Capturing Learnings from the Shell Peterhead Carbon Capture and Storage Project

Transcription

1 Capturing Learnings from the Shell Peterhead Carbon Capture and Storage Project Alissa Cotton Shell Research Ltd

2 Abstract Carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology deployment on natural gas-fired power generation and industry can support low-carbon energy production from natural gas, whilst helping maintain energy security and supply in a low-carbon future. The project aim was to capture and disseminate learnings from the Shell Peterhead Carbon Capture and Storage (PCCS) project front end engineering design (FEED) work. This first-of-a-kind work comprised design of CO 2 capture from the Peterhead gas-fired power station and subsequent pipeline transport of CO 2 to a subsurface storage site. Capturing learnings from commercial-scale CCS projects is imperative for design optimisation, technology development and in turn, cost reduction. Dissemination of such learnings therefore facilitates cost-competitiveness of CCS technology, and helps reduce societal costs for energy decarbonisation. I liaised with PCCS project team members through workshops and on individual bases to collate information from primary and secondary sources, from which I coordinated an overview of multiple learnings from technical and non-technical spectrums. This included CCS-specific topics, as well as learnings from stakeholder engagement, and development of regulatory frameworks. The learnings shared outline best practices that should be followed for follow-on projects, and also provided confidence to industry that construction and operation of the PCCS project was feasible. External sharing of learnings ensures they can be applied to design of future CCS projects to reduce costs, optimise technology, and help realise public and regulatory support, for what is considered an essential technology to help facilitate global net zero emissions from energy, and to ensure the role of the gas industry in a low-carbon future. II

3 List of Acronyms BOE - Barrels of Oil Equivalent CCGT - Combined Cycle Gas Turbine CCS - Carbon Capture and Storage CfD - Contract for Difference COMAH - Control of Major Accident Hazards CO 2 - Carbon Dioxide EAL - Environmental Assessment Levels ERM - Electricity Market Reform FEED - Front End Engineering Design FGD - Flue Gas Desulphurisation FOAK - First of a Kind GHG - Greenhouse Gas PCCS - Peterhead Carbon Capture and Storage SO 2 - Sulphur Dioxide TCM Technology Centre Mongstad III

4 Contents 1. Introduction Low Carbon Energy Production from Natural Gas with CCS Peterhead CCS Project Importance to Industry of Capturing Learnings Process of Capturing Learnings Personal Contribution Learnings Captured from the PCCS Project Technical Learning - Emissions to Air Technical Learning - Control of Major Accidents Hazards (COMAH) Regulations Commercial Learning Contract for Difference Stakeholder Engagement and Public Consultation Conclusions... 6 References... 7 Acknowledgements... 7 List of Figures Figure 1. Energy Demand Growth to 2050 (2)... 1 Figure 2. a) Low carbon power production from natural gas with CCS; b) Low carbon hydrogen production from steam methane reforming/auto thermal reforming, with CCS... 2 Figure 3. Peterhead Carbon Capture and Storage Project Location... 3 Figure 4. Capital cost of a new wet limestone FGD system for a standardised coal-fired power plant (500 MWe, 3.5% sulphur coal, 90% SO 2 removal) as a function of cumulative worldwide capacity of FGD installations, showing decrease in capital cost as a function of global capacity, analogous to CCS (3)... 4 Figure 5. Process of capturing lessons learned. Adapted from White and Cohan (4)... 5 IV

5 Energy demand outlook i(million boe/d) Capturing Learnings from the Shell Peterhead Carbon Capture and Storage Project 1. Introduction Carbon capture and storage (CCS) comprising CO 2 capture from an industrial point source, with subsequent compression, transport and permanent geological storage of the CO 2, has been identified as an essential technology for society to meet net zero global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the second half of this century (1). Energy demand is predicted to increase to the year 2050 and beyond, primarily due to a growing global population and a desired increase in living standards in which energy use is inherent. An energy mix comprising fossil fuels, including natural gas, along with renewable, biomass and nuclear energy sources will therefore be required to meet this increasing demand (2) (Figure 1), but decarbonisation will need to be inherent if society is to meet the aims of the Paris Agreement, including to limit the increase in global average temperature to well below 2 C above preindustrial levels (3). Figure 1. Energy Demand Growth to 2050 (2) CCS is recognised internationally as a climate mitigation technology, without which the cost of global energy decarbonisation would be more expensive. The IEA estimated that the cost of meeting a 50% global CO 2 reduction target by 2050 would increase by 40% without CCS (4). With specific regard to natural gas, energy production with CCS allows natural gas to remain in the energy mix as a low carbon energy source, contributing to global energy security and supply, whilst simultaneously minimising CO 2 emissions to atmosphere from natural gas use across the power and industrial sectors. 2. Low Carbon Energy Production from Natural Gas with CCS Low carbon energy from natural gas with CCS can be produced via two main processes: Low Carbon Power Production produced from natural gas-fired power generation with CCS facilities (as the Peterhead CCS project would have established) (Figure 2a); and, Low Carbon Hydrogen Production produced from steam methane reforming or auto thermal reforming of natural gas with CCS applied, to produce low carbon hydrogen. The hydrogen could subsequently be used across multiple industries in a polygenerational capacity, for example for low carbon heat, transport and chemicals production (Figure 2b). 1

6 a) b) Figure 2. a) Low carbon power production from natural gas with CCS; b) Low carbon hydrogen production from steam methane reforming/auto thermal reforming, with CCS. 3. Peterhead CCS Project The Peterhead CCS (PCCS) project would have been the world s first commercial-scale demonstration of post combustion CO 2 capture, transport and offshore geological storage from a gas-fired power station, with the aim to capture around one million tonnes of CO 2 per year, over a period of up to 15 years, from an existing 400 MW combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) located at SSE s Peterhead Power Station in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. SSE was to be responsible for the flue gas emissions from which CO 2 was to be captured, electricity generation provision, and supporting services, whilst Shell was to be responsible for CO 2 capture, compression, conditioning, transport and storage facilities. 2

7 The project completed front end engineering design (FEED) work in 2015, the same year in which the project was cancelled due to UK Government withdrawal of funding for the UK CCS Commercialisation Competition. The project was in a position to progress to the next stage of the development process, and from a technical stand point, construction and operation was deemed feasible. In terms of constructability and tendering, the project drew competitive bids, reflecting the comprehensive FEED work undertaken, and the evident technical viability of the project. Following the project cancellation, the need to capture lessons from both the FEED work and the project development in general, became imperative due to the impending demobilisation of the project team. The PCCS project comprised CO 2 capture from flue gas produced by one of the gas turbines at Peterhead Power Station, using amine-based technology provided by Shell Cansolv (a wholly-owned subsidiary of Shell). After capture the CO 2 would have been compressed, cooled and conditioned to meet transportation and storage specifications. The resulting dense-phase CO 2 stream would be transported via a new pipeline which would tie-in to an existing offshore pipeline, transporting the CO 2 more than 100km offshore of the east coast of Scotland before tie-in subsea to the existing Goldeneye platform (Figure 3). Once at the platform the CO 2 would be injected more than 2km under the sea bed of the North Sea, into the depleted Goldeneye gas reservoir for permanent geological storage. Figure 3. Peterhead Carbon Capture and Storage Project Location 4. Importance to Industry of Capturing Learnings Capturing learnings from first-of-a-kind (FOAK) projects is essential to identify opportunities for efficiency enhancements, technology development, and optimal project team structures and ways of working. These in turn can be applied to follow-on projects across the industry to realise cost reductions, and in turn facilitate further deployment. This is the case for any new technology, including CCS, where although the separate components of capture, transport and storage have been utilised across industry for many years, the combined processes and scale required for climate mitigation mean that costs for FOAK design, construction and operation are higher than for established technologies. Rubin et al., 2004 (3) outlined this concept for technologies analogous to CCS, including flue gas desulphurisation (FGD) for power plant emissions control, where capital costs for FGD technology experienced declines over time as cumulative capacity increased (Figure 4). The lower costs realised 3

8 were attributed primarily to technology innovation, as well as process improvements, and subsequent increased competition among vendors as deployment capacity increased. Figure 4. Capital cost of a new wet limestone FGD system for a standardised coal-fired power plant (500 MWe, 3.5% sulphur coal, 90% SO 2 removal) as a function of cumulative worldwide capacity of FGD installations, showing decrease in capital cost as a function of global capacity, analogous to CCS (3) 5. Process of Capturing Learnings For the PCCS project, the following process (Figure 5) was identified as best practice and utilised to capture lessons from the project (4): Define: The need for capturing lessons learned was outlined, as well as the process to do so, the personnel to collate the lessons from, and production of specific interview questions. Collect: Capturing learnings was undertaken post-facto with project team members, including the project Knowledge Transfer Manager, who was able to provide an integrated perspective whereby knowledge transfer was integrated into the project itself. Verify: All lessons captured were reviewed to ensure they were relevant to CCS projects going forward, and also to identify if they could be utilised for non-ccs capital engineering projects. Store: The lessons captured were collated in a database and made available to staff for future use. Disseminate: Opportunities taken to disseminate lessons captured. 4

9 Define Disseminate Collect Store Verify Figure 5. Process of capturing lessons learned. Adapted from White and Cohan (4) 6. Personal Contribution and Development I was responsible for collating lessons learned from the PCCS project team. As part of my role I developed specific interview questions, and subsequently led project team interviews, primarily on a one-on-one basis, but also in a group setting where relevant. The learnings that were captured from the team I then reviewed, verified, and stored in a database, with opportunities taken to disseminate the learnings where possible. The opportunity to take on this role allowed me to develop a new skill in the form of capturing lessons learned, and also to enhance my communication, project management, and leadership skills (Figure 6). Figure 6. Personal Contribution and Development 7. Learnings Captured from the PCCS Project Multiple learnings were captured from the PCCS project, covering a range of topics including technical, commercial and stakeholder engagement. Examples of such learnings are provided below. 7.1 Technical Learning - Emissions to Air 5

10 Given the nature of the amine sorbent to be used within the CO 2 capture plant, atmospheric emissions of amines and degradation products were addressed and several design features incorporated to minimise such emissions to air. Atmospheric dynamic dispersion modelling using ADMS software was undertaken to confirm emissions levels of amines and their degradation compounds. Input data to the model was agreed with the regulator, and results indicated that amine and degradation compound emissions would be below required emissions limits, and would comply with relevant Environmental Assessment Levels (EAL). In addition, operational testing of the amine formulated for the PCCS project was undertaken at the world s largest CO 2 capture test plant, Technology Centre Mongstad (TCM). Learnings from this work, including the TCM campaign, confirmed the PCCS project design was fit for purpose and no design change was required for emissions purposes as regulatory requirements would be met. This too underlined the importance of large scale capture testing. 7.2 Technical Learning - Control of Major Accidents Hazards (COMAH) Regulations The application of UK Control of Major Accidents Hazards (COMAH) Regulations was identified as a FOAK element for the PCCS Project. The Peterhead Power Station site is not currently a COMAH site, but implementation of the capture plant would result in the site meeting COMAH classification. An amendment to COMAH Regulation in 2015 coincided with FEED, and led to evolutions in the project design, with the learning that COMAH-associated design challenges should be identified from the outset of FEED to mitigate any impacts on project schedule. 7.3 Commercial Learning Contract for Difference In the UK, the Electricity Market Reform (ERM) stipulates a Contract for Difference (CfD) to guarantee a pre-defined price per MWh ( strike price ) to the generator for production of low carbon electricity. The key learning was that due to the integrated nature of the PCCS project with the existing power station, quantification and metering was required to accurately measure, monitor and report production of low carbon power for the CfD. 7.4 Stakeholder Engagement and Public Consultation The importance of open discussions between the PCCS project team and stakeholders was key to regulators and communities having trust and confidence in the project, which in turn was of importance for the approval of planning permission for the project. 8. Conclusions Lessons learned from the PCCS project have been captured, stored and disseminated. The learnings have identified best practices to be applied to future CCS project design and construction to optimise technology development, enhance efficiencies, and in turn reduce costs. This will support with increasing the cost-competitiveness of CCS to maximise deployment of the technology, and in turn facilitate the role of the gas industry in supporting global net zero emissions from energy, near the end of this century. 6

11 References 1. IPCC. Climate Change 2014: Synthesis Report. Contribution of Working Group si, II and III to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Core Writing Team, R.K. Pachuari and L.A. Meyer (eds.)]. IPCC, International Energy Agency, 2012 World Energy Outlook UNFCCC. The Paris Agreement CCSA [Online] 5. Rubin, E.S., Yeh, S., Hounshell, D.A. 2004, Experience curves for power plant emission control technologies.int. J. Energy and Technology, pp White, M. and Cohan, A. A Guide to Capturing Lessons Learned. Acknowledgements The author wishes to acknowledge the Shell Peterhead CCS Project team for their dedicated time, help and support in capturing the lessons learned from the Shell Peterhead Carbon Capture and Storage project, and also wishes to acknowledge Shell for the opportunity to lead the work. 7