Status of carbon capture and storage at Mongstad

Climate change is one of the world's major political challenges. Norway, a country that has grown rich from oil and gas production, has a special responsibility to contribute to emission reductions for limiting climate change. The Norwegian Government has set an explicit goal to become a leading country regarding environment protection.

-As much as 20-28 per cent of the world's CO2 emissions can be reduced by carbon capture and storage (CCS). This represents a major possibility, but is also technologically challenging. The Norwegian contribution to develop CCS technologies in connection with energy production is significant in the strive for reducing the greenhouse gas emissions, says Mrs. Åslaug Haga, Norwegian Minister of Petroleum and Energy.

The CO2 Test Centre Mongstad (TCM)
The partners Dong Energy, Shell, StatoilHydro, Vattenfall and Gassova have been working closely to ensure that a good implementation plan is developed for the period prior to the investment decision. This is a highly demanding project, and the partners have concluded that an investment decision based on the necessary preparatory work will take place in the fourth quarter of 2008, not in the first quarter as originally planned.

A thorough preparatory work is necessary for the test facility, in order to contributing to good test possibilities, results and experiences leading up to a full scale CO2 capture system. The planned start of the test facility is thus set to 2011, after the starting-up of the combined head and power station.

TCM plans to test two technologies - a carbonate technology and an amine technology - through the project.  The test facility will increase the knowledge and experience about effect, operation, cost and influence on the environment by different technologies.

Transport and storage of CO2 from the test facility
In accordance with agreement between StatoilHydro and the Norwegian State on CCS at Mongstad, the State is responsible for establishing a transport and storage solution for 100 000 tonnes of CO2 annually from the TCM.

A project managed by Gassnova has mapped different transport and storage solutions. Several alternative solutions have been evaluated, among others:

• temporary transport of CO2 to Snøhvit by ship
• speeding up the time schedule for full scale pipe transport
•  connect TCM to later full scale transport solution

The evaluation shows an estimated cost for the temporary ship transport solution of approximately NOK 3 billion over a period of five years.

Based on this and the thorough work put into the project, the Government has decided to finalize the project related to a temporary ship transport solution of CO2 from the TCM.

There has also been an evaluation of the possibility of speeding up the work with the full scale pipe transport for CO2 from Mongstad. This would be very challenging both regarding time and cost. The Government does not find this to be a responsible solution, and the cost and risk is too high.

To contribute to a neutralization of the CO2 emissions from Mongstad for a certain period of time, the Minister of Petroleum and Energy and the Minister of the Environment and International Development have decided that certified emission reductions (CER) for an annual emission of 100 000 tons CO2 will be purchased until the facility is tied into a full scale transport and storage solution. This will give an annual reduction in global emission equivalent to 100 000 tons CO2.

The Ministry of Petroleum and Energy will immediately start evaluating how CO2 from the test facility can be connected to a permanent CO2 transport system when such is established.