Dutch firm wins platform modification work for large-scale CCS project

The Netherlands-based engineering services provider KCI the engineers (KCI) has been picked for the engineering of the modification of the TAQA-owned offshore platform, which will be used for the injection of CO2, as part of the first large-scale Dutch carbon capture and storage (CCS) project, known as Porthos (Port of Rotterdam CO2 Transport Hub and Offshore Storage) project.

After the final investment decision was reached in October 2023, Porthos announced it would award contracts required to realize the project. Allseas is in charge of constructing the subsea pipeline for the Porthos CO2 storage project while MAN Energy Solutions will deliver three integrally-geared compressor trains. In addition, KCI has now secured the engineering of the modification of the TAQA-owned P18-A platform, which allows it to be involved in the Porthos CCS project.
 
“We are pleased with the trust that TAQA and Porthos have in us to support them in this project and engineer the P18-A platform: the first platform used for storing CO2 offshore under the Dutch seabed. With this project we will contribute to the Dutch climate goals as part of the world’s energy transition. We are looking forward to a successful continuation of this innovative and groundbreaking project,” highlighted KCI.

The Porthos project is the first large-scale CO2 transport and storage system in the Netherlands, which was designed to transport CO2 captured from industry through the Port of Rotterdam to depleted gas fields in the North Sea, approximately 20 kilometers off the coast, where it will be permanently stored at a depth of more than 3 kilometers beneath the seabed. The project is expected to enable the Rotterdam port industry to emit about 10% less CO2 and contribute to CO2 reductions of around 17% for the industry in 2030.

Based on the current plans, the CCS project will store 2.5 million tons of CO2 annually in exhausted natural gas reservoirs under the North Sea. Over a 15-year timeline, a total of 37 million tons of CO2 is expected to be permanently stored. The construction work will start in Rotterdam in 2024, with the system expected to be operational by 2026. This project focuses on the transport and storage of CO₂ in TAQA’s empty gas fields: P18-2, P18-4, and P18-6.

Porthos, a joint venture of EBN, Gasunie, and the Port of Rotterdam Authority, which has been recognized by the EU as a project of common interest (PCI), will provide transport and storage services to several companies in the Port of Rotterdam, including Air Liquide, Air Products, ExxonMobil, and Shell, which will invest in their capture installations to supply the CO2.

Recently, Air Products disclosed plans to build, own, and operate a carbon capture and CO2 treatment facility at its existing hydrogen production plant in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Expected on stream in 2025, the carbon capture retrofit will capture CO2 from the firm’s existing hydrogen plant and ExxonMobil’s Rotterdam refinery.

While the plant will be connected to the Porthos system, the resulting blue hydrogen product is anticipated to serve ExxonMobil’s Rotterdam refinery and additional customers via Air Products’ hydrogen pipeline network system.