Masdar is a word in Arabic that means “the source”— an epithet worthy of the exemplary initiative and vision demonstrated by the Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company, ADFEC, which seeks innovative methods of tapping into clean energy sources and ensure a more sustainable future for the UAE, as a major hydrocarbon-producing nation. In addition, the Masdar Initiative, as was well illustrated by last month’s World Future Energy Summit in Abu Dhabi, is seeking a solution to the most pressing issues facing mankind, such as climate change, energy security, and sustainable human development.

ADFEC, a company under the umbrella of the Government-owned Mubadala Development Company, is responsible for driving the Masdar Initiative and promoting the development of advanced energies and sustainability-related technologies. Partners in the initiative include several leading global companies endowed with the technical prowess to turn the Masdar vision into a reality. Among these companies is Shell, which embraces a common view and purpose with the government of Abu Dhabi to achieve sustainable development; Shell has already achieved significantglobalCO2 savings.

Shell has been present in Abu Dhabi for nearly 70 years, since January 1939, when it, and several other international oil companies signed the Emirate’s firstoil concession agreement. It remains active today as a shareholder in ADCO and GASCO. A month prior to the launching of Masdar in 2006, Shell signed a memorandum of understanding, establishing it as an anchor tenant and demonstrating its commitment to the success of the initiative. To further buttress the relationship, Shell followed up with another MOU focusing on the development of projects geared towards the reduction of greenhouse gases, and monetising the resulting Credit Reduction Emission (CER) under the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) of the Kyoto Protocol. With Shell’s technical expertise and global relations, it can provide Masdar with a gateway to the rest of the Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia, allowing them to develop CDM joint ventures focusing on energy and industry in these regions. This symbiotic relationship will help Masdar to establish itself in the fieldof renewable and clean energy development and CO2 management and, at the same time, will help to position Abu Dhabi as the region’s leader in carbon management and monetisation.

This alliance between Shell and Abu Dhabi will focus on the capturing and storage of CO2, as well as its compression, transportation, and supply for injection in hydrocarbon reservoirs. It will focus on all facets of developing and implementing a large-scale distribution network within the emirate of Abu Dhabi that can, perhaps, be later expanded to the rest of the UAE and neighbouring countries. Although work is still in the initial stages of study, it will prove to be of paramount importance to the growth of the industry in Abu Dhabi.

According to Waleed M. Abukishk, Shell’s Projects Manager for Masdar Partnership & Relationship, “Abu Dhabi is in need of a substitute solution other than gas to be injected into the reservoirs for enhanced oil recovery, and that solution could be CO2. Currently, the UAE is mitigating against the shortage of local gas supply by importing approximately 1 billion cubic feet a day of gas from Qatar through the Dolphin project. If they can substitute the injection of gas with CO2, it would be a win-win situation”.

Thus the studies now being undertaken by Shell and ADFEC will help provide Abu Dhabi with the opportunity to replace the gas currently being injected into oilfieldreservoirswithCO2. This, in turn, will help to close the gap between the supply and demand for gas in the emirate; contributing to economic development and further growth.

The Masdar initiative directly addresses the protection of our planet through the promotion of clean energy and industry, underpinned by technical innovation. Last month’s World Future Energy Summit, held under the patronage of HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, and bringing together thousands of professionals from around the world, was evidence of Abu Dhabi’s commitment to sustainable energy, providing a forum for the world’s leading experts on the future of energy to be heard, and discuss issues and implications of climate change, as well as promoting investment opportunities on a global level. Shell was one of the leading sponsors of the summit, with its Executive Vice –President of Future Fuels and CO2, Graeme Sweeney, presenting a key-note speech on future energy policy and strategy.

Masdar will help to change the face of the energy industry and to protect the world in which we live. It is a duty of Mankind, as the dominant species on the planet, to ensure the sustainability of our “source”. In that process, Masdar is set to play a leading role.