Energy is the foundation of the global economy and underpins all major industries. Production and use of energy account for 38 gigatonnes of global human-caused greenhouse gas emissions each year (over 60% of the total), of which oil and gas account for around 20 gigatonnes1. How to provide energy while radically cutting GHG emissions is the challenge OGCI is focused on tackling.
Our industry has a wealth of resources to support the global net zero transition, including problem-solving and stakeholder management capabilities, and technological and execution competencies. OGCI member companies are already working closely with their customers, partners, other industries and policymakers. They are investing in a wide range of solutions2 that, provided at scale with technological advancements and appropriate regulatory and policy frameworks, could drive a broad transformation of the global energy system.
At the collective OGCI level, we have focused our actions in 2022 on developing our expertise in carbon capture and permanent geological storage to develop new decarbonization options for heavy industry and deep-sea shipping.
THE CCUS HUB: DECARBONIZING HEAVY INDUSTRY
Oil and gas companies have used CCUS for several decades to process natural gas or enhance oil recovery, developing the technology and knowhow to store carbon dioxide safely and permanently in geological formations. That expertise is now being leveraged to provide a cost-effective and soon-to-be available decarbonization option for industries such as cement, chemicals, fertilizers, waste incineration and steel for which other viable decarbonization alternatives either do not yet exist or require the development of completely new approaches and facilities.
OGCI has worked for several years on ways to accelerate scale up, reduce costs and develop business models for deploying CCUS. One key focus area has been the development of CCUS hubs. These aim to capture carbon dioxide from several different emitters and transport and store it using common infrastructure. This approach fosters network effects and drives economies of scale. That reduces costs and risks for individual companies and makes it easier for national and regional policymakers to develop enabling incentives.
There are currently around 50 CCUS hubs proposed or in development around the world, with OGCI member companies involved in over 30 of them. The first, Northern Lights, is expected to start operation in mid-2024, serving emitters in Norway and Europe.
In 2022, OGCI launched The CCUS Hub, an open-source platform designed to support policymakers, potential hub developers and industrial emitters interested in setting up a CCUS hub. The platform has easily accessible information and common learnings, profiles of some of the more advanced hubs, and a global search tool to identify potential new hubs. The platform draws on the knowledge and support of many partners, including the Global CCS Institute, the Clean Energy Ministerial CCUS Initiative, IEA Greenhouse Gas R&D Programme and BCG. It offers a platform for webinars with leading CCUS policy makers, hub developers and industrial emitters.
In 2023, the CCUS Hub will be extended to include technical data, initially from the development of the East Coast Cluster in north-east England, collected in a format that is accessible for other hub developers.
CCUS HUBS PROPOSED OR IN DEVELOPMENT WITH OGCI MEMBER COMPANY PARTICIPATION
Other OGCI activities to help decarbonize industry through CCUS
OGCI’s collective work to accelerate the deployment of CCUS has focused on addressing knowledge and technical gaps and engaging with potential transport and storage providers, industrial emitters, policy makers, standard-setters and technical and academic experts.
- In collaboration with the Global CCS Institute, we added 12 new countries to the CO2 Storage Resource Catalogue, a database of global CCUS assets, which uses a standardized methodology to quantify and assess storage capacity. It now covers 30 countries, including several in the developing world.
- Developed and published solutions to fill technical gaps in CCUS deployment.
- Advanced the discussion around how countries could value and scale up use of carbon storage units in Article 6 trading as a pathway towards meeting Paris Agreement targets.
- Worked with government and industry experts in the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council and Egypt to publish in-depth reports on policies that could unlock the business potential of CCUS and CCUS hubs.
- Worked with the African Energy Chamber to provide information on CCUS as a business opportunity in Africa, focusing on business models, policy and regulatory developments and safety.
OGCI Annual Progress Report 2022
SHIPBOARD CARBON CAPTURE: OPENING UP NEW DECARBONIZATION OPTIONS
Shipping contributes almost 3% of global greenhouse gas emissions – a share that is still growing. Around a third comes from international shipping3, which is considered one of the most difficult sectors to decarbonize. The sector is committed to reducing GHG emissions from international shipping by at least 50% by 2050, focusing on a combination of energy efficiency and use of alternative fuels4.
Projections indicate that 85% of the fuel mix for two-stroke engines will still be fossil fuel based in 2030 and 34% by 20505. Before alternative fuels become widely available, shipboard carbon capture, with offshore storage close to port, could potentially help current vessels to reduce their footprint.
OGCI is now collaborating with industrial partners6 on a pilot project that aims to turn that idea into a deployable option, representing the first-ever attempt to capture carbon dioxide from a working cargo ship and deliver and process it safely.
The first step was a preliminary study, completed last year, to prove that a carbon capture device could be installed on a ship powered by heavy fuel oil, typically used in the industry today, without the need for extensive renovation or an entirely new ship design. On the basis of this study, we estimate the device could capture, in a first phase, more than 30% of all the ship’s emissions over a year’s worth of operations.
We have completed an initial blueprint of the device as it would be installed on a working ship and have started work on detailed engineering plans. Once operational, this ship would offload its carbon dioxide at a CCUS-ready port to enter permanent storage, be converted into a renewable fuel or utilized in other products. The ship could potentially serve as a working model for CCUS efforts across the industry.
Other OGCI activities to help decarbonize transportation
Building on research conducted in 2019 that set the foundations for OGCI’s actions – primarily in the marine sector – OGCI has worked on a series of research studies and white papers to share the knowledge it is developing.
- Published a paper on decarbonization pathways for the maritime industry, with a particular focus on energy efficiency and low-carbon fuels, in conjunction with energy advisory body Concawe.
- Research paper on low carbon fuels written by OGCI representatives, based on a study conducted with E4Tech and AVI, to be published in a peer reviewed journal.
- White paper on sustainable and economically viable Biomass for Marine Fuel Use.
- Research paper on the potential for using ammonia as a low-carbon fuel in shipping, to be published by early 2023.
- Journal paper on Market Evolution of Future Alternative Fuels in the EU, to be published in 2023.
- Study on hydrogen safety in aviation and marine transport, for publication in 2023
1
The IEA estimates total GHG emissions associated with energy at 38 GtCO2 e. Oil production and use accounted for 12.8 GTCO2 e and natural gas production and use for 8.4 GTCO2 e in 2019.
2
These include CCUS, low carbon hydrogen, renewables and energy storage, bioenergy and biofuels, synthetic aviation fuels, sustainable mobility and digitalization.
6
Our partners in the pilot project are the Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation, Stena Bulk, Alfa Laval, TNO, Deltamarin, and the American Bureau of Shipping