Another Oil Company Turning To Carbon Capture Projects

Oil and gas company Lime Petroleum has entered into an agreement with Nautilus Carbon Services to secure a storage site in the Norwegian Continental Shelf where CO2 can be injected and safely stored permanently.

This is just the first phase of a larger project in which Lime Petroleum – a 90 percent subsidiary of Rex International Holding – will be participating along with Nautilus Carbon Services, and other joint-industry project partners. This project is in line with the global goal to reach net-zero emissions by 2050.

Rex International said in a statement that Phase I of the project will include research and development work to outline and describe the methodology and possible locations for a CO2 storage site.

Upon completion, a decision will then be made to initiate Phase II, the goal of which is to secure the award of an exploitation license on the Norwegian Continental Shelf with an application to the authorities.

“With LPA’s acquisition of 33.84 percent interest in the producing Brage Field, it is timely and opportune that Lime Petroleum participates in such a project that will progress the company’s ESG objectives and help the company gain a foothold in the emerging CCS value chain,” Lars Hübert, Chief Executive Officer of Lime Petroleum, said.

The Net Zero 2050 roadmap describes how a rapid increase in CO2 capture requires the development of geological storage locations. The main assumption reaching the goals by 2050 is that 95 percent of the captured volume needs to be stored in such geological formations.

Technology progress is likely to reduce the cost of capturing CO2 in the near future from power generation – as well as blue hydrogen from natural gas, industrial processes, energy from waste, and possibly direct air capture (DAC).

All these industries generate CO2 volumes exceeding, by orders of magnitude, the Scope 1 emissions from the oil and gas industry.

According to the International Association of Oil & Gas Producers, there are currently 51 existing and operational Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS) facilities in Europe with a target of 50 MTons/year in 2030.

Ultra-high CO2 injection and storage rates are key to meeting the Net-Zero 2050 goals. According to the Net-Zero goals announced by the IEA this year, the global capture needs to be around 2 GTons/year in 2030, reaching nearly 6 GTons/year in 2040, and 7.6 GTons/year of total captured CO2 2050.

To contact the author, email bojan.lepic@rigzone.com