Det Norske Veritas - Germanischer Lloyd

DESIGN AND OPERATION OF CO2 PIPELINES
 N DNV-RP-J202

Annotation

General

Background

CO2 Capture and Storage (CCS) has been identified as a key abatement technology for achieving a significant reduction in CO2 emissions to the atmosphere. Pipelines are likely to be the primary means of transporting CO2 from point-of-capture to sites (e.g. underground reservoirs) where it will be stored permanently to avoid its release to the atmosphere. While there is a current perception that transporting CO2 via pipelines does not represent a significant barrier to implementing large-scale CCS, there is significantly less industry experience than for hydrocarbon (e.g. natural gas) service and there is a number of issues that needs to be adequately understood and the associated risks effectively managed. Today, CO2 is mainly transported in pipelines for industrial purposes. The majority of CO2 pipelines are found in North America, where there is over 30 years of experience in transporting CO2, mainly from natural deposits and gas processing plants for enhanced oil recovery (EOR). The only existing offshore pipeline for transporting CO2 is the Sn hvit pipeline, which has been transporting CO2 (obtained from natural gas extraction) through a 153 km seabed pipeline from Hammerfest in north Norway back to the Sn hvit field under the Barents Sea, since May 2008. In a CCS context, there will be need for larger pipeline networks in more densely populated areas and with CO2 coming from multiple anthropogenic sources. Also, offshore pipelines for transport of CO2 to offshore reservoirs are likely to become common.

Objective

The objective of this Recommended Practise (RP) is to provide guidance on safe and reliable design, construction and operation of pipelines intended for large scale transportation of CO2 to meet the requirements given in the referenced pipeline standards, ref. Sec.1.7.1.