UAE takes strides in the switch to natural gas

"Natural gas will play a leading role as part of national energy strategies as governments look to reduce their carbon footprints and recover from the economic impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic," Majid Jafar,CEO of Crescent Petroleum and managing director of the board of Dana Gas, the region's oldest privately-owned upstream oil and gas company, told an audience of business leaders and policymakers at the Atlantic Council Global Energy Forum.

Jafar said, "Nations that have already switched away from coal to gas have been able to show a considerable drop in emissions, reducing CO2 emissions by upwards of 15 to 20 per cent in the transition. The UAE's wise Energy Strategy for 2050 has an almost equal balance between natural gas and renewable energy, with each planned to provide approximately 40 per cent of total energy needs each. The recent announcement of the Abu Dhabi Hydrogen Alliance is another important initiative in this field."