ID :
101103
Tue, 01/19/2010 - 14:56
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/101103
The shortlink copeid
UAE committed to clean energy: Al Hameli
Abu Dhabi, Jan 19, 2010 (WAM)- The UAE would pursue plans to reduce carbon emissions and said nuclear plans are essential for its growing energy needs, according to Minister of Energy Mohammed bin Dhaen Al Hameli.
Al-Hameli, at the World Future Summit which started yesterday in Abu Dhabi, said the UAE needs to develop other sources of energy to meet a rapid increase in its consumption because of high economic and population growth as well as a steady expansion in industry and other non-hydrocarbon sectors.
"Small as it is, the UAE will not shrink from this responsibility this summit will hear multiple examples of just how the UAE is carving out for itself a role as a future energy centre," the Minister told a ministerial meeting at the world future energy summit in Abu Dhabi yesterday.
"At meetings such these, people often come up to me to complain that the price of oil is too high prices are determined in international markets .this is not the venue to discuss the current state of the oil market but I would like to make on point: namely that oil is an inherently valuable resource and one that is increasingly expensive to produce." Hameli said the meeting of the Ministers is not the time or place to pass judgement on the Copenhagen summit. But he stressed that all countries need to take steps to reduce carbon emission.
"Likewise, alternative energy sources require intensive capital investments to develop and implement whatever the source, the era of cheap energy is over producers and consumers alike need to work together by pooling technology and capital to ensure that the world benefits from various energy options which guarantee stable supplies for future generations."
Hameli said the UAE and other Gulf nations, which are recording rapid population and economic growth rates, require high energy inputs for their industrial development, power generation and water desalination. "This has resulted in a high per capita carbon footprint the UAE recognizes this and is taking unparallel steps to reduce this footprint," he said.
"The UAE firmly believes that nuclear power represents an important clean energy source that should be developed along with other clean fuels."
Hameli referred to the Dh75-billion contracts awarded by the UAE last month to a consortium of four South Korean companies to build nuclear reactors, which he said would have an output capacity of 1,400 megawatt.
"Our aim is nuclear energy to provide eventually 25 per cent of the UAE's power requirements we believe that the best way of securing a sustainable economic future in a carbon constrained world is to develop a balanced portfolio of clean energy sources in which nuclear, renewable energy, oil and natural gas all have a role to play," he said.
"The UAE's oil industry, which is a significant source of carbon emissions, has for years been working towards reducing its carbon footprint." The Minister recalled in an initiative by the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), which he said was one of the first oil firms in the region to ban flaring of natural gas into the atmosphere more than 20 years ago.
He also referred to the recent joint venture between ADNOC and Masdar for the development of Carbon Capture. He said carbon capture and storage is not a "phantom but is an emerging technology that has tremendous potential, especially for oil and gas producing countries like ourselves." He said it could be used not only to prevent carbon emissions to the atmosphere but also to help produce additional volumes of hydrocarbons from under pressured fields by injecting the carbon in underground reservoirs.
"The UAE is a major international investor in energy companies throughout the world I am pleased to report that social responsibility is high on the agenda of all the companies in which are major shareholders," he said.
"But even as we discuss a future in which new energy sources complement existing ones, it is important to stress that oil and gas will remain an important part of the global energy mix for many decades to come the age of oil is not dead---our challenge is to utilise it in an efficient responsible manner friendly to the environment."
Al-Hameli, at the World Future Summit which started yesterday in Abu Dhabi, said the UAE needs to develop other sources of energy to meet a rapid increase in its consumption because of high economic and population growth as well as a steady expansion in industry and other non-hydrocarbon sectors.
"Small as it is, the UAE will not shrink from this responsibility this summit will hear multiple examples of just how the UAE is carving out for itself a role as a future energy centre," the Minister told a ministerial meeting at the world future energy summit in Abu Dhabi yesterday.
"At meetings such these, people often come up to me to complain that the price of oil is too high prices are determined in international markets .this is not the venue to discuss the current state of the oil market but I would like to make on point: namely that oil is an inherently valuable resource and one that is increasingly expensive to produce." Hameli said the meeting of the Ministers is not the time or place to pass judgement on the Copenhagen summit. But he stressed that all countries need to take steps to reduce carbon emission.
"Likewise, alternative energy sources require intensive capital investments to develop and implement whatever the source, the era of cheap energy is over producers and consumers alike need to work together by pooling technology and capital to ensure that the world benefits from various energy options which guarantee stable supplies for future generations."
Hameli said the UAE and other Gulf nations, which are recording rapid population and economic growth rates, require high energy inputs for their industrial development, power generation and water desalination. "This has resulted in a high per capita carbon footprint the UAE recognizes this and is taking unparallel steps to reduce this footprint," he said.
"The UAE firmly believes that nuclear power represents an important clean energy source that should be developed along with other clean fuels."
Hameli referred to the Dh75-billion contracts awarded by the UAE last month to a consortium of four South Korean companies to build nuclear reactors, which he said would have an output capacity of 1,400 megawatt.
"Our aim is nuclear energy to provide eventually 25 per cent of the UAE's power requirements we believe that the best way of securing a sustainable economic future in a carbon constrained world is to develop a balanced portfolio of clean energy sources in which nuclear, renewable energy, oil and natural gas all have a role to play," he said.
"The UAE's oil industry, which is a significant source of carbon emissions, has for years been working towards reducing its carbon footprint." The Minister recalled in an initiative by the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), which he said was one of the first oil firms in the region to ban flaring of natural gas into the atmosphere more than 20 years ago.
He also referred to the recent joint venture between ADNOC and Masdar for the development of Carbon Capture. He said carbon capture and storage is not a "phantom but is an emerging technology that has tremendous potential, especially for oil and gas producing countries like ourselves." He said it could be used not only to prevent carbon emissions to the atmosphere but also to help produce additional volumes of hydrocarbons from under pressured fields by injecting the carbon in underground reservoirs.
"The UAE is a major international investor in energy companies throughout the world I am pleased to report that social responsibility is high on the agenda of all the companies in which are major shareholders," he said.
"But even as we discuss a future in which new energy sources complement existing ones, it is important to stress that oil and gas will remain an important part of the global energy mix for many decades to come the age of oil is not dead---our challenge is to utilise it in an efficient responsible manner friendly to the environment."
