Milestone Dutch carbon capture project

The Porthos project, a partnership between EBN, Gasunie and the Port of Rotterdam Authority, will transport CO2 from industrial sites in the port area to empty gas fields in the Dutch North Sea, where it will be permanently stored up to 4 kilometres beneath the seabed.

Operational by 2026, Porthos is expected to reduce the Netherland’s annual CO2 emissions by about 2%. The pipeline will transport about 2.5 million tonnes of CO2 per year for 15 years to the North Sea storage site, storing around 37 million tonnes of CO2 in total.

Offshore pipelay and subsea construction firm, Allseas, will be constructing the subsea pipeline. Beginning in 2025, the scope of work includes installation, burial and commissioning of the 16-inch CCS pipeline connecting a compressor station on the Maasvlakte with the P18-A platform approximately 20 kilometres offshore.

Allseas will use its S-lay vessel Lorelay with construction support from its purpose-built offshore construction vessel, Oceanic.

“Back in the mid-1980s, as the world’s first pipelay vessel operating fully on dynamic positioning, Lorelay installed some of the earliest gas and oil pipelines in the Dutch North Sea,” said Allseas chief executive Pieter Heerema.

“The fact that almost four decades later, the same vessel will install the first carbon capture pipeline is a testament to our ongoing innovation and continuous improvement of our vessels’ capabilities.”

The EU has recognised Porthos as an important ‘project of common interest’ in meeting climate targets and awarded a €102 million subsidy.