In focus: Carbon capture and storage as key element in achieving decarbonisation

In the latest edition of our In focus weekly feature, which is highlighting various energy transition elements, we’ll be looking at different ways through which the offshore energy & maritime sectors are working to reduce carbon emissions as part of global efforts to reach net-zero by 2050.

This week, the emphasis is on carbon capture and storage (CCS) with companies from the subsea, oil & gas, offshore wind, shipbuilding, and LNG sectors all moving forward with different projects whose end goal is reducing carbon emissions.

Carbon capture is a process where the key contributor to global warming, the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2), is captured in the power generation and industrial processes, preventing its release into the atmosphere. 

A Norwegian seismic services company TGS has made its foray into the carbon capture realm after entering into a collaboration with a carbon tech start-up Horisont Energi to jointly develop new CCS technologies.

The two companies will work together to identify and develop methods for the identification and classification of CO2 storage reservoirs, as well as 4D monitoring technology for the surveillance of CO2 injection, focusing on Horisont Energi’s acreage on the Norwegian continental shelf.

Bjørgulf Haukelidsæter Eidesen, Horisont Energi CEO, said: “Industrial decarbonization is central to reaching net-zero emissions targets and CCS will be a key component in achieving this”.

The pipeline of CCS project has been growing lately and two oil majors, ExxonMobil and Shell, are participating in one such project in the Netherlands. The project – named Porthos – aims to capture CO2 emitted by factories and refineries in the Port of Rotterdam area and store it in empty Dutch gas fields in the North Sea.

The two oil majors will be getting around $2.4 billion in subsidies from the Dutch government for this project, which is set to become operational in 2024.

It is expected to reduce emissions in the industrial cluster around the Port of Rotterdam by around 10 per cent and it will be able to store some 37 million tonnes of CO2 over 15 years.

It is also important to mention within this context that a UK gas company has revealed its plans to support research that will identify, examine, and test carbon storage sites and other low-carbon renewable options in the Southern North Sea as part of a push to help decarbonise the North Sea and progress the energy transition.

Options for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in oil & gas operations are being explored in Canada as the government has recently awarded funding to several projects that could help in this aspect, including a project using floating wind turbines to power oil & gas assets.

The project, being developed by floating wind technology developer Saitec and offshore oil & gas engineering company Waterford Energy Services, is aiming to bring forward a ‘plug-and-play’ renewable power option for mobile offshore drilling units (MODUs) and other offshore or nearshore installations.

Natural Resources Canada is funding the projects through the offshore RD&D component of its Emissions Reduction Fund.

Carbon capture utilisation and storage technology will play a significant role in reducing global emissions and many believe that reaching net-zero will be virtually impossible without it.

Patrick Janssens, ABS Vice President, Global Gas, said: “Carbon capture and storage has the potential to make a significant contribution to global emissions reduction strategies and safe and efficient transport of liquefied carbon is going to be key to realizing these goals”. 

This is why classification society ABS, South Korean shipbuilder Korea Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (KSOE), its subsidiary Hyundai Mipo Dockyard (HMD), and the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) Maritime Administrator have signed a joint development program to develop liquefied CO2 carrier designs.

HMD will develop a cargo containment system while KSOE will develop practical solutions for the management of liquid CO2 cargo on board by providing a CO2 cargo handling system. ABS and RMI will evaluate designs for approval and verification.

Reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the shipping & maritime sector calls for the use of alternative fuels. As a result, gas producers have begun to consider hydrogen as crucial fuel for sustainable global decarbonisation with blue ammonia also emerging as a prominent fuel to boost a low-carbon economy.

The Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) has recently revealed the potential and benefits of blue ammonia as a clean fuel of the future.

Even though LNG appears as one of the best options to achieve IMO’s goals at the moment, blue ammonia has also been identified as one of the key solutions in the shipping industry’s pathway toward IMO’s decarbonisation objectives in the maritime sector.

Ammonia is classified either as ‘blue’ when it is produced from natural gas feedstock and the released CO2 is captured by CCS/CCUS technologies, or it can be labelled as ‘green’ when it is derived from electrolysis hydrogen produced by renewable resources.

According to GECF, ammonia has the potential to play an important role in the transformation of the global energy system as a green and less-carbon intensive energy source to meet the world’s growing energy demand.

Meanwhile, in the UK, the government is planning to open the fourth round of the Contracts for Difference (CfD) scheme for renewable energy projects in December 2021.

The fourth CfD round aims to increase the capacity of renewable energy from the 5.8 GW achieved in the last round to 12 GW, with three pots established for different technologies to compete for 15-year contracts.

Pot 1 is reserved for established technologies such as onshore wind and solar PV, Pot 2 will include less-established technologies including tidal stream, floating offshore wind, and advanced conversion technologies, and Pot 3 is reserved only for offshore wind projects.