ADNOC to expand carbon dioxide capture to boost oil recovery

A decision on which plant to capture the CO₂ from first will be taken in 2019. The project will be engineered so as not to interrupt ongoing production from either facility.

The additional CO₂ capture will reduce ADNOC’s carbon footprint and liberate natural gas, previously used for oil field injection, for other more valuable purposes, while addressing growing global demand for oil by boosting recovery from its maturing reservoirs.

The announcement was made at the International Carbon Capture Utilisation and Storage (CCUS) Summit, in Edinburgh, Scotland, by Omar Suwaina Al Suwaidi, ADNOC Executive Office Director, who led ADNOC’s participation at the summit. The event was attended by global energy ministers, chief executives and senior leaders from international oil and gas companies, as well as the financial community. The discussion at the event is focused on accelerating investment in CCUS technology, which has the potential to significantly support global CO₂ emissions reduction, as well as unlock value across economies, including in the UAE.

The Shah plant – built and operated by a joint venture between ADNOC and Occidental Petroleum Corporation – is one of the world’s largest facilities processing ultra-sour gas. It processes about 1.3 billion ft³/d of sour gas and associated condensates, which contain over 20% hydrogen sulfide and 10% CO₂. By 2025, modifications to the facility would enable the gases to be captured as part of the sulfur recovery process and converted into pure CO₂ for enhanced oil recovery (EOR). Using advanced CCUS technology, more than 2.3 million tpy (120 million ft³/d) of CO₂ are planned to be captured and locked away underground.

Meanwhile, the Habshan and Bab complex could capture another 1.9 million tpy of CO₂ (100 million ft³/d). The complex can process up to 6.2 billion ft³/d of associated gas, making it the largest in the UAE and one of the biggest in the Gulf.

ADNOC has drawn up an ambitious plan to capture CO₂ from its own operations, using more cost-effective second- and third-generation carbon capture technologies to meet a six-fold increase in the utilisation of CO₂, for EOR. ADNOC plans to capture about 5 million tpy of CO₂ (250 million ft³/d) before 2030.

In the oil industry, CCUS technology works in three stages. CO₂ is first captured on site, then it is compressed and dehydrated. Finally, it is transported by pipeline for injection into oilfields, where it can be used to enhance oil recovery. Using primary and secondary (waterflood) recovery techniques, between 30 – 35% of oil is recovered on average. At ADNOC, the use of CO₂, to help maintain reservoir pressure could increase end-of-life recovery to up to 70%.

Read the article online at: https://www.hydrocarbonengineering.com/the-environment/29112018/adnoc-to-expand-carbon-dioxide-capture-to-boost-oil-recovery/