StatoilHydro’s plan for full-scale CCS at Mongstad

The Ministry of the Environment and the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy received today StatoilHydro’s Master Plan for full-scale carbon capture and storage (CCS) at Mongstad. The emission permit for the combined heat and power plant (CHP) at Mongstad is conditioned on that StatoilHydro presents a plan of this type. According to StatoilHydro, the plan confirms the feasibility of establishing full-scale carbon capture at Mongstad.

Carbon capture from power generation has not been accomplished in full scale previously. The implementation of full-scale CCS is both costly and technologically demanding. A considerable amount of planning and preparation is involved in the establishment of full-scale carbon capture at Mongstad.

- The plan is an important step towards a carbon capture facility at Mongstad. The work confirms that a full-scale plant is technologically feasible, but the plan is not sufficient for an accurate description of costs and technological solutions, says Minister of the Environment and International Development, Mr. Erik Solheim.

The emission permit to the combined heat and power plant at Mongstad was granted in 2006, at the same time as an implementation agreement of CCS at Mongstad was reached between the Norwegian State and StatoilHydro. The Master Plan studies carbon capture from the largest points of emission at Mongstad, the CHP, the cracker, and the reformer. As stated in the emission permit and the implementation agreement, the Norwegian State and StatoilHydro will negotiate a detailed agreement on full-scale carbon capture from the CHP.

Both the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the International Energy Agency (IEA) report on the potential of CCS technology for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The CCS project at Mongstad involves moving from a preliminary stage to the actual construction of facilities for carbon capture and storage.

Download the report on StatoilHydro’s web pages