We are seeing growing interests on the application of the CCS technologies to reduce carbon emissions around the world. CCS (Carbon Capture and Storage) is one of the ways to achieve net zero emissions.
Although CCS technologies have been around for many years, so far, there are only a few industrial plants that are equipped with CCS facilities. However, this is set to change as companies, especially oil and gas companies, begin to have serious interest in undertaking CCS and CCUS.
CCUS goes beyond CCS by utilizing the captured CO2 to achieve other purposes such as enhancing the recovery of hydrocarbon from the reservoirs.
Here are a few CCS and CCUS projects that are in the pipeline or being planned around the world.
JAPAN
Aiming at reducing the carbon emissions, Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) initiated the Tomakomai CCS Demonstration Project in 2012.
For this project, Japan CCS was commissioned to construct a CCS demonstration test plant in Tomakomai, Hokkaido, drill several injection wells, and construct a monitoring system to observe the behavior of CO2 and subsurface conditions after CO2 injection.
In April 2016, Japan CCS commenced injection of CO2 into a formation about 1,000 meters below the seabed. In November 2019, the CO2 injection reached the target of 300,000 tonnes.
Following the injection, the company started Monitoring work that includes confirming that there is no CO2 seepage through monitoring the behavior of the injected CO2, constant monitoring of micro-seismicity and natural earthquakes, and conducting marine environmental surveys.
MALAYSIA
Petronas Carigali took FID (final investment decision) to develop the 3.3-million tonne/year carbon capture and storage (CCS) project at 3.2 TCF Kasawari sour gas field in Block SK316 offshore Sarawak, Malaysia.
The project, about 200 km off Bintulu, will capture and process CO2 from the field for injection into a depleted gas field.
THE UK
Phillips 66 in the UK is developing what could become the first-ever industrial-scale carbon capture project executed within a refinery at its affiliate’s 221,000 b/d Humber plant, with front-end engineering and design work awarded to Worley Ltd. expected to be complete by the end-2023.
NEW ZEALAND
New Zealand Energy has requested that the New Zealand oil and gas regulator, New Zealand Petroleum and Minerals, amend petroleum mining licenses 38140 (Waihapa) and 38141 (Ngaere) to allow for carbon sequestration.
INDONESIA
ExxonMobil and Pertamina signed a Heads of Agreement to further progress their regional carbon capture and storage hub (CCS) for domestic and international CO2.
The agreement defines the next steps for the project offshore Java—where the companies estimate geologic storage potential of up to 3 billion metric tons—including concept-select, pre-front-end engineering design, and a subsurface work program.
PEMA (PT Pembangunan Aceh) recently formed a joint-venture company, PT Carbon Aceh, to repurpose the now-depleted giant Arun field gas reservoir offering open-access storage of CO2 in 2029.
BP Indonesia has opened a pre-qualification tender for the provision of onshore front-end engineering and design (FEED) services for a carbon capture and storage (CCS) project at its Tangguh liquefied natural gas (LNG) complex in Indonesia.
BP and its Tangguh LNG partners today confirmed that Indonesian oil and gas regulator SKK Migas has approved the plan of development (POD) for a key carbon capture utilization and storage (CCUS) project at the Tangguh LNG export complex.
BP said this CCUS project will make Tangguh one of the lowest greenhouse gasses (GHG) intensity LNG plants in the world.
The scope of the Tangguh CCUS project includes the utilization of the separated CO2. The CO2 separated from the incoming natural gas will be reinjected back to the Vorwata gas reservoir for sequestration and enhanced gas recovery. The total emissions reduction is up to 25 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent by 2035.
AUSTRALIA
British Petroleum has entered into a non-binding agreement with Santos that will lead to BP investing in Santos’ Moomba carbon capture and storage (CCS) project in South Australia.
The carbon dioxide that is separated from natural gas will be captured at the Moomba gas processing plant and reinjected into the geological formations of the Cooper Basin. This will aim to capture 1.7 million tonnes of carbon dioxide each year.
The Cooper Basin’s reinjection capacity has been assessed at up to 20 million tonnes of carbon dioxide per year, for 50 years. This has the potential to be a large-scale carbon sink for power generators and other industries in Australia.
SINGAPORE
Chevron through its Chevron New Energies International subsidiary, and Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) will explore the technical and commercial feasibility of transporting liquified CO2 from Singapore to permanent storage sites offshore Australia.
“Developing safe and reliable CO2 transportation services is a crucial step in developing large-scale Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS) solutions, said Mark Ross, president of Chevron Shipping Co.
THE US
BP and Linde recently announced plans to advance a major carbon capture and storage (CCS) project in Texas that will enable low-carbon hydrogen production at Linde’s existing facilities. The development will also support the storage of carbon dioxide (CO2) captured from other industrial facilities – paving the way for large-scale decarbonization of the Texas Gulf Coast industrial corridor.
Upon completion, the project will capture and store CO2 from Linde’s hydrogen production facilities in the greater Houston area – and potentially from its other Texas facilities – to produce low-carbon hydrogen for the region. The low-carbon hydrogen will be sold to customers along Linde’s hydrogen pipeline network under long-term contracts to enable the production of low-carbon chemicals and fuels.
This article is adapted by LDI Training from various sources.
