Egypt Ministry of Petroleum and Italian energy company Eni announced plans to develop Egypt’s first carbon capture and storage project in the Meleiha field as the country is on a mission to green up its economy.
According to Tarek El Molla, Egypt’s Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, the project requires an investment of $25 million and will capture and store permanently between 25,000 and 30,000 tons of carbon dioxide annually. There is no information yet on when the project will be commenced.
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Egypt’s first carbon capture project will be implemented on a facility producing biofuel from algae. The annual production capacity is 350,000 tons and the investment totals $600 million. The initiative would contribute to the reduction of 1.2 million tons of carbon dioxide per year.
The minister also explained about two additional projects. The second one is for the production of biodegradable plastics with a capacity of 75,000 tons and an investment of $600 million. It aims to reduce 45,000 tons of CO2 per year.
And the third project focuses on converting plastic waste into oil that will be used as a raw material in polyethylene production. It will have an annual output of 30,000 tons for an investment of $50 million and the capacity to reduce CO2 emissions by 63,000 tons annually.
Those projects are unveiled as Egypt prepares to host the UN’s COP27 climate change conference and summit in Sharm El Sheikh in November 2022. The UAE will also host the COP28 summit in 2023.
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As carbon capture is recommended by climate organizations as a way of decarbonizing heavy emissions industries, Egypt is ramping up its capabilities to take part in the energy transition and remove carbon – a crucial step to achieving the Paris Agreement’s goal.
