Maersk Tankers ready to enter market for CO2 transportation
March 13, 2009
(Released at the International Scientific Congress on Climate Change Copenhagen 12 March 2009)
Maersk Tankers, owned by the Danish conglomerate A.P. Moller – Maersk Group, is prepared to enter into the CO2 transportation market to help promote Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS), one of the technologies identified as key to mitigate the effects of climate change.
“With this initiative we want to show industrial leadership by demonstrating we can act on the global challenge that is carbon emissions,” says Martin Fruergaard, senior vice president, Maersk Tankers.
Maersk Tankers has examined the business case for entering into the CO2 transportation market for either offshore storage or enhanced oil recovery (EOR), using CO2 to increase oil recovery rates in maturing fields.
“By utilizing our experience in transporting liquefied petrochemical and natural gasses, we have developed a large scale case for transport of CO2 for storage or EOR,” says Martin Fruergaard.
According to Maersk Tanker studies, more than 750 million tonnes of CO2 are emitted from large stationary power plants close to the sea in the North Sea region alone. Fifteen Handysize Gas Carriers (20,000 cbm) could transport more than half of Denmark’s annual CO2 emissions for storage in the North Sea, the equivalent of all CO2 from large Danish stationary emission sources. CO2 fraction retained in selected reservoirs is likely to exceed 99 percent over 1,000 years, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
Furthermore, transporting CO2 by sea is cost-competitive and more flexible than pipelines on longer distances or in smaller quantities.
Apart from Maersk Tankers, A.P. Moller – Maersk Group’s Maersk Oil is also looking into the opportunities linked to CCS.
“Given our experience from the Danish underground in the North Sea and the high-level of knowledge we have gained from that, Maersk Oil is investigating CO2 mitigation technologies for the geological storage of CO2 to meet the expected demand,” says Michael Engell-Jensen, senior vice president and head of Maersk Oil’s Carbon and Climate Department.
Maersk Oil is in discussion with a number of potential partners to develop Carbon Capture and Storage projects that will remove CO2 from point sources such as coal fired power plants, and store the CO2 underground, either onshore or offshore.
For more information, please contact Group Relations, A.P. Moller – Maersk Group on +45 33 63 19 11.
The A.P. Moller – Maersk Group:
The A.P. Moller - Maersk Group is a worldwide organisation with about 120,000 employees and offices in around 130 countries – with global headquarters in Copenhagen, Denmark. In addition to owning one of the world’s largest shipping companies, we are also involved in a wide range of activities within the energy, shipbuilding, retail and manufacturing industries.
Maersk Tankers:
Maersk Tankers has been in business since 1928 and today has one of the largest, most modern and most diversified independent fleets in the world. Our fleet of tankers is exclusively double hulled - all meeting the latest industry standards and demands. We focus on safety, the environment and cost efficiency.
Maersk Tankers acquired Swedish tanker company Broström earlier this year, and the combination will form the world's leading product tanker company with about 220 product tankers currently trading, of which about 130 vessels are owned and long term chartered.
Maersk Oil:
Maersk Oil is a global operation with an oil production of some 650,000 barrels and a sales gas production of up to some 1,000 million cubic feet per day from core producing fields in the Danish and British part of the North Sea, offshore Qatar, in Algeria and in Kazakhstan. Exploration activities are ongoing in these locations as well as in Angola, US Gulf of Mexico, Norway, Oman and Brazil.
The company’s most recent gas find was in the Culzean exploration well in the UK Central North Sea. In addition, Maersk Oil with partners Chevron and Samson have made an oil discovery in the Buckskin exploration well in the US Gulf of Mexico. Maersk Oil employs more than 3,000 people worldwide.
A.P. Moller - Maersk A/S, press release