial cargo, heavy equipment, raw materials and chemicals used across multiple industries.

    KPA said the MoU is a preliminary first step towards a concession contract, subject to completion of the required studies.

    Under the agreement, AD Ports will prepare the technical, environmental and financial studies needed for the project, including infrastructure requirements.

    For its part, KPA will designate the project site at Shuaiba port and collaborate with AD Ports to complete the required studies. It will also facilitate obtaining all necessary licences and approvals from the relevant Kuwaiti authorities.

    The proposed partnership is strategically significant for Abu Dhabi Ports Group, as it would extend its footprint in a major Gulf market and strengthen its regional network of ports and logistics assets.

    AD Ports’ presence at Shuaiba would position the group along key Gulf trade lanes and support its broader strategy of building end-to-end maritime and logistics corridors by linking port operations with shipping, industrial zones and supply chain services.

    READ THE DECEMBER 2025 MEED BUSINESS REVIEW – click here to view PDF

    Prospects widen as Middle East rail projects are delivered; India’s L&T storms up MEED’s EPC contractor ranking; Manama balances growth with fiscal challenges

    Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the December 2025 edition of MEED Business Review includes:

    > BAHRAIN MARKET FOCUS: Manama pursues reform amid strain
    To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here
    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/15254300/main4910.jpg
    Yasir Iqbal
  • DP World launches new UAE-Iraq sea route

    16 December 2025

    UAE-based port operator DP World has launched a new 36-hour maritime service linking Dubai’s Mina Rashid with Iraq’s Umm Qasr Port.

    The new service, called DP World Express, offers a faster option than overland trucking, with a capacity to carry up to 145 accompanied trailers per sailing.

    The service was inaugurated at Mina Rashid, and a dedicated RoRo vessel was assigned to the route.

    The vessel was recently upgraded at Drydocks World and is scheduled to begin operations in December 2025.

    DP World Express will transport non-containerised, full-trailer units with drivers on board, delivering a direct, secure, door-to-door solution between the UAE and Iraq. The service will also support onward movement to neighbouring countries, improving reliability while reducing cross-border delays and administrative complexity.

    The new route responds to demand for quicker, more controlled trailer movements by lowering handling needs and simplifying planning across key trading sectors.

    This corridor strengthens access to Iraq’s main commercial centres and enhances connectivity to Jordan and Syria via established inland routes, supporting regional trade growth. On the return leg, the vessel will carry Iraqi export cargo to the UAE, helping expand two-way trade and improving efficiency across regional supply chains.

    The service further develops DP World’s integrated logistics offering by expanding direct maritime connectivity for non-containerised cargo. It is also expected to support sustainability goals by reducing CO2 emissions compared with alternative transport and logistics options.

    The launch event was attended by senior officials from the UAE and Iraq, including Muzaffar Mustafa Al-Jubouri, Iraqi ambassador to the UAE, and Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, group chairman and CEO of DP World, among others.

    DP World is a global provider of end-to-end supply chain and logistics solutions, specialising in port operations, economic zones, maritime services and digital trade platforms. The company operates more than 60 marine and inland terminals in over 30 countries, handling around 88 million twenty-foot equivalent units of containerised cargo annually.

    READ THE DECEMBER 2025 MEED BUSINESS REVIEW – click here to view PDF

    Prospects widen as Middle East rail projects are delivered; India’s L&T storms up MEED’s EPC contractor ranking; Manama balances growth with fiscal challenges

    Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the December 2025 edition of MEED Business Review includes:

    > BAHRAIN MARKET FOCUS: Manama pursues reform amid strain
    To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here
    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/15251327/main.JPG
    Yasir Iqbal
  • Local firm wins key road intersection deal in Dubai

    16 December 2025

     

    Dubai-based firm DBB Contracting has won a contract from Dubai’s Roads & Transport Authority (RTA) for the development of the Sheikh Zayed Bin Hamdan Al-Nahyan Street intersection with Al-Awir Road and Al-Manama Street.

    The scope includes the construction of 2.3 kilometres (km) of bridges, lane expansion, and the provision of entrances and exits serving the surrounding areas.

    The project will increase the street’s capacity from 5,200 vehicles to 14,400 vehicles per hour in each direction.

    It will reduce travel time from 20 minutes to five minutes.

    The project will serve areas with a combined population of over 600,000 residents and visitors.

    The mobilisation works are ongoing. The project is slated for completion by 2028.

    Planning for growth

    In March 2021, the government launched the Dubai 2040 Urban Master Plan. Its launch referenced studies indicating that the emirate’s population will reach 5.8 million by 2040, up from 3.3 million in 2020. The daytime population is set to increase from 4.5 million in 2020 to 7.8 million in 2040.

    In December 2022, Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, approved the 20-Minute City Policy as part of the second phase of the Dubai 2040 Urban Master Plan. 

    In addition to the road projects, the RTA’s Dubai Metro Blue Line extension forms part of Dubai’s plans to improve residents’ quality of life by cutting journey times, as outlined in the policy.

    The policy aims to ensure that residents can meet 80% of their daily needs within a 20-minute walk or bike ride. This goal will be achieved by developing integrated service centres with all necessary facilities and by increasing population density around mass transit stations.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/15251261/main.jpg
    Yasir Iqbal