Safe Pipeline Transmission of CO2

Together with major industry partners, Det Norske Veritas (DNV) is developing new guidelines for design and operation of onshore and offshore pipelines for the transmission of CO2.

The purpose of this article is to give a wider audience insight into the ongoing industrial collaboration on developing a new guideline for design and operation of onshore and offshore pipelines for transmission of CO2. The reason behind this initiative is given in the article. The guideline will give provisions for specific issues related to transmission of dense CO2, and these specific issues are also addressed.

Introduction

There is growing worldwide recognition that global warming is a likely result of excessive anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere. The need for a reduction of these emissions is driving the efforts of several industry players and research institutes in the direction of developing a wide energy portfolio of cleaner energy solutions.

Acknowledging the fact that fossil fuels are likely to remain one of the primary sources of energy for the future decades, solutions for carbon capture and storage (CCS) are becoming ever more relevant. Particularly in North America and Europe today, environmental consciousness has led to the development of several feasibility studies and demonstration plants for the capture, transmission, injection and storage of CO2.
A complete CCS cycle requires safe and cost-efficient solutions for transmission of the CO2 from the capturing facility to the location of permanent storage. For transmission of large quantities of CO2 over moderate distances, pipelines are considered the most cost-efficient solution. Onshore pipelines for transmission of CO2 have existed in North America for several decades, primarily for the purpose of enhanced oil recovery. Operational experience with offshore CO2 transmission pipelines is limited, however.
The current initiative originates from DNV’s long engagement in developing standards and guidelines for offshore pipelines and the identified need to develop more specific guidelines for safe and cost-efficient design and operation of CO2 pipelines. The new guideline will give “how to” answers and address the important issues related to both onshore and offshore CO2 pipelines.

Industry Joining Forces

Stakeholders now demand a robust, traceable and transparent approach that gives credibility to responsible management of risks and uncertainties of CO2 pipeline transmission. One barrier to effective large-scale deployment of CCS is the lack of recognized standards and guidelines.

DNV has, therefore, initiated a Joint Industry Project (JIP) with the objective of developing an industry guideline for transmission of CO2 in pipelines. The planned date of issuing the new guideline is by the end of July 2009. The industry partners are StatoilHydro, BP, Shell, Vattenfall, Dong Energy, Petrobras, Arcelormittal, Gassco, Gassnova SF – the Norwegian state enterprise for carbon capture and storage, and ILF Consulting Engineers. Government representatives from the Netherlands, Norway, and the UK are involved as observers. Sintef, Institute for Energy Technology (IFE) and Polytec will assist on the technical content.

The Starting Point