Wintershall Dea is working with the OTH Regensburg University of Applied Sciences in Germany to adapt existing natural gas pipelines in the southern North Sea for CO 2 transport.
Wintershall Dea is working with the OTH Regensburg University of Applied Sciences in Germany to adapt existing natural gas pipelines in the southern North Sea for CO2 transport.
Results obtained so far suggest that the offshore pipelines could be safely and efficiently repurposed for transport of liquid CO2. As the study progresses, technical feasibility will be tested and certification will take place.
There are more than 4800 km of pipelines in the southern North Sea, of which 1200 km are operated by Wintershall Noordzee, a 50:50 joint venture between Wintershall Dea and Gazprom. Parts of this network could be used for CO2 transport. Wintershall Noordzee also operates numerous depleted reservoirs. These are potentially suitable for storing CO2, which can play an important role in climate protection. The Dutch Continental Shelf offers enormous potential, said Wintershall: experts estimate that around 800 million tonnes of CO2 could be stored there – eight years of German industrial emissions, based on 2018 figures.
‘Our calculations already show that existing offshore pipelines could be well suited for transporting liquid CO2,’ said Klaus Langemann, senior vice-president of carbon management and hydrogen at Wintershall Dea. Together with industry and research partners, Wintershall Dea has developed innovative calculation models.
Companies with unavoidable process emissions – for example those from the steel, cement, or chemical industries – will soon be dependent on underground offshore storage sites for the capture and safe storage of their CO2 emissions (CCS – Carbon Capture and Storage). The CO2 produced during the production of ‘blue hydrogen’ from natural gas can also be safely stored in this way.
‘If existing natural gas pipelines can be used for this purpose, this not only improves the economics of CCS projects, but also contributes to the sustainability of many industrial sectors and their products,’ said Wintershall.
