Maersk tankers “Ready for CO2 transport market”

AP Moller – Maersk Group subsidiary Maersk Tankers says it is ready to enter 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 in a paper presented at the International Scientific Congress on Climate Change in Copenhagen last week.
“Our decision reflects the AP Moller – Maersk Group’s approach to the global challenge on climate change, which is to develop innovative and creative ways to limit carbon emissions,” says Mr Fruergaard.
Maersk Tankers says it 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 (20,000 cu m) gas carriers 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, according to Maersk, transporting CO2 by sea is cost-competitive and more flexible than pipelines on longer distances or in smaller quantities.