Gas platform inches step closer to its new lease on life as ‘one of a kind’ solar-wind powered facility for carbon storage in North Sea

A joint venture (JV), which is putting the puzzle pieces for the first large-scale Dutch carbon capture and storage (CCS) project together, has welcomed the progress made in the finalization of the design required to repurpose a former offshore gas platform into an unmanned installation equipped to run on solar and wind for permanent offshore carbon dioxide (CO2) storage in one of the depleted natural gas fields in the North Sea.

Once the JV, encompassing EBN, Gasunie, and the Port of Rotterdam Authority, made a final investment decision (FID) for the Port of Rotterdam CO2 transport hub and offshore storage (Porthos) project in October 2023, a wave of contracts hit the industry and the supply chain to bring the project to life and ensure the bailout of brand-new infrastructure and conversion of existing one to enable the transport of CO2 in the port of Rotterdam to depleted gas fields in the North Sea.

During the contract awarding spree, Allseas was tasked with constructing the subsea pipeline for the Porthos CO2 storage project, MAN Energy Solutions was tapped to deliver three integrally-geared compressor trains, and KCI was put in charge of engineering the modification of the TAQA-owned P18-A platform, transforming the facility into a platform for permanent offshore carbon dioxide (CO2) storage in one of the depleted natural gas fields in the North Sea.

While the work on various locations in connection to the 30-kilometer-long onshore collection pipeline through the Rotterdam port area was underway at the start of the month, the construction of the compressor station and the cooling water pump station on the Maasvlakte were also due to begin before the end of September.

The Porthos JV partners underline that three compressors will bring the CO2 to a maximum pressure of 130 bar, enabling it to be transported to the offshore platform. Located about 20 kilometers from the coast in the North Sea, the Porthos project’s P18-A platform is envisioned to be unmanned and equipped with solar panels and wind turbines based on KCI Engineers’ design.

Pares Ramman, Project Engineer at Porthos, commented: “For this part of the Porthos project, we have reached a new milestone: the 90% detailed design of the platform has been successfully assessed. This is the first platform in the Netherlands to be reused for permanent offshore CO2 storage under the Dutch seabed. This makes it one of a kind.”

Since the offshore pipeline construction and work on the platform are scheduled to kick off in 2025, Porthos is not expected to be put into operation before 2026. Upon completion of the platform revamp, the captured CO2 from the port of Rotterdam will be injected from the repurposed platform into a fully produced gas field.

Robert-Jan van Schaik, Head of Product Line Green Energy at KCI Engineers, underlined: “We are proud to be able to support TAQA and Porthos in the engineering of the P18-A platform. Porthos is a special project and this part is an excellent example of that. KCI Engineers is confidently looking forward to the further collaboration and the completion of the design.”

The current development plans indicate that this CCS project will store 2.5 million tons of CO2 annually in depleted natural gas reservoirs under the North Sea, enabling 37 million tons of CO2 to be permanently stored over a 15-year timeline. The project focuses on the transport and storage of CO₂ in TAQA’s empty gas fields: P18-2, P18-4, and P18-6. The European Union (EU) has recognized the ability of the project to assist Europe in slashing its carbon footprint, thus, the project got €102 million from the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF).

Furthermore, the developers are convinced the storage of CO2 can bridge the time the industry needs to switch from fossil raw materials to low-carbon or zero-carbon alternatives, thus, the new infrastructure is expected to enable Porthos customers  – Shell, ExxonMobil, Air Liquide, and Air Products – to supply CO2 to an open-access pipeline that runs through the Rotterdam port area.

Once the CO2 is transported via an offshore pipeline to an existing platform in the North Sea, it will be pumped into depleted gas fields in an enclosed space of porous sandstone more than 3 kilometers below the seabed. As a result, 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.

Since the projects in Rotterdam are interpreted as the first CCS chain that can grow into an international CCS network with the Delta Rhine Corridor and other connections, the development of Rotterdam as a CO2 hub is perceived to contribute to the European CCS policy as laid down in the Industrial Carbon Management Strategy (ICMS) and the Net Zero Industries Act (NZIA).