Allseas completes laying of offshore pipe for Porthos CO2
Offshore technology firm Allseas’ vessel Lorelay has successfully completed offshore pipelaying for the Porthos carbon dioxide transport and storage project.
It is part of the first large-scale carbon capture and storage (CCS) initiative in the Netherlands, which is expected to become operational next year.
© PorthosCO2
The 20km, 16-inch pipeline will carry captured CO2 from Rotterdam’s industrial area to depleted gas fields beneath the North Sea. With the pipe now laid, the trenching phase begins, where the pipeline will be safely buried to ensure long-term protection and reliability.
Work was temporarily paused on 7 May due to a technical issue with on-board tensioning equipment.
A platform will be converted for reuse by Porthos, to inject the CO2 into depleted gas fields. These gas fields are located in a sealed reservoir of porous sandy rock, about 4km under the North Sea.
Porthos is a joint venture between Energie Beheer Nederland, Gasunie, and the Port of Rotterdam. The project was made possible by a Connecting Europe Facility subsidy from the European Commission.
© PorthosCO2
Dorus Bakker, Director of Finance at Porthos, spoke about Rotterdam’s strategic importance, describing a broad energy transition underpinned by carbon capture and storage (CCS), sustainable transport, and hydrogen production, during the gasworld European CO2 Summit in March.
