Korea and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have taken a step beyond their existing energy security cooperation such as liquefied natural gas (LNG) and crude oil and joined hands to produce clean hydrogen, a future resource, and enter the nuclear power market in third countries.
On the occasion of a summit between Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol and UAE President Muhammad bin Zayed Al Nahyan on May 29, the two countries agreed to strengthen all-round and future-oriented cooperation in the fields of industry, trade and energy.
In addition to the formal signing of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), the two governments signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on carbon capture and storage (CCS) cooperation, according to the Korean Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE). In the energy and industry sectors, a total of six business-to-business MOUs were also signed with the ENEC and Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) about cooperation in the joint development of nuclear power plants in third-world countries.
The UAE is the only Middle Eastern country to have a special strategic partnership with Korea. The trust between the two countries in the field of nuclear power is solid, especially after Korea’s export of the Barakah Nuclear Power Plant in 2009.
During the UAE President’s state visit to Korea, Korea and the UAE also agreed to continue to explore cooperation in the construction of more nuclear power plants, nuclear fuel supply chains and small modular reactors (SMRs).
In addition to officially signing the CEPA with Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, UAE minister of state for foreign trade, Ahn Duk-geun, Korean minister of trade, industry and energy signed an MOU on carbon capture and storage (CCS) cooperation with Sultan Al Jaber, UAE minister of industry and advanced technology. The CCS cooperation MOU is a step toward building a clean hydrogen supply chain and jointly responding to carbon reduction issues.
Korea imports LNG from the UAE, chemically transforms it to produce hydrogen, and captures carbon in the process to produce blue hydrogen, a type of clean hydrogen. The captured carbon is then transported back to the UAE to be stored in gas fields.
As the two countries are building clean hydrogen production infrastructure and CCS infrastructure, the CCS cooperation MOU was signed with cross-border moves of carbon dioxide between the two governments in mind.
This is the first bilateral MOU on CCS cooperation,” the MOTIE said, “It is expected to secure overseas storage of domestically captured carbon dioxide and contribute to the achievement of nationally determined contributions (NDCs).”
KEPCO, which is in charge of exporting Korea’s nuclear power plants to the Middle East, has formed a joint working group with the ENEC to explore the market for nuclear power plants in third countries. The joint working group will study emerging markets and come up with business proposals to boost order-taking competitiveness in the global nuclear power market and increase order-taking opportunities.
In addition, a consortium of Korea National Oil Corporation (KNOC), Samsung E&A, and GS Energy signed a strategic agreement with Abu Dhabi National Petroleum Corporation to jointly develop and produce clean hydrogen. The agreement materializes a blue ammonia project (harvest 2.0) in the Ruwais region of the UAE. The agreement includes joint development and investment in an entire value chain of hydrogen, including the production and introduction of blue ammonia in the UAE, investment in distribution infrastructure and CCS transportation.
Samsung Heavy Industries and Hanwha Ocean have signed letters of intent with Abu Dhabi National Oil Corporation to build LNG carriers. If finalized, the Korean shipbuilders will receive orders for six LNG carriers worth about US$1.5 billion. Hyosung and Abu Dhabi National Oil Corporation will seek joint investment opportunities in Asia in the petrochemicals and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) sectors based on a chemical plant in Vietnam.
Korea and the UAE will also expand joint crude oil stockpiles. Korea National Oil Corp. and Abu Dhabi National Oil Corporation will discuss expanding the size of their crude oil stockpiling project which currently stands at 4 million barrels. The two companies had previously signed a joint crude oil stockpiling agreement during President Yoon Suk-yeol’s visit to the UAE in January last year.
Under the agreement, Abu Dhabi National Oil Corporation will store crude oil at Korea National Oil Corp.’s idle storage facilities and sell it in Korea and abroad. But Korea will have the right to purchase the entire contracted volume ahead of others in case of an emergency in crude oil supply. On the occasion of the UAE President’s visit, Abu Dhabi National Petroleum Corporation requested to expand the current contracted volume. The two companies also agreed to continue discussions on oil exploration and development.
Source: Business Korea