Norwegian offshore oil and gas producer StatoilHydro has begun carbon injection and storage at its Snohvit field. The CO2 is reinjected into the ground and stored beneath the gas-bearing formations in the field.
The carbon capture plant, compressors and pumps have been put into regular operation at the Melkoya plant and the first carbon flow reached the formation, where it was eventually stored.
The natural gas which is piped from the Snohvit field to Melkoya, outside Hammerfest, contains 5-8% CO2. At the onshore plant on Melkoya, CO2 is separated from the natural gas and piped back to a formation at the edge of the Snohvit reservoir, where it is stored 2,600m beneath the seabed.
At full capacity, 700,000 tonnes of CO2 is expected to be stored per year, which equals the emission volume from 280,000 cars.
Edvin Ytredal, senior vice president for StatoilHydro’s Snohvit operations, said: By reinjecting CO2 beneath the seabed we strongly reduce greenhouse gas emissions at Melkoya. We will achieve an environmental benefit while we develop our expertise on carbon injection which may be useful in other areas.