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July 7, 2005

Plans Unveiled for Large Hydrogen Energy Plant

Scotland, United Kingdom [RenewableEnergyAccess.com]

Say what you will about oil, but the world's insatiable appetite for it is making a large clean hydrogen energy project possible. A new arrangement announced in Scotland will help increase the output of a North Sea oil operation while at the same time providing clean power from what will be the largest hydrogen energy power plant ever built.

While each of the component technologies making up the project is already proven, their proposed combination in this project is a world first.

ConocoPhillips, Shell and Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE) will begin engineering the design of the world's first industrial scale project to generate 'carbon-free' electricity from hydrogen. The planned project - producing 'decarbonised' fuel and using it for power generation - would convert natural gas to hydrogen and carbon dioxide gases, then use the hydrogen gas as fuel for a 350 MW power station, and export the carbon dioxide to a North Sea oil reservoir for increased oil recovery and eventual storage. The project would reduce the amount of carbon dioxide emitted to the atmosphere by the power generation by over 90 percent. While each of the component technologies making up the project is already proven, their proposed combination in this project is a world first.

The project would be located close to Peterhead in north-east Scotland. A newly built reformer plant would convert up to 70 million cubic feet of natural gas a day into carbon dioxide and hydrogen and the hydrogen would be used as fuel for a new 350MW combined cycle gas turbine power station.

The carbon dioxide generated by the reformer would be exported through existing pipelines to the mature BP-operated Miller oilfield, 240 kilometers offshore, where the platform would be adapted to allow for injection of the gas into the reservoir four kilometers below the seabed to increase oil recovery from the reservoir and for storage.

The Miller field is currently due to cease production in 2006/7 but the injection of carbon dioxide into the reservoir could increase the amount of oil extracted from the field, potentially allowing the production of up to 40 million additional barrels of oil and extending the life of the field by 15 to 20 years.

Initial engineering feasibility studies into the project have already been completed. The partners will now carry out further detailed front-end engineering design work with the aim of confirming the economic feasibility of the scheme. This work would be expected to be complete in the second half of 2006. This will allow a final investment decision to be taken next year, subject to which the project would then be expected to commence operation in 2009.

The full project would require total capital investment of some USD$600 million. It would also require an appropriate policy and regulatory framework which encourages the capture of carbon from fossil fuel-based electricity generation and its long-term storage.

When fully operational, the project would be expected to capture and store around 1.3 million tons of carbon dioxide each year and provide 'carbon-free' electricity to the equivalent of a quarter of a million UK homes.

"This is an important and unique project configured at a scale that can offer significant progress in the provision of cleaner energy and the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions," said Lord Browne, BP Group Chief Executive.

Browne added that if the process was applied to just five per cent of the new electricity generating capacity that the world is projected to require by 2050, such projects would have the potential to reduce global carbon dioxide emissions by around one billion tons a year.
Reader Comments (6)
 
No image available
July 7, 2005
While reducing by 90% the amount of 'emitted' CO due to burying it into injection wells may be beneficial, I wondered what percent of that injected CO might be released in transport and handling, and the amount which would eventually find its way to the surface?

Also, cracking natural gas to produce hydrogen (70m cf/day) is quite inefficient. Besides all that, NG (formerly waste byproduct) has become expensive and only shows signs of getting more that way.
Comment 1 of 6
No image available
July 7, 2005
$600 million for 350MW! Seems like a poor return.
Comment 2 of 6
No image available
July 14, 2005
Would it be at all possible to find a way to react hydrogen with carbon dioxide?
25H2 + 8CO2 = C8H18 +16O2
Presently, work is being done to resonate hydrogen to oxygen chemical bonds in water molecules to enable decomposition of water to proceed with a fraction of energy compared to the amount released during combustion of the same amount of hydrogen and oxygen. There may also be a resonant frequency for the carbon to oxygen bond in the carbon dioxide molecule so that the above stated reaction might proceed without large energy requirements.
adrianakau@aol.com
Comment 3 of 6
No image available
October 9, 2005
not to get confused mcf stands for 1000 cubic feet, when you say 70 million cubic feet that equates to 70,000 mcf.

70,000 @ 11.00 per MCF is $770,000 per day !
$281,242,500 per year!

if this runs for 20 years 5.6 billion

$100.00 a barrel * 40 Million is 4,000,000,000 or 4 billion

The average price per barrel over the next 20 years would need to be 140.00 dollars, if the price of natural gas goes up more if it goes down less.

We are currently at less than 50 per barrel, all thing being equal to an estimate of 64% increase in price and gas at the pump being $3.00 expect at least $5.00 per gallon at the pump with in 20 years.

If you fill up a 15 gallon tank once a week, then expect to pay $75 bucks for it thats and allow yourself $300.00 a month for gas.

Considering that petrol in England is at $7 it is a BARGIN,
Comment 4 of 6
No image available
October 9, 2005
70 million cubic feet @ $11.00 per mcf = 280 million a year to power the plant.

600M-investment 20-year max life that is a cost of 5.6 billion over 20 years not figuring for inflation.

40 million barrels at 50.00 a barrel is 2 billion

350MW is 350,000 kW @. 105 would be 13.5 million a year or 270 million potential for the sale of electricity from the plant. I do not think 350,000 kilowatts would power 250,000 homes. It would be more like enough power for 13,000 individuals per year. That is based on average consumption of 10,000 kilowatts a year or 28 kilowatts a day it would be unlikely to power more than 30 or 40 thousand homes.

Higher prices on NG and gasoline this spells. Read between the lines in order to see this as profitable then you have to have much higher prices for crude for this to be profitable. Factoring in the opportunity cost of the NG, which is huge, your looking at a potential underlying forecast at being well over a 100.00 a barrel.
Comment 5 of 6
No image available
October 9, 2005
What is the value of 350MGW, 70 million ton of NG and 40 million barrels of oil? If it does not ballance then they just raise the prices. NUTS
Comment 6 of 6
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