Our Darcy members have been asking a lot about real possibilities to tackle climate change in the short-term future. Hydrogen production is under the radar of virtually every company; however, green hydrogen production costs will be competitive by 2050. Many of our members are concerned about what they can start doing in the present to help fight climate change while new technologies develop. In that sense, many companies are interested in renewable natural gas (RNG) and other carbon-negative solutions. Some other companies are interested in carbon capture systems (CCS) and direct air capture (DAC). This post addresses the latter: what are some of the majors doing? What can others do?

The game-changing point in history concerning the environment and climate change has been, without doubt, the Paris Agreement signed in December 2015. Since then, the 196 countries that adopted the international treaty have submitted their plans for climate action known as Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).

Society is also changing, with new generations being more aware of our planet's health and actively demanding changes in the way we produce almost everything. Young people, such as Greta Thunberg, lead the way towards a clean future and expect the majors to put up to it. In this sense, not only countries but also people and organizations have taken an active part in securing a future world without risking climate disaster.

To stay well below 2 °C above pre-industrial levels (close to 1.5 °C) we need to change the way we produce energy, products and handle their processes must change.

BACKGROUND ON CARBON LEVELS

Figure 1. Bloombergs Carbon Clock

Since the 1950s scientists have measure carbon levels in the atmosphere, and Bloomberg has compiled this information in the Bloomberg Carbon Clock. At the point of the publishment of this Article (Friday 7th May), CO2 reaches levels of more than 400 ppm in the atmosphere. At this rate, the planet could warm by a dangerous 3°C above pre-industrial levels by 2100.

A complex corner in the energy transition towards decarbonization lies in the fact that our organizations already exist and produce in a Business-as-Usual model. In the transition to a cleaner future, new industries must be more climate-friendly, and old too. Many organizations installed solar panels or wind turbines to produce their energy. Others decided to purchase clean energy or to use biofuels. There are many areas, nonetheless, where these solutions are not available or are not enough. In that sense, another good possibility many companies have envisioned is Carbon Capture or Directly Air Capture.

Following that line, and after several conversations with our Darcy Members, we will briefly discuss some of the most decisive CCS projects under development now and that you might want to follow if your company is currently pursuing CCS as a decarbonization solution.

CARBON CAPTURE SYSTEMS (CCS)

Longship / Langskip Project Norway

Figure 2. Longship Project

The Norwegian government proposed to lunch a national CCS project as an international climate tool. The project initially consists of 2 CCS industrial facilities (cement, Norcem, and waste-to-energy, Fortum) and one transportation and storage organization, Northern Lights. Northern Lights is a collaboration between Equinor, Shell, and Total that ships liquified CO2 from these industrial capture sites to an onshore terminal on the Norwegian west coast. From there, the liquefied CO2 will be transported by pipeline to an offshore storage location subsea in the North Sea for permanent storage called Aurora. The ambition is to expand its capacity by an additional 3.5 Mtpa to a total of 5 Mtpa, depending on market demand and offering flexibility to receive CO2 from European sources.

The total project costs are estimated at NOK 25.1 billion. These include both the investment and ten years of operation. The state’s part of these costs is NOK 16.8 billion.

Acorn Project, UK

Figure 3. Acorn Project

Located in Scotland, UK, the Acorn project combines CCS and H2 production and will be operating by the mid-2020s. The project consists of repurposing existing O&G pipelines to transport CO2 to an offshore storage location (in sandstone 2.5 km deep, 100 km offshore).

• Phase One of the project consists of establishing a CCS infrastructure to capture, transport, and store the CO2 emissions from the St. Fergus gas terminal (300 000 tons/year) towards the storage location.
• Phase Two consists of making the CCS facility a carbon capture hub for the UK and Europe with blue H2 production at St. Fergus Gas Terminal. The Hydrogen produced will be transported in pipelines through the UK. Initially with a 2% blend, then 20%, and finally 100% H2. In parallel, the UK is studying a feasibility study on hydrogen transportation and safety uses, the NIC H21 Project. Northern Gas Network is leading this project in conjunction with Cadent, SGN, and Wales & West Utilities.

Storegga, Shell, and Harbour Energy are equal partners in the Acorn project -declared to be PCI Project of Common Interest by the EU). In terms of storage opportunities, the Acorn Storage Site will be able to store 12 Mtpa CO2. This project will be funded by the EU, the UK, and its partners.

ExxonMobil: Carbon Capture around the World

According to ExxonMobil, CCS is one of the few proven technologies that could enable some heavy-emitting sectors to decarbonize, such as manufacturing and heavy industry. For this reason, they’ve been studying the concept of multi-user CCS zones in major industrial areas located near safe geologic storage sites. ExxonMobil is one of the leading companies in CCS, with 3 operating projects and 7 under evaluation. The 3 ongoing projects include:

• A partnership with Shell, Chevron, and others in the Gorgon liquified NG project in the western coast of Australia that can store 4 Mtpa CO2
• A partnership with Qatar Petroleum in the CCS facility situated at the Ras Laffan Industrial City. The facility can capture 2 Mtpa and 5 Mtpa by 2025
• The Le Barge Shute Creek facility in Wyoming with a capacity of 7 Mtpa CO2 from the La Barge field’s gas streams.

Figure 4. Carbon Capture Hub in Houston

One of the projects under evaluation is in the Gulf of Mexico and it would be the world's biggest CCS project. Exxon - along with other private and public partners - would build a facility to collect emissions from refineries, petrochemical plants, and other industrial facilities along the Houston Ship Channel. The project has the potential to capture and store 100 Mtpa CO2 by 2040. It would be a massive project, requiring the collective support of industry and government, with a combined estimated investment of $100 billion or more.

The just-mentioned projects show what the oil & gas majors have been and are doing in this area. It is clear that climate change has to be tackled from all angles. Below you will find an additional list of several other big interesting projects in the space:

• The Canadian fully-integrated CCS facility Quest. Quest was designed to capture, transport, and store more than a 1 Mtpa CO2 deep underground. Quest has so far captured and safely stored five million tons of CO2 at a lower cost than anticipated. Operated by Shell on behalf of the Athabasca Oil Sands Project, Quest was made possible through funding for CCS from the governments of Alberta and Canada, which provided C$745 million and C$120 million of funding, respectively.
• In the Netherlands, there are 3 ongoing projects: Porthos (CO2 Transport and Storage led by BP, Gasunie, the Port Authority, EBN, and Shell), Athos (CCUS operated by Gasunie, Port of Amsterdam, EBN, and TATA Steel), and Magnum (blue H2 led by Equinor, Vattenfall, Gasunie, and MHPS), with CO2 capture of 2.5 Mtpa, 7.5 Mtpa, and 4 Mtpa respectively.
• The Occidental’s Petroleum Century Plant, a NG treatment facility in Texas; that transports CO2 via pipeline for Enhanced Oil Recovery. It has a capacity of 8.4 Mtpa.
• Net Zero Teesside, a large (~ 1 GW) Gas Abated Power Plant in North East England integrated with a Large (~ 5 Mtpa) transportation & storage facilities offshore UK CS Southern North Sea. The project is under technical evaluation and business model options by BP, Eni, Repsol, Shell, Statoil, and Total.

The International Association of Oil & Gas Producers generated a list of Global CCUS Projects with detailed information on big projects around the world.

What are others doing? What is your company doing? Are you also analyzing CCUS options? If not, what is your company doing to lower emissions? What are your views on Direct Air Capture? We would love to hear your opinions on this topic!