The agreement was signed during French President Emmanuel Macron's visit to the United Arab Emirates over the weekend.

Abu Dhabi’s media office confirmed the development in a social media post and said the two companies would “explore areas of mutual interest".

“The agreement covers CCS, low- carbon H2 and talent development,” it added.

The deal also aims to mutually explore opportunities in upstream oil and gas operations in Abu Dhabi.

Multiple agreements were signed between the UAE and French companies during Macron’s visit, encompassing the renewables, utilities, defence and nuclear sectors, local media reported.

TotalEnergies has a strong presence in Abu Dhabi and partners Adnoc on several oil and gas concessions in the emirate.

Carbon emissions deal

The two companies last year signed a deal to combine their technological know-how to drive down carbon emissions at oil and gas projects.

In 2020, they signed a framework agreement to jointly work on carbon dioxide emissions reduction and carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) projects.

The agreement signed last year aims to bring together low-carbon technologies from the two companies in line with Abu Dhabi's goal to reduce greenhouse gas intensity by 25% by 2030, Adnoc had said.

Adnoc has established the Al Reyadah facility, the first commercial-scale CCUS facility in the Middle East, with a current capacity to capture 800,000 tonnes per annum of CO2.

The company aims to expand the capacity of this programme six-fold by capturing CO2 from its own gas plants, with the aim of reaching 5 million tpa of CO2 by 2030.

Net zero goals

The UAE in October unveiled an ambitious target of achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.

UAE Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum earlier said the nation “is committed to seizing the opportunity” to cement its leadership on climate change within its region and “take this key economic opportunity to drive development, growth and new jobs".

Al Maktoum added that the UAE would invest almost $165 billion in clean energy by 2050 and would “play its global role in combating climate change".