The three main technologies for CO2 capture are: Precombustion, oxyfuel and postcombustion,

Executive summary

Recently there has been increasing focus on the CO₂ value chain and CO₂ handling as mitigation for the increasing atmospheric greenhouse gas forcing, culminating in the agreement between Statoil and the Norwegian government on shared responsibility of CO₂ handling at the new Mongstad energy plant. The four partners, University of Bergen, Bergen University College, Christian Michelsen Research (CMR) and Bergen University Research (Unifob) have performed a survey on present relevant competence within the institutions. The results are presented in this report.

The major findings are that the partners have relevant competence within all steps in the CO₂ value chain, from processes within the energy plant, through CO₂ capture and transport, to processes involved in different CO₂ storage options in geological formations. The partners have their strongest expertise and highest activity within the storage part of the value chain, and are already visible on the international arena being partners in several international projects. The activity is lesser on CO₂ capture and transport, but there is a solid scientific foundation for establishing such activity, all collaboration networks also considered. The partners also possess competence on overreaching issues such as instrumentation, optimization, monitoring and environmental impacts and consequences. Generally petroleum related R&D is strong within all the four institutions, partly because the marine community in Bergen is a national stronghold in marine measurements, processes and environment.

Since gas powered energy plants with CO₂ handling is new technology there is a necessity for building competence and education of expertise. University of Bergen and Bergen University College already offer a large number of relevant bachelor and master studies. These may also be extended or tailored towards CO₂ handling.

CO₂ handling is an international issue and the different knowledge gaps will not be solved by a single institution or country. The partners have already well established, and often complementary, national and international networks and will through this form an excellent basis for establishing new activities. In summary, this report shows that the R&D community in Bergen has the potential to make considerable contributions in closing many knowledge gaps related to CO₂ handling.

CO₂ competence matrix for the Bergen R&D partners

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Report:
R&D and innovation competence on the CO2 value chain

• Table of Contents
• Oppsummering
• Executive summary
• Introduction
• CO₂ value chain from an industrial point of view
• The refinery and the energy plant
• CO₂capture
• Preparation for transport of CO₂
• CO₂ infrastructure
• CO₂ storage
• Environmental issues
• CO₂ handling and the Bergen Marine Sciences
• Sosio-economical, juridical and ethical aspects
• Education and competence building
• Relevant collaborative activities and networks.
• Table of abbreviations and acronyms
• Acknowledgements
• Appendix - The individual institutions and groups

Report "R&D and innovation competence on the CO₂ value chain" (extract)

R&D and innovation
competence on the
CO₂ value chain

with relevance for the
Mongstad energy plant

@	Bergen University College Christian Michelsen Research Bergen University Research University of Bergen

 

Oppsummering

Teknologi- og forskningsmiljøene i Bergen har en betydelig samlet kompetanse som er relevant blant annet for håndtering av CO₂ ved det planlagte energiverket på Mongstad. Miljøene springer ut fra Universitetet i Bergen, Høgskolen i Bergen, Unifob og Christian Michelsen Research.

FoU-miljøet i Bergen har rapporten ”R&D and innovation competence with relevance for the CO₂ value chain - and the Mongstad energy plant” dokumentert solid kompetanse i hele verdikjeden med fangst, transport og deponering av CO₂. Spesielt vil vi fremheve det siste der Bergensmiljøet er blant de fremste også i global sammenheng. I dette faglige samarbeidet inngår det ett senter for fremragende forskning, ett for forskningsdrevet innovasjon og et ekspertsenter innen undervannsteknologi. Ytterligere to sentre for fremragende forskning har også stor relevans i denne sammenheng; Bjerknessenteret (klimaforskning) og Centre for Geo-Biosphere Research. I tillegg til faglig spennvidde er Bergensmiljøet løsningsorientert med lang tradisjon i å levere hele kjeden fra FoU til teknologiske løsninger.

Løsninger på global utfordring

Selv om det er utfordringene, de ambisiøse målene og debatten knyttet til energiverket på Mongstad som har utløst dette og lignende initiativer, så er det klart at teknologiutviklingen som skal til her må ses i en langt videre og lengre sammenheng. Den globale utfordringen i å få til vesentlig reduksjon i CO₂-utslipp kan bare løses ved at det utvikles teknologier som ikke bare de rike nasjoner kan ta i bruk, og her må også CO₂-utslipp fra kullkraftverk tas med i betraktning. Det er klart at en langsiktig håndtering av CO₂ også innebærer forsvarlig lagring med grundige analyser av muligheter for lekkasje og konsekvensene av dette.

Mongstad som laboratorium

Det blir helt nødvendig med en opptrapping av forsknings- og utviklingsarbeid med lengre horisont enn det som er lagt til grunn for igangsettingen av Mongstad-anlegget. Det fordrer også samarbeid, ikke bare i lokale klynger med FoU-miljøer og industri, men på nasjonalt og internasjonalt plan. Mongstad vil naturlig bli et godt laboratorium som står sentralt i et solid krafttak som dette må bli. Med kort avstand til Mongstad passer dette Bergensmiljøet godt, samtidig som det faller godt sammen med en pågående styrking av teknologi i Bergen. Bergensmiljøene har også det nødvendige omfattende internasjonale nettverk som skal til både innenfor CO₂-håndtering og tilstøtende fagområder. Samtidig ser vi også nødvendigheten av et nasjonalt samarbeid for å kunne produsere forskningsresultater og teknologiske løsninger på kortest mulig sikt.

Kontakt:

Høgskolen i Bergen:	Dekan Ole-Gunnar Søgnen ole-gunnar.sognen@hib.no/ 5558 7607
Universitetet i Bergen:	Prodekan Geir Anton Johansen geir.johansen@ift.uib.no/ 5558 2745
Unifob:	Administrerende direktør Arne Svindland arne.svindland@unifob.uib.no/ 5558 4977
Christian Michelsen Research:	Assisterende direktør Hans-Roar Sørheim hansroar@cmr.no/ 5557 4214

Executive summary

Recently there has been increasing focus on the CO₂ value chain and CO₂ handling as mitigation for the increasing atmospheric greenhouse gas forcing, culminating in the agreement between Statoil and the Norwegian government on shared responsibility of CO₂ handling at the new Mongstad energy plant. The four partners, University of Bergen, Bergen University College, Christian Michelsen Research (CMR) and Bergen University Research (Unifob) have performed a survey on present relevant competence within the institutions. The results are presented in this report.

The major findings are that the partners have relevant competence within all steps in the CO₂ value chain, from processes within the energy plant, through CO₂ capture and transport, to processes involved in different CO₂ storage options in geological formations. The partners have their strongest expertise and highest activity within the storage part of the value chain, and are already visible on the international arena being partners in several international projects. The activity is lesser on CO₂ capture and transport, but there is a solid scientific foundation for establishing such activity, all collaboration networks also considered. The partners also possess competence on overreaching issues such as instrumentation, optimization, monitoring and environmental impacts and consequences. Generally petroleum related R&D is strong within all the four institutions, partly because the marine community in Bergen is a national stronghold in marine measurements, processes and environment.

Since gas powered energy plants with CO₂ handling is new technology there is a necessity for building competence and education of expertise. University of Bergen and Bergen University College already offer a large number of relevant bachelor and master studies. These may also be extended or tailored towards CO₂ handling.

CO₂ handling is an international issue and the different knowledge gaps will not be solved by a single institution or country. The partners have already well established, and often complementary, national and international networks and will through this form an excellent basis for establishing new activities. In summary, this report shows that the R&D community in Bergen has the potential to make considerable contributions in closing many knowledge gaps related to CO₂ handling.

CO₂ competence matrix for the Bergen R&D partners

Table of contents

Oppsummering

Executive summary

1.        Introduction

2.        CO₂ value chain from an industrial point of view

3.        The refinery and the energy plant

4.        CO₂ capture

Post combustion absorption

Post combustion desorbtion

5.        Preparation for transport of CO₂

Preparation for transport of CO₂ by ship

Preparation for transport of CO₂ in pipeline

6.        CO₂ infrastructure

Transport of CO₂

CO₂ hub

CO₂ on platform

7.        CO₂ storage

CO₂ for Enhanced Oil Recovery

CO₂ Sequestration in Hydrate Reservoirs

CO₂ for permanent storage

CO₂ storage and EOR – non technical and extreme long term

8.        Environmental issues

9.        CO₂ handling and the Bergen Marine Sciences

10.      Sosio-economical, juridical and ethical aspects

11.      Education and competence building

12.      Relevant collaborative activities and networks.

Table of abbreviations and acronyms

Acknowledgements

Appendix - The individual institutions and groups

           Bergen University College (HiB)

           Christian Michelsen Research (CMR)

           Bergen University Research (Unifob)

           University of Bergen (UiB)

1.   Introduction

Few industrial projects and installations have received as much public attention as the planned energy plant at Mongstad. The challenge is not only the technological development which is required, but also the time frame. This calls for collaboration between research bodies, not only to meet the short term demands, but even more importantly to lay a sound foundation for future projects in which Mongstad will have a pioneering role. The University of Bergen, Unifob, Christian Michelsen Research and Bergen University College have a united and broad competence in the full value chain which we offer in the process of solving these challenges.

2.   CO₂ value chain from an industrial point of view

The CO₂ value chain is illustrated in Figure 1 below. Each step has its particular R&D and innovation needs. There are also issues of a more or less overarching character: CO₂ capture technology is probably the most important one.

Figure 1. The CO2 value chain

The three main technologies for CO₂ capture are: Precombustion, oxyfuel and postcombustion, see Figure 2.

Precombustion CO₂ capture means that carbon is removed from the fuel as CO₂ before combustion. For the Mongstad Energy plant this route is not feasible given the time constraints of the total project. For the existing stacks of the refinery precombustion capture is technologically not possible.

Oxyfuel means that the energy is produced by burning hydrogen or eventually a hydrogen rich mixture. Use of oxyfuel would imply large modifications of gas turbines as well as an air separation unit to produce oxygen in the front end. Oxyfuel can not be fit into the existing plans for Mongstad.

Postcombustion technology can be applied to both existing and new CO₂-sources, as opposed to the two other main technologies. Postcombustion capture implies the use of an absorbent to which the CO₂ binds chemically. Through heating with steam the absorbent releases the CO₂ and a pure CO₂ stream is produced. An amine is the commonly used absorbent in commercial applications. This technology is in principle available, though not in the scale needed for Mongstad step 2. That is the reason why there will be a step 1 at Mongstad, with the aim to pave the way for a full scale industrial CO₂ capture plant in 2014. In addition, capture of CO₂ from the existing refinery at Mongstad is also part of the agreement between the Norwegian Ministry of Oil and Energy, and Statoil. Postcombustion technology must be applied to the refinery stacks. This means that the only technological option that is at all feasible for Mongstad is postcombustion capture.

As part of Mongstad Step 1, Statoil is obliged to prepare a Master plan for Step 2, as follows:

♣     Carry out conceptual studies regarding technical and commercial solutions for CO₂ capture, including needs for: area, energy, operation and maintenance support, HES solutions, as well as for governmental/regulatory interference.

♣     Identification of sources of CO₂ that may be suitable for CO₂ capture, including the existing oil refinery, the new energy plant as well as any other future projects.

Statoil is to prepare and install the necessary connection points between the energy plant, the reformer and the cracker in such a way that Mongstad Step 2 can be carried out as planned. The Master Plan shall be finished by the end of 2008.

On this background the document concentrates on describing the post combustion route and on trying to view the competences within the partnership in such a context. In the following the identified challenges of the CO₂ value chain are listed for each individual step (see also figure 1). Under each step relevant competences of the Partnership are also described and commented on. Through this comparison it will become clearer where the strengths and weaknesses of the Partnership’s combined competence are.

3.   The refinery and the energy plant

Identified challenges:

♣     Process optimization

♣     Energy systems

♣     Instrumentation

♣     Catalysis

♣     Combustible gas safety

Comments to challenges:

A general strategy for process quality and process control has to be developed and demonstrated. Multivariate Statistical Process Control (MPSC) may give added value and increase the quality of industrial processes. In addition it will reduce the energy demand and reduced emissions to the environment. A key factor in this strategy is integration of instrumentation in mapping, optimization and monitoring of processes and products.

Chemical catalysis is a generic field of technology by which chemical transformations may be facilitated and optimized with respect to energy consumption, turn-over rates and selectivity towards desired products. It is extremely powerful and works through the addition of chemicals that take active part in transformations yet are almost completely recycled and do not appear in the products. Catalysis is a core technology in any oil refinery. The major function of a refinery is to close the gap between the distribution of compounds present in crude oil and the hydrocarbon demand in the market, and in particular to increase the volume and improve the quality (octane number) of the fuel fraction. This entails a broad series of chemical transformations which take place by catalysis: Fluid catalytic cracking (FCC), hydrocracking, catalytic reforming, alkylation, isomerization, oxygenation (ether formation), and hydrotreatment. The efficient operation of each and one of these transformations requires highly specialized and optimized catalysts.

Low molecular weight compounds may be used as feedstock to the petrochemical industry. This may require an activation step, such as dehydrogenation or partial oxidation. Both activation and the subsequent petrochemical applications rely heavily on catalytic technologies to become economically and practically feasible.

Catalysis is an important technology also for producing electric power from natural gas (methane), either in the combustion step itself – catalytic fuel cells – or for processing the carbon dioxide produced. Focusing on the latter aspect, catalysis is an important aspect of efficient separation of CO₂ for instance in amine-based processes.

Whenever new industrial plants for utilizing, processing and/or handling combustible gases are planned, adequate measures for preventing and mitigating gas explosions and gas fires have to be incorporated. This also applies to gas power plants, including the new plant at Mongstad. Implementation of some measures can be achieved using well-established technologies, whereas adequate implementation of others demand more advanced approaches such as CFD simulation of possible scenarios for gas cloud formation and explosion/fire developments.

Comments to challenges:

The partnership has already ongoing collaboration with the Mongstad refinery in many aspects, both on instrumentation, processes optimalisation, and safety issues. Hence, is in a good position to extend this collaboration to include the new energy plant.

Competence in Bergen  (Significant activity in bold)
Catalysis	UiB KJ, UiB IFT
Instrumentation	UiB IFT, HiB, UiB KJ, CMR Instrumentation
Optimization of processes	UiB II, UiB IFT, UiB KJ
Gas explosions and gas fires	UiB IFT, CMR Gexcon

4.   CO₂ capture

The main economical obstacle before CO₂ handling can be used on industrial scale is the cost of capturing the CO₂. Industrial scale plants will, based on current technology, be large and represent considerable investments and operational costs. Part of this cost is due to reduced energy efficiency of a power plant with CO₂ treatment.

Last autumn (2006) disposal of CO₂ in sub-sea geological formations were added as an amendment to Annex 1 to the London Convention. This Annex is, in effect, a list of wastes that may be considered for dumping. However, member states raised concern about the purity of the stored CO₂. During 2007 the London Conventions Scientific group will develop guidelines for assessment of CO₂ streams for disposal. These guidelines will surely have influence on how separation technologies will mature. 

Figure 2. Overview of CO2 capture processes and systems. Source: CARBON DIOXIDE CAPTURE AND STORAGE, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Special Report (2005).

As stated above, post combustion capture is most likely the only probable technology choice for Mongstad within the 2005 timeframe of step 1 and step 2. However, in a longer perspective competence building and R&D activities related to oxyfuel and precombustion technologies should be pursued, e.g. the fuel cell activity at Prototech.

Capture of CO₂ will take place from both the new energy plant as well as from the existing large point sources of the refinery. The composition of the refinery exhaust gases may differ from the composition of exhaust gas from the energy plant. This may or may not introduce a need for additional cleaning before capturing CO₂, but the challenges related to the capture process are still in principle very similar for both types of exhaust gases. Because challenges differ between the two main steps in the capture process (absorption and desorption) these are treated separately in the following, but for the above mentioned reasons no distinction is done between capture of CO₂ from exhaust gases of the refinery or the energy plant.

The combination of CO₂ capture from both the energy plant and the refinery however introduces questions related to process integration and more specifically, heat integration. Related challenges are treated under post combustion desorption.

Post combustion absorption

This is the first step of the value chain immediately after the CO₂ source itself.

Identified challenges:

♣     Choice of absorbent

●       Amines

■         Amin type/supplier

■         New amines

●       Other absorbents

■         Ammonia

■         Others

♣     Gas/liquid absorption

♣     Can uptake of CO₂ be enhanced by catalysts?

♣     Materials

♣     Reducing amine/absorbent losses to air

♣     Composition of exhaust gas

♣     Pre-cleaning of exhaust gas

●       In particular an issue related to industrial sources of CO₂, for instance Mongstad refinery

Comments to challenges:

The most widely used absorbent is monoethanolamine (MEA). Other alkanolamines may be used as well. MEA can be purchased under the trade name of Econamine from Fluor, which is one of the two most dominant players in the amine market. The other dominant player is Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI). MHI’s main commercial amine product is KS1 which is a sterically hindered amine. The commercial products contain additives like corrosion inhibitors, degradation inhibitors etc. Pure amines are not a common commodity product. Research is steadily going on to find new and better absorbents. Ammonia may be a promising alternative, and is being studied by Alstom. In the longer term even dry absorbents or adsorbents may become of interest.

Amines are lost to air in small concentrations from the absorber tower. This is a potential environmental problem which is expected to become a focus area for pollution authorities when new CO₂ capture plants apply for permit. Amines degrade to a certain degree during the capture process. Degraded amines are separated from the process in the desorbtion step. For the absorbtion the most important degradation mechanism is because of impurities in the exhaust gas. Exhaust gas composition (NO_x and SO_x in particular) is important for the degree of amine degradation. In some cases pre-cleaning should be considered, and pre-cleaning technologies is therefore an issue.

Choice of material types (construction materials, packing material, piping etc.) is an issue which needs some attention in the overall picture of cost reduction efforts. 

Partnership competence

The partnership is equipped with competence in separation, gas transport, process simulation and CO₂ chemistry (HiB), as well as process chemistry, catalysis etc. at UiB. More efficient mechanisms for CO₂ uptake whether it is new absorbents or traditional amines should therefore be an area where the Partnership could potentially position itself towards the Mongstad project. CMR Instrumentation potentially possesses specific relevant competence for determining flue gas composition.

Competence in Bergen  (Significant activity in bold)
Flue gas composition	CMR Instrumentation, UiB KJ
Catalyst in CO2 capture	UiB KJ, UiB IFT
Waste water environmental impact	UiB GFI, UiB BIO
Absorption general	HiB, UiB

Post combustion desorbtion

The challenges related to the desorption step differs from the absorption step. From an industrial point of view it therefore makes sense to give attention to the two steps separately.

Identified challenges:

♣     Reducing energy consumption

●       Energy recovery

♣     Absorbents – focus on desorption

♣     Reducing amine degradation

●       Residence time

●       Temperature level

♣     Optimal handling of amine waste

♣     Seawater as cooling agent

●       Corrosion

●       Temperature

●       Choice of materials

●       Discharge of heated cooling water

●       Use of heated cooling water

♣     CO2 safety/leakages

Comments to challenges:

For the desorption process in the stripper column large amounts of steam (~2 bars, 120°C) is consumed. This introduces a significant energy penalty in the capture plant which is recognized as maybe the single largest challenge to overcome in order to reduce overall costs of CO₂ handling. More efficient CO₂ uptake in the absorption process generally also implies larger energy consumption in the stripper column. Use of MEA is in general not very energy efficient.  The more energy efficient alternatives (sterically hindered amines like KS1) are on the other hand more expensive to buy. Alternative amines also do not degrade to the same extent as MEA, which leaves the owner of a capture plant with up to ten times less waste than if using MEA. Reducing waste production in the stripper process as well as finding optimal waste handling techniques are therefore important challenges related to the desorption step of the capture process.

Using seawater as a cooling agent in desorption introduces a set of challenges listed above. Avoiding corrosion is one focus area, and the use of waste heat from the discharge of heated cooling water is another. One area which so far has not been much in focus is safety aspects related to possible leakages of CO₂ from the capture process. This is a general issue for the whole value chain when pure or concentrated CO₂ is being handled.

Partnership competence

The process chemistry competence of UiB is in a good position to take on the challenges related to amine degradation. HiB possesses competence in process simulation and in energy calculation & optimization which combined with the process chemistry from UiB indicate that the Partnership is well equipped to offer assistance to Mongstad project in reducing energy consumption.

Competence in Bergen  (Significant activity in bold)
Reducing energy consumption	HiB, UiB KJ
Absorbent focus on desorption	UiB KJ
Desorption general	CMR, UiB

5.   Preparation for transport of CO₂

Before transport can take place, the CO₂ must be compressed/pressurized and eventually cooled depending on the preferred transportation method. Transport by pipeline or by ship requires different treatment of the CO₂ and different equipment for the preparation.

Preparation for transport of CO₂ by ship

In particular, storage tanks are necessary for optimal logistics.

Identified challenges:

♣     Optimal water content

♣     Upscaling to large ships

●       Intermediate storage capacity onshore

♣     Compressing incl. intermediate coolers

♣     Loading systems

Comments to challenges:

Ship transportation would require an intermediate storage system for CO₂ to minimize time at quay. The storage system would require compressing and intermediate coolers (if liquefied CO₂) as well as loading systems.

Partnership competence

The partnership has limited competence with particular relevance for this part of the CO₂ value chain.

Competence in Bergen  (Significant activity in bold)
Preparation for CO2 transport by ship, general competence	HiB, UiB KJ

Preparation for transport of CO₂ in pipeline

Pipeline transport, as opposed to ship transport, does not require intermediate storage.

Identified challenges:

♣     Optimal water content

♣     Type and quality of materials

♣     CO₂ pumping

Comments to challenges:

Optimal water content is an issue no matter which form of transport is to be chosen, in particular because of corrosion issues and to avoid hydrate formation. Pumping of large amounts of CO₂ over long distances is also an engineering challenge.

Partnership competence:

The subsea activities at HiB have relevance with regard to this part of the value chain. UiB KJ also possesses relevant general competence.

Competence in Bergen  (Significant activity in bold)
Preparation for CO2 transport by ship, general competence	HiB, UiB KJ

6.   CO₂ infrastructure

For future large scale handling of CO₂ from various sources and to various destinations an infrastructure needs to be developed. An infrastructure would consist of a system with pipelines and ships transporting CO₂ from sources in Norway and the North Sea rim to permanent storage and possibly oil fields (for EOR). There will probably also is a need for one or more onshore hubs where CO₂ from ships would be unloaded and brought into a pipeline before being transported offshore.

Transport of CO₂

Transport of CO₂ is not a new issue. Industry has a long history of taking into account the health, environment and safety aspects of CO₂ transport. In Norway small vessels (up to 1200 tons) are routinely operated by the fertilizer company Yara. No CO₂ pipelines of any length are however operated in Norway or offshore, but are on the other hand part of daily operations for enhanced oil recovery on land in North America. 

Transport by ship

As stated above, Yara operates small CO₂ vessels. These vessels transport commercial CO₂ from Yara CO₂ plants (ammonia plants) to North European markets.

Identified challenges:

♣     Upscaling (to large vessels)

♣     Ship directly to offshore unloading

♣     CO2-ships for multiple use?

♣     Logistics

♣     Liquefied contra compressed

♣     Optimal water content

♣     Heating of liquefied CO2

♣     Unloading

♣     Safety

Comments to challenges:

There are two different options for transporting CO₂ by ship;

♣     As liquefied (approximately -50° and 7-8 bar pressure)

♣     As compressed (no cooling, pressurized to 80 bar or less)

The first option is proven technology, though upscaling from today’s small ships to the large ships required to transport CO₂ from the step 2 CO₂ plant at Mongstad represents an engineering challenge. The second option is not proven, but has recently been identified as a probably viable way of transporting CO₂. Compressed CO₂ is an alternative in particular when a pipeline is the most likely longer term preferred choice but when there is a need for an interim solution for a limited number of years.

Logistics issues including possibility for direct routing of CO₂-ships from loading place to an offshore unloading buoy is not well resolved. Also the cold liquefied CO₂ represents a challenge in the sense that the excess cold is a potential asset representing a value.

Partnership competence:

CMR Gexcon has competence related to gas leakage, which is an issue of interest for several parts of the CO₂ chain. For logistics UiB II possesses competence.

Competence in Bergen  (Significant activity in bold)
Logistics	UiB II
Safety	CMR Gexcon
Transport by ship, general competence	HiB, CMR Instrumentation, UiB KJ

Transport by pipeline

As commented above, CO₂ transport by pipeline over larger distances and under subsea conditions is not common practice today. Pipe lay and operating conditions are however very similar to other subsea pipelines for which there are years of experience in the North Sea.

Identified challenges:

♣     Corrosion

♣     Optimal water content

♣     Materials

♣     Subsea pipeline for CO₂

●       No transport of CO₂ by subsea pipeline today

●       Safety (pipeline breach etc.)

●       Maintenance

●       Formation of hydrates?

●       Multiphase pipe flow (behaviour of CO₂ for changing pressure/temperature conditions

Comments to challenges:

Apart from issues commented elsewhere, safety related to CO₂ transport is important. There is to our knowledge no example as of today of subsea CO₂ pipelines anywhere in the world.

Partnership competence:

The marine science community in Bergen, in this context represented by UiB GFI, UiB BIO, Unifob BCCS, CMR Instrumentation and UiB Math, will be able to provide key environmental parameters during the design, installing, and operational phase of the pipeline. In addition to participate in basic studies on CO₂ multiphase pipe flow.

CMR Gexcon competence on gas leakage is relevant. It also seems as an opportunity to combine this competence with the expertise of Unifob’s BCCS on modelling CO₂ behaviour in the ocean in case of leakage from a pipeline. UiB BIO will have expertise on ecological consequences of a leakage and UiB GFI has considerable activity on measurement of ocean carbon chemistry and effects of ocean acidification due to elevated CO₂.

UiB II expertise in optimized regularity of gas transportation networks could be applied for a future network of CO₂-pipelines. For studying hydrate formation the UiB KJ and UiB IFT are in a good position.

Competence in Bergen  (Significant activity in bold)
Optimization	UiB II, CMR Gexcon
Subsea pipeline for CO2	UiB II, CMR Gexcon
Pipe flow	UiB IFT, CMR Instrumentation, HiB, CMR, UiB Math
Ocean environment	UiB GFI, Unifob SAM,  UiB Math, Unifob BCCS,
CO2 chemistry	UiB KJ, UiB GFI, HiB, UiB IFT
General	HiB, UiB KJ

CO₂ hub

Identified challenges:

♣     Advantages hub as opposed to direct transportation?

●       Onshore contra offshore installation

♣     Utilization of cold from liquefied CO₂

♣     Optimization of  intermediate storage

♣     Tanks or rock caverns?

♣     CO₂ safety

♣     Receiving CO₂ from sources other than Mongstad

♣     Heating of liquefied CO2

Comments to challenges:

It remains a question if a pipeline should be a solution directly from source to receiver or if it is feasible for the total CO₂ supply system to handle the distribution via a hub. If both pipeline and ship transport is combined in a future CO₂ infrastructure, one or more hubs are likely to be part of the total picture. Total logistics picture and handling of CO₂ from different places including both liquefied and compressed will be an issue.

Partnership competence:

Both CMR Gexcon and UiB II have competence relevant for the challenges connected to a CO₂ hub.

Competence in Bergen  (Significant activity in bold)
Hub as opposed to direct transportation	CMR Gexcon, UiB II
CO2 safety	CMR Gexcon
Receiving CO2 from other sources than Mongstad	CMR Gexcon
CO2 hub, general competence	UiB IFT, UiB II

CO₂ on platform

Identified challenges:

♣     Corrosion

♣     Materials

♣     HES issues related to CO₂ and impurities in CO₂

♣     CO₂ in produced natural gas

♣     Reconstruction of platform

♣     Variation in CO₂ produced over time

♣     Weight of equipment

Comments to challenges:

When moving offshore to the platform, new challenges appear as compared to previous parts of the CO₂-chain. It is supposed that CO₂ will be handled on an existing structure, and that new platforms will not be built because of CO₂-handling. This may not be the case if CO₂ from several sources are to be handled on a platform, but for the CO₂ from Mongstad alone, we have supposed that an existing platform will be used.

Some issues are common for both the situation when CO₂ is used for enhanced oil recovery (EOR) as well as if the CO₂ is just stored on a permanent basis in for instance an aquifer. The issues mentioned above are mostly of this category.

As for most of the CO₂ chain, corrosion and materials issues are represented. In addition the extra process equipment needed for CO₂ handling on board a platform with limited space available and with weight restrictions represent particular challenges. For the platform crew the CO₂ also introduces additional aspects related to HES (health, environment and safety), this also includes potential impurities like H₂S etc. which may be present in the CO₂.

Partnership competence:

HiB has expertise in separation, while CMR Instrumentation has expertise in for instance multiphase flow measurement as well as in environmental monitoring and instrumentation. All these competences are well suited to help tackle challenges likely to arise on the platform, for instance with regard to HES and monitoring of the working environment.

Competence in Bergen  (Significant activity in bold)
HES:	CMR Instrumentation
CO2 on platform, general competence	HiB, CMR Instrumentation, CMR Gexcon, UiB

7.   CO₂ storage

In the recent IPCC special report on CO2   Capture and Storage  proper selection and characterization of CO2 storage sites, and predicting and monitoring the fate of the injected CO2, are essential components of the Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) technology. Hydrocarbon containing, depleted or in connection with Enhanced oil recovery, aquifers, coal seems or methane hydrate formations are candidates for storage of CO2, see Figure 3.

Figure 3: The different storage options. Source: CARBON DIOXIDE CAPTURE AND STORAGE, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Special Report (2005).

Identifying and mapping of appropriate formations with the necessary capacity, which are within economic distance from major CO₂ sources, needs to be performed. The selection will have to meet international standard, yet to be established.

The most likely candidates for Norway will be hydrocarbon-containing formations, either in connection with Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) or depleted reservoirs, and saline aquifers, of which the Utsira formation is an example.

Storage of CO₂ in geological formations offshore is widely recognized as a technology with the potential to prevent significant amounts of CO₂ from ever reaching the atmosphere. Storage in saline aquifers has been demonstrated at the Sleipner field since 1996, including techniques for monitoring the CO₂ in the underground. The most successful technique is seismic, while also gravimetry can be used. The primary goal of using CO₂ for enhanced oil recovery is of course to produce more oil, but in the process CO₂ is also permanently stored in the oil reservoir.

CO₂ for Enhanced Oil Recovery

Use of CO₂ for EOR is not part of the Mongstad agreement between the Norwegian Ministry of Oil and Energy and Statoil in step 1.

Identified challenges:

♣     Reproduced CO₂

●       Gas treatment

♣     How efficient is CO₂ in reservoir?

♣     CO₂ in combination or  in competition with other techniques for enhancing oil recovery

♣     Tolerance for impurities in fresh CO₂

♣     Corrosion

●       Materials

●       Inhibitors

♣     Monitoring of CO₂ in reservoir

♣     Stability of CO₂ – supply, accordance with needs of the oilfield

♣     From EOR → permanent CO₂-storage

●       See also challenges related to permanent storage

♣     CO₂ to enhanced gas recovery

Comments to challenges:

Whether CO₂ from Mongstad will be used for EOR somewhere is an open question. EOR could potentially become the preferred option if CO₂ from Mongstad can be supplied together with CO₂ from other sources. This is because oil fields are likely to require larger amounts than what Mongstad alone is able to give, unless a relatively small oilfield or oil bearing structure is a candidate. It should also be born in mind that an oilfield would require a safe and relatively stable (though often gradually declining) supply of CO₂ over time. At some stage, maybe just after a few years, the oilfield will start re-producing the injected CO₂, becoming self supplied.

Often use of CO₂ for EOR is distinguished from permanent storage (as in this document). This is a practical way of looking at things; however it is quite possible to consider EOR as a first step on a road to permanent storage, where the oilfield at the end of its lifetime is converted to a CO₂ storage field.

Use of CO₂ for enhance recovery of natural gas is considered by many as not feasible, though it should not be ruled out that this may become an attractive option in the future.

Partnership competence:

Several institutions in the partnership have expertise relevant for the challenges related to CO₂ for EOR, see table and competence matrix.

Competence in Bergen  (Significant activity in bold)
Geological issues in general	UiB GEO, Unifob Petroleum
Impurities in CO2	UiB KJ, UiB GEO, Unifob Petroleum
Monitoring underground	UiB GEO, UiB Math , Unifob Petroleum ,UiB IFT
CO2 for EOR, general competence	HiB, CMR Instrumentation, CMR Computing, Unifob Petroleum, UiB

CO₂ Sequestration in Hydrate Reservoirs

Identified challenges:

♣     Hydrate formation in porous media

♣     Hydrate reformation

♣     Thermodynamic stability

♣     Simulations of the molecular thermodynamics

♣     Methane – CO₂ exchange; rate and efficiency

♣     Hydrate stability

♣     Production strategies

Comments to challenges:

Stable long term CO₂ sequestration in hydrate reservoirs provides energy for the future by associated spontaneous natural gas production. Sequestration of CO₂ in hydrate reservoirs offers a natural process driven by the enhanced stability of the CO₂ hydrate to replace the in-situ natural gas hydrate with CO₂ hydrate and is associated with spontaneous production of the released natural gas. The research activities emphasize experimental verification of this conversion process, performing experiments to determine the reformation kinetics; without addition of heat and with no associated water production, using dynamic visualization with Magnetic Resonance Imaging.

The energy bound in gas-hydrate reservoirs amounts to more than twice the amounts of energy associated with all oil, gas and coal resources worldwide and this fact has initiated increased attention to gas-hydrate reservoirs and to how this potential can be realized as energy for the future. All gas-hydrate reservoirs may be  candidates for natural gas production by CO₂ injection, but in particular gas-hydrate reservoirs in the vicinity of existing petroleum exploitation infrastructure offers the best prospective.        

Partnership competence:

Through previous publications and patents a collaborative Hydrate Research Group at the UiB has demonstrated experimentally that injection of CO₂ may produce methane from methane hydrates without adding heat to the process. MRI experiments have been used to follow details of the kinetics involved in the phase transitions.

UiB IFT and partners have pioneered this field, and are in a good position to further advance this technology.  

Competence in Bergen  (Significant activity in bold)
Geological issues in general	UiB GEO, Unifob Petroleum
Impurities in CO2	UiB KJ, UiB GEO, Unifob Petroleum
CO2 hydrate and thermodynamics	UiB IFT, UiB KJ

CO₂ for permanent storage

The Mongstad agreement states that the Norwegian State is responsible for establishing a solution for disposing of the CO₂ (“en disponeringsløsning”) for Step 1. What this really means, is not clear. It is reasonable to believe however, that such a solution must imply some form of permanent storage, or alternatively use, of the captured CO₂.

Identified challenges:

♣     Well materials: Durability and ability to withstand corrosion

♣     Site selection

●       Proximity

●       Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs)

♣     Tolerance towards impurities

♣     Monitoring

●       In reservoir

●       In geological layers in between

●       Migration

●       Of wells

●       On surface (ocean floor and within the water column)

♣     Effects of small and scattered CO₂-leakages to the ocean floor

●       On (benthic) organisms

●       On chemistry

●       On eventual later ventilation to the atmosphere

♣     Geochemical reactions with reservoir rocks over time and geomechanical consequences

Comments to challenges:

A baseline survey of the geology, not only the reservoir itself, but the whole sedimentary sequence and especially the overlying strata, has to be performed. Potential migration pathways will have to be identified.  In addition it is likely that core samples will have to be collected, with subsequent laboratory analysis and experiments.

Based on the geological model and geochemical and fluid properties long term flow simulations will have to be performed. Such simulations are important for determining the suitability of the formation to confine the CO₂ for millenniums.

Important aspects of site selection for CO₂ storage include geological survey and characterization of candidate formations, planning of monitoring programme for the underground etc. For the characterization and forward planning process reliable numerical simulation tools for the long term behaviour of CO₂ in the formation are needed. However there are still uncertainties on the accuracy of the different monitoring techniques, and how to design a proper monitoring program, i.e. combination of techniques and frequency and duration of the programme. 

Abandoned wells are commonly recognized as the most important risk factor related to permanent storage of CO₂. Therefore the understanding of how well materials withstand the corrosive properties of CO₂ dissolved in water is a critical issue for this part of the CO₂ chain. Also how impurities influence the reservoir formation is not only an issue for EOR cases but for aquifers and other storage options as well. Monitoring of the behaviour of CO₂ in the underground is also of great importance. 4D seismic has been recognized as one method through the work done for the Sleipner CO₂ injection by Statoil and partners. However, very accurate methods (less than 0.1 % reduction in CO₂ in place per year) will be required for verification in relation to CO₂ accounting. Monitoring on or above the seafloor may therefore also be needed.

Environmental impacts of small and scattered CO₂ leakages to the sea bottom are an issue which has not been studied much so far. This includes the possibility for subsequent ventilation of CO₂ to the atmosphere, which is of particular interest in relation to CO₂ accounting. These issues will be discussed further in Section 8.

Partnership competence:

What is said about the Partnership competence for EOR can more or less be valid for permanent storage as well, but see also table.

Competence in Bergen  (Significant activity in bold)
Geological issues in general	UiB GEO, Unifob Petroleum
Geophysical surveying	UiB GEO
Seismic and other geophysical monitoring techniques	UiB GEO, Unifob Petroleum Unifob SAM
Geophysical and geological modeling	Unifob Petroleum, UiB GEO
Inverse modeling/data analysis	Unifob Petroleum, UiB Math
Instrumentation	CMR Instrumentation, UiB IFT, HiB
Geochemistry	Unifob Petroleum, UiB KJ, UiB GEO
Reservoir mechanics	Unifob Petroleum, UiB GEO, UiB Math UiB IFT
Flow simulations	Unifob Petroleum, UiB Math
Seafloor monitoring	UiB GFI, CMR Instrumentation, UiB IFT, HiB
Effects of CO2 leakages to ocean floor	UiB BIO, Unifob BCCS, Unifob Petroleum, UiB GFI

CO₂ storage and EOR – non technical and extreme long term

Identified challenges:

♣     Extreme long term (50 – 1000 ? years):

●       Long term modeling

●       Monitoring in a post operation perspective

         What organisation/body should have responsibility?

■         For how long?

●       Risk analysis

●       Remediation strategy

●       Environmental impact assessments

♣     Non-technical:

●       CO₂ accounting

         Long term efficiency of CO₂ storage in geological formations

●       Public acceptance

■         Verification short and long term

■         Communication of risk

■         Legal framework

■         International conventions

Comments to challenges:

An Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) will have to be produced. This report ensures that the environmental implications are taken into account and is an important document toward governmental bodies and in public outreach. See also sections 8 and 9.

Partnership competence:

For the long term and extreme long term it seems probable that CMR’s visualization tools could be of help in understanding geological/geochemical processes and also in illustrating towards decision makers. Like for the two previous parts of the chain (EOR and Permanent Storage), UiB-IFG seems to have several relevant disciplines. Of particular relevance is the expertise of UiB-GFI, and also UiB-MI in addition to UiB GEO and UiB BIO.

UiB GFI has long term engagement in CO2 handling and serves on several international committees, among other within the UN system.

Competence in Bergen  (Significant activity in bold)
Extreme long term	UiB BIO, UiB GEO, UiB Math, Unifob Petroleum, CMR Computing, Unifob BCCS, UiB GFI
Risk Analysis	UiB Math
Ecosystems	UiB BIO, Unifob SAM, UiB KJ
Seafloor and ocean environment	UiB BIO, Unifob SAM, UiB GFI, UiB GEO, Unifob BCCS,
Marine chemistry	UiB GFI, UiB KJ
Ocean processes	UiB GFI, Unifob BCCS, UiB Math
Atmospheric monitoring	CMR Gexcon, UiB GFI, UiB IFT
International conventions	UiB Law, UiB GFI, UiB Math, Unifob BCCS

8.   Environmental issues

Accidental release of hazardous substances from the power plant will have to be detected and mitigation plans will have to be established. In addition to instrumentation, monitoring the local biota can give indications of unwanted releases. Scenarios for releases to the atmosphere may be analyzed using the same type of CFD tools as used for analyzing the development of clouds of combustible gases.

Each CO2 storage project will have to develop an adequate and unique monitoring program that will have to fulfill two main criteria; demonstrate that the reservoir performance meets the defined standards, yet to be established, and assure that migration or leakage does not occur.

Mitigation plans should be available if a migration is detected, and the monitoring program changed accordingly. Hence, the monitoring program should be flexible and be subject to changes both during and after the injection. In order to be able to have adequate mitigation options a migration out of the reservoir should be detected as early as possible. However, the resolution of the monitoring tools makes accurate measurements of volume of CO2   inside the reservoir uncertain, and detection of small migrations and seeps difficult. A leakage to the atmosphere or ocean may occur over a large area, and dispersed small leakages may occur which will be difficult to detect. In order to detect a leak to ocean, it will be important to monitor changes in benthic and aquatic chemistry.

The monitoring might be expected to last for several years into the post injection period and cover an area of up to 100 km². Hence reliable and durable instrumentation will have to be developed. A gradual downscaling of the program could be initiated once specific events have occurred. For instance a specific fault has been reached without detection of a leakage, a large fraction of the CO2 has been dissolved into reservoir fluid (becoming negative buoyant), or mineral trapping can be assured.

Leakage or migration of other substances mobilized by CO2 reactions is another issue. Examples are the possibility of increased levels of heavy metals in potable groundwater, and release of methane. The behavior of this aggressive greenhouse gas is different from CO2, e.g. it is much less solvable in water. Through reactions or new migration pathways there is a possibility that CO2 injection may trigger a CH4 leakage.

How microbial dynamics responds to the presence of either supercritical CO₂ in deep formations is not only an important scientific question, but is also of key relevance in the design and management of geological CO₂ storage schemes.  For example, the formation of biofilms in the vicinity of injection wells might affect flow distributions and overall injection pressure required to maintain a suitable injection rate.  There is little if any information on how bacterial and biofilm dynamics are affected once they are in direct contact with supercritical CO₂. Concerns have also been raised about the possibility that geological storage of CO₂ may change the native microbial populations and result in the loss of biodiversity.  The extent of these biogeochemical changes will be important not only for an overall risk assessment of the CO₂ injection option, but they may also be used to indicate elevated CO₂ levels and therefore serve as indicators for CO₂ leakage.

It will be important to detect leaks of CO2   to the atmosphere, lakes or the ocean. The most dramatic, but also easiest to detect, will be a pipeline failure or major blowout from injection or monitoring wells. But also dispersed leaks will be important to detect. CO2  is nontoxic in low concentrations, but may have environmental impact and a leakage will reduce the benefit of storing CO2. High concentrations of CO2 may cause asphyxiation, primarily by replacing oxygen, and hence is potentially lethal. Hence, a program for monitoring areas prone for CO₂ accumulation might have to be established. 

Related to Mongstad and Norwegian storage scenarios a leakage to oceanic waters is most likely. It will be important to detect such a leakage, which may occur over a large area, as early as possible. Hence large areas will have to be monitored for elevated levels of CO₂, both within the benthic layer and in the water column. The benthic biota can give an early indication of a dispersed leak. How effective the ocean might serve as a buffer, preventing further release to the atmosphere, needs to be clarified.

Chronic or acute influences on the marine biota from elevated CO₂ concentrations are still not yet fully understood. Especially cold-water calcifying organisms, which build their external skeletal material out of calcium carbonate, is expected to be highly sensitive to elevated CO₂ content in the sea water. Since these organisms provide food and habitat to others, it might have strong influence on the entire ocean ecosystem.

Reduced Ca may result in dissociation of the respiratory pigments (haemocyanins) of marine gastropods and crustaceans that will cause osmotic stress and death. It is general believed that fish do not have CO₂ sensors, and will therefore encounter hypercapnia (high blood CO₂ levels) very easily. This is a particular problem for fish in dense populations such as fish farms, where high CO₂ output is a major problem.  

Since Mongstad is supposed to be a pilot project for development of CO₂ handling technology, studies on environmental impact from an atmospheric leak should not be excluded.

Even though we must assume that the site selection process will lead to exclusion of storage sites which are not suitable in the long term, the risk of leakage cannot be ruled out completely. Viewed in this light, acceptable potential leakage rates to the atmosphere over time as compared to doing nothing is part of the ongoing debate.

This issue is complex and will be highly cross-disciplinary, each of the partners has significant competence that combined will make them suitable for pursuing all aspects. See also next section and the competence tables under section “CO2 storage”.

Competence in Bergen  (Significant activity in bold)
Environmental issues	UiB, HiB, CMR, Unifob

9.   CO₂ handling and the Bergen Marine Sciences

UiB is the leading marine university in Norway, highly acclaimed internationally. The diverse shoreline of fjords, polls, exposed shores and the open ocean, together with large and small scale facilities, has generously facilitated a long and vast line of research results. As already stated these also provide a valuable foundation for understanding and planning CO₂ storage. Marine research is being performed within these disciplines, with active participation of several other research institutes:

♣     Marine Biology Norway has always depended on renewable ocean resources. The focus is on fisheries and aquaculture, functional genomics, and resource management. Bergen scientists lead international surveys of marine ecosystems, biodiversity, and habitat: from marine mammals to plankton, to creatures from the mid-Atlantic ridge and the coral reef!

♣     Oceanography Areas of oceanographic interest include climate change influences on the ocean current circulation patterns, and how man influences oceanic changes with pollution. There is strong activity related to the oceanic part of the Carbon cycle Bergen climatologist’s research climate sensitivity and variability of high latitude regions and the role of the oceans in the climate system. In addition, the community is active in studying smaller scale processes, with an increasing focus on sediment interaction and dissolution of tracers from within sediments, including CO2.

♣     Marine geology and geophysics Investigates both the continental shelves and deep sea as the basis for geological growth models. Attention is paid to the relationship between structural, magmatic and sedimentary processes, and the possible consequences of natural catastrophes together with instabilities, gas hydrates, and mass movement.

♣     Petroleum research Offshore oil is the lifeblood of the modern Norwegian economy. Research includes petroleum geosciences, which study and model the architecture and geological characteristics of sedimentary basins, plus formation, migration and accumulation of hydrocarbons. Also important are environmental consequences of petroleum extraction on the delicate northern ecosystems.

♣     Instrumentation and monitoring Provision of high quality data is the first condition for successful R&D, subsequent modelling and also for optimal process control and environmental surveillance. Bergen has played and is playing a key role in R&D on and manufacturing of measurements systems for industrial processes, operational oceanography and remote sensing.

10.    Sosio-economical, juridical and ethical aspects

CO2 is used in many industrial contexts, e.g. food and beverage industry. In addition it is known, and patented, that interesting N-fertilizers can be made from CO₂ and NH₃. It will require a local production of H₂ and clean N₂.

However the amount of CO₂ that will be produced at Mongstad will be so large that only fractions can be expected to be utilized for industrial purposes. The only industrial use that will be able to use such an amount will be to use it for Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR). Such a use will, as the reservoir becomes depleted, be shifting toward becoming a pure storage project. 

There are few regulatory constraints regarding CO₂ storage onshore. CO₂ storage in or beneath the ocean is regulated by several international agreements; the London Convention, the Oslo-Paris convention (OSPAR), and several European directives. This is especially important for Norway, since most of the formations that will be considered for storage of CO₂ are located offshore. Sub sea storage of CO₂ was recently added to Annex 1 of the London Conventions and guidelines are under development. Such framework is also being developed by the OSPAR convention and will include six stages for risk assessment and management framework (source: Norwegian Pollution Control Authority, SFT):

♣     Problem Formulation: Defines the boundaries of the assessment.

♣     Site Selection and Characterization: Suitability of a site proposed for storage (and the surrounding area), Capacity and injectivity. Baseline for management and monitoring. Design and operation of the injection project. Plan for site-closure.

♣     Exposure Assessment Movement of the CO₂ stream within geological formations.  Potential leakage pathways. The amount of CO₂ and the spatial and temporal scale of fluxes. Additional substances already present or mobilised by the CO_2.

♣     Effects Assessment Effects on the marine environment, human health, marine resources and other legitimate uses of the sea from leakage.

♣     Risk Characterisation Integrates the exposure and effects to estimate of the likelihood for adverse impacts. Distinguish between processes relevant to characterizing risks in the near-term and long-term. Level of uncertainty

♣     Risk Management (incl. Monitoring and Mitigation). Safe design, operation and site-closure. Monitoring requirements, during and after CO₂ injection. The performance of the storage. Monitoring assist the identification of additional preventive and/or mitigative measures in case of leakage. After site closure, the monitoring intensity may gradually decrease

Accurate modeling tools, to be used for long term modeling of reservoirs, will be important for decommissioning of the site. If governments have to take liability after closing of the site, they will require assertion that the bulk part of the CO2   has been trapped and that leakage in the future is highly unlikely.

The question of how long is long enough with regard to permanent storage is still a matter of debate. What is beyond normal operating time for industrial plants and sites would normally be considered very long term by the industry. Monitoring and responsibilities after closing operations and maybe after the operating company has ceased to exist raise difficult legal and monitoring questions.

Competence in Bergen  (Significant activity in bold)
Sosio-economical aspects	UiB SS, UiB KJ, HiB
Juridical aspects	UiB Law
International conventions	UiB Law, UiB GFI
Ethical aspects	UiB Arts, HiB

11.    Education and competence building

Bergen is situated in the heart of the most industrialized region in Norway. This has had consequences for the UiB’s and HiBs priorities. The unusual aspect of the UiB’s efforts devoted to technology is that they have largely been integrated with the basic disciplines, and that they have most often originated in these disciplines, with respect to both research and education. No separate engineering faculties have been established, which is often the case elsewhere. In the scientific context, technology is quite simply the most expedient use of the basic disciplines to develop devices and methods for use in society. At the same time, technological devices have been decisive in moving the boundaries of research forward within the basic disciplines. The integrated organization of technology has made it possible to exploit this interaction to the full, with respect to professional development and results. It has also resulted in an excellent ability to restructure and helped maintain close links with the Norwegian business community, at the same time as research has had a clear international foundation in large and long-established networks. Another natural consequence of this is that technology at the UiB and HiB have developed in niches where the academic and industrial environments are strong, rather than on a wider front. This has taken place in collaboration with other environments in Bergen such as a number of highly esteemed research institutes, and not least, a number of high-tech companies with products and services which are sold world wide.

Gas power plants and CO₂ handling are relatively new technologies in Norway. Even so HiB and UiB offer a substantial portfolio of study programs with high relevance. Also utilizing competence of their R&D-partners HiB and UiB have the interdisciplinary foundation necessary to develop targeted education that will assure recruitment of the required experts.  This could also encompass a component for further education of personnel at Mongstad. HiB and UiB are now collaborating in developing new study programs based on a continuous analysis of the need for candidates. Several new programs have been initiated in collaboration with, and often partly funded by, industrial partners. The most relevant of the available Bachelor (3 years) and Master (2 years) programs are listed below. Mind that several important programs in this context, particularly at UiB, are named by discipline and not by profession or theme.

Bachelor programmes:
♣     Petroleum technology (UiB) ♣     Energy technology (HiB) ♣     Process technology (UiB) ♣     Chemical engineering (HiB) ♣     Chemistry (UiB) ♣     Subsea technology (HiB) ♣     Geophysics (UiB) ♣     Marine Technology (HiB) ♣     Environment and resources (UiB) ♣     Electric power engineering (HiB) ♣     Mathematics (UiB) ♣     Informatics (UiB)	♣     Information technology (HiB) ♣     Control systems (HiB) ♣     Physics (UiB) ♣     Nano technology (UiB) ♣     Biology (UiB) ♣     Geology (UiB) ♣     Metrology and oceanography (UiB) ♣     Mechanical engineering (HiB) ♣     Construction (HiB) ♣     Computer Engineering (HiB) ♣     Electronics (HiB) ♣     Industrial engineering (HiB)

Master programmes:

♣     Petroleum technology/ Reservoir physics, - geophysics, - geology, - chemistry and - mechanics (UiB)

♣     Process technology/ Multiphase systems, Instrumentation, Chemometry, Separation, Safety technology (UiB)

♣     Applied and computational mathematics/ Applied analysis, Hydrodynamics and ocean modelling, Mechanics and dynamical systems, Environmental mathematics, Reservoir mechanics (UiB)

♣     Geophysics/ Physical and chemical oceanography, Meteorology  (UiB)

♣     Earth science/ Geodynamics, Marine geology and Geophysics, Environment, Petroleum earth science (UiB)

♣     Physics/ Hydro acoustics, Measurement science, Theoretical physics and modelling (UiB)

♣     Biology/ Diversity, Evolution and Ecology (UiB)

♣     Marine biology (UiB)

♣     Chemistry/ Chemometry, Environment, Molecular modelling, Organic chemistry

♣     Applied and computational mathematics/ Applied analysis, Hydrodynamics and ocean modelling, Mechanics and dynamical systems, Environmental mathematics, Reservoir mechanics (UiB)

♣     Software development (HiB)

♣     Informatics (UiB)

♣     Computational science (UiB)

♣     Statistics/ Data analysis (UiB)

♣     Water Resources and Coastal Management (UiB)

More and up to date information on all these programs are available at the student web portals of HiB and UiB. Student recruitment is a critical issue that already is addressed in many ways. One of these is TeknoVest, a recruitment network for western Norway run by all the institutions offering technological higher education in the region. Through this network the students are given access to an even wider span of programs than those listed above.

Both HiB and UiB have wide networks of industrial and R&D partners actively participating in the supervision of engineering and master students in their 3 and 12 month projects, respectively. These projects often serve as pilot and feasibility studies which are developed into full R&D projects with industrial or governmental funding. This includes PhD projects which also are carried out in close collaboration with industrial partners.

12.     Relevant collaborative activities and networks.

A concise and general presentation of HiB, CMR, Unifob, and UiB is given in the appendix. There are, however, several centres and network type of projects and activities between the institutions and some cases also with external partners, which is relevant for the energy plant. The most relevant are presented in this section. In addition the different research groups and departments have extensive national and international networks and collaborations that are not listed here.

The four partners have links and network involving national and international research activities and technology providers relevant to CO₂. In addition to networks specific to each partner, research groups or individuals at CMR have been coordinator for government funded Norwegian CO₂ technology research and demonstration activities (KLIMATEK programme) during 1997-2005 (now the responsibility of  CLIMIT/GASSNOVA) with involvement in a portfolio of national and international projects and collaborative activities.

Local and national collaboration

The Partners have an extensive contact network involving most, if not all, other R&D institutions in Norway involved in petroleum research. Except for some fundamental research programs and activities, all R&D are carried out in close cooperation with industrial partners. The industrial contact network is extensive and also vital for the activity. The nature of the collaboration depends on the actual project or activity and span from advisory type of functions to full collaboration, often also with bilateral part time positions for key R&D personnel.

Examples on international collaboration and networks

Researchers within mathematics, natural sciences and technology have with few exceptions collaboration with international research groups and networks of groups, including short (weeks – months) and long term (year) mobility schemes. Some examples on partner institutions and networks are listed here, but this list is far from complete:

♣     The Integrated Ocean Drilling Program is an international marine research program that explores the Earth's history and structure as recorded in seafloor sediments and rocks, and monitors subseafloor environments

♣     Gas hydrates on the Norwegian-Barents Sea-Svalbard margin (GANS)

♣     BasinMaster (focus on sedimentary basins)

♣     ConocoPhillips Research Center in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, USA

♣     Carnegie Institution of Washington, Department of Global Ecology, USA

♣     University of Bern, Climate and Environmental Physics, Germany

♣     Institut für Ostseeforschung Warnemünde, Sektion Meereschemie, Germany

♣     Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, USA

♣     University of Manchester, UK

♣     North Carolina State University, USA

♣     Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), USA

♣     University of Montana, USA - Project collaboration on EOR

♣     Colorado School of Mines, USA - Fluid flow and faults and mutual student exchange

♣     University of Calgary, Canada  - EOR and flow assurance

♣     Total, France

♣     Chevron, USA

♣     ConocoPhillips

♣     Compagnie Générale de Géophysique, France

♣     Schlumberger, UK

♣     University of Tokyo, Japan

♣     Research Institute of Innovative Technology for the Earth, RITE, Japan

♣     National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Japan

♣     Heriot-Watt University, UK

♣     Technical University of Stuttgart, Germany

♣     Princeton University, USA

♣     Tulsa University, USA

♣     University of Erlangen, Germany

♣     China University of Petroleum, China

♣     University of Texas at Austin, USA

♣     University of South Carolina, USA

♣     Technical University of Delft, The Netherlands

♣     University of Utrecht, The Netherlands

♣     Oklahoma University, USA

♣     Technical University of Denmark, Denmark

♣     Stanford University, USA

♣     Texas A&M University, USA

National Laboratory for Monitoring underground CO₂

CMR Instrumentation, Unifob Petroleum and Center for Computational Science are partners in the CO₂ Field Laboratory feasibility study project. The CO₂ Field Lab project is funded by Gassnova, coordinated by Sintef Petroleum, and performed as a multidisciplinary collaboration project by the following Norwegian partners; IFE, IRIS, NGI, NGU, NIVA, SPR, UiB, Unifob, UiO and CMR. This study evaluates the feasibility of establishing a field laboratory for monitoring injected CO₂ with focus on investigating migration mechanisms, sensitivity and feasibility of various monitoring techniques, detection of leakage and seepage and providing a legal, regulatory and policy framework.

A feasibility study has been performed during autumn 2006. A project description will be ready by mid January; where after sponsors for a project will be approached. 

Centre for Integrated Petroleum Research (CIPR)

This Centre of Excellence utilizes the combined strengths of experienced petroleum researchers and more than 40 researchers from the following departments at the UiB:

♣     Earth Science (IFG)

♣     Chemistry (KJ)

♣     Mathematics (Math)

♣     Physics and Technology (IFT)

♣     Molecular Biology (MBI)

The main objective of CIPR is to establish an internationally re-known, cross-disciplinary unit in petroleum research.  The challenge is to create a research environment where results from basic research can form the basis for improving the technology, and to ensure best possible economical development of the resources on the continental shelf.

An additional goal is to support project oriented cross-disciplinary education, and to educate top qualified scientists as part of the different research programs.  CIPR is one of three Centers of Excellence at the UiB.

The geo-modelling group at CIPR has extensive experience, academic as well as industrial, in generating digital 3D models for reservoir evaluation and simulation purposes using both subsurface and outcrop data sources. Focus areas include capturing heterogeneity of depositional and tectonic architectures at all scales and performing gas and fluid-flow simulations to evaluate their effect on reservoir performance and -integrity. Uncertainty evaluations and risks form an integral part of these studies.

Ongoing projects include a cross-disciplinary effort aimed at the development of a new method and add-on software components for industrial-type modelling tools. The new method allows detailed 3D representation of reservoir fault features at present not included in standard models, such as fluid flow inside faulted rock volumes, 3D capillarity seal effects of fault and non-deterministic forecasting communication between non-juxtaposed parts of the reservoir. These factors have significant impact when considering reservoir integrity/sealing, estimating reservoir volume and properties and intra-reservoir flow. Furthermore, the ability to forecast the extent of fault-induced damage to the reservoir aids our ability to optimise well emplacement in the reservoirs.

CIPR has conducted extensive work on outcrop studies of on-shore reservoir analogues, using a combination of detailed fieldwork, geophysical methods and 3D Lidar laser scans. The purpose has been to generate high-detail models for a range of reservoir types. These are used for simulation test aimed at identifying critical parameters for reservoir performance and serve as test cases to optimise implementation of geological features affecting reservoir response to production and injection.

The centre includes activities on developing of software for reservoir simulation and inverse techniques. In relevance to CO2 storage the following is mentioned:

The ATHENA model:

ATHENA is a CIPR in-house reservoir flow simulator with emphasis on flexibility. It simulates thermal, multi-component, multi-phase subsurface flow processes, and it can be coupled to a range of different equations of state (EOS). Black-oil and compositional EOS are supported, and preliminary work on coupling ATHENA to ACCRETE has also been carried out. The ATHENA grid structure accepts any polyhedral cells, including faults and local grid refinements. Fourier and Darcy fluxes are discretized using either TPFA or MPFA in a control volume framework. The code has been completely parallelized for reduced run-time, using domain decomposition methods.

The ACCRETE model:

ACCRETE is a code that is specifically constructed to solve CO2-water-rock interactions. The code solves dissolution of CO2 into saline aqueous solutions constrained by temperature, pressure and salinity, speciation of carbon in the aqueous phase, and mineral reactions constrained by their thermodynamic and kinetic stability. The code can easily be coupled to transport codes either using its own equation of state for CO2 and water, or being used solely as a reaction module solving specified reactions. The internal mineral database consists of 16 minerals believed to be of significance during CO2 storage. It is no upper limit for the number of minerals in the database and new minerals can easily be added.

NCE Subsea

NCE Subsea is one of six Norwegian Centres of Expertise appointed by Innovation Norway, SIVA and The Research Council of Norway in 2006. The centre will develop the underwater consortium in Hordaland and strengthen the competition between enterprises both national and international. The main focus of the NCE will be on installation, operation and maintenance of underwater-equipment along with supervision of all sub sea activities. Specifically NCE Subsea will have the focus on:

♣      The strengthening of education and building competence and thereby improve the supply of competent working force (manpower)

♣      Improvement of supply on new capital (funds)

♣      Development of new technologies, products, cooperation-forms and companies

♣     Innovative solutions for responsible exploitation of the oceans

♣     Integration of the innovation between petroleum and the remaining maritime and marine environments

This will be implemented through education, R&D, company development, product development, marketing, internationalisation and cooperation/network activities.

NCE Subsea’s industrial partners are: AGR, Aker Kværner, CCB, FMC, Framo, Norsk Hydro and Statoil. The competence participants are: CMR, Institute of Marine Research, SINTEF, HiB and Unifob AS., and the regional public actors involved are City of Bergen, Fjell municipality, Hordaland County Council, Sund municipality and Øygarden municipality.

The Michelsen Centre for Measurement Science and Technology

CMR and UiB are in the process of establishing The Michelsen Centre of Research based Innovation. This is an interdisciplinary resource centre for petroleum, fisheries and the environment. It will be a key player in the expansion of the industrial partners' technologies and it will participate in the development of innovative solutions. The Michelsen Centre will actively exploit technological synergies between petroleum, fisheries and the environment that will lead to better economic performance and better use of natural resources as well as mutual understanding in environmentally sensitive areas. The Centre will focus innovations for: 

♣     Oil and gas: Fiscal flow measurement; Multiphase flow measurement; Process monitoring and fluid analysis; Reservoir monitoring.

♣     Fisheries and aquaculture: Measurement of fish catches, products and quality and marine instrumentation for environmentally friendly and efficient fishing and fish farming.

♣     Environmental monitoring: Oceanographic and meteorological instrumentation; Environmental pollution management.

    Norwegian petroleum industry holds expertise and experience that will allow it to play an important part in developing the world’s petroleum resources. More intensive basic research is however recommended (cfr. OG21) to maintain and develop this position, and new measurement technologies and techniques are key components in this respect. The Michelsen Centre will target the primary measurement technology challenges, but will also take fisheries and the environment into consideration from the very beginning. This will be achieved by the close integration and cooperation of R&D environments and industry partners within instrumentation for the petroleum industry, fisheries and environmental applications. New means for environmental monitoring may improve not only climate models but also the ability to develop and manage important fisheries resources. In common with the fisheries industry, the development of the Norwegian oil and gas industry in the north depends heavily on environmental monitoring.

The Michelsen Centre is based on the belief that the co-existence of petroleum and fisheries industries forms a unique basis for a joint development of these industries. We foresee significant synergies as well as industrial and social benefits from combining R&D on measurement innovations for these three application areas. The primary strategy for exploiting synergies is based on the fact that each of the activities will highlight unique measurement challenges in different applications and industries, while the underlying basis in terms of expertise, measurement science and sensor technology remains a common platform. This common interdisciplinary platform will aim in particular to promote sharing of experiences and transfer of expertise and technologies between the more application-oriented research activities. Sharing of application knowledge and information between the industrial sectors is also a significant basis for exploitation of social synergies.

The Michelsen Centre will have several industrial partners and in addition to HiB, and the total annual budget will be about 20 MNOK. CMR Instrumentation will host the centre and the main UiB partners are at IFT, GFI  and BIO.

Table of abbreviations and acronyms

Abbreviation	Full name
CMR	Christian Michelsen Research – 4 business areas: Instrumentation, Computing, Gexcon and Prototech
HiB	Bergen University College
SEPF	Energy and Petroleum Research Panel (Strategiutvalg for energi- og petroleumsrelatert forskning)
Unifob	Bergen University Research
Unifob BCCS	Bergen Center for Computational Science
Unifob CIPR	Center for Integrated Petroleum Research
Unifob SAM	Unifob Natural Sciences
UiB	University of Bergen
UiB BIO	Department of Biology (Institutt for biologi)
UiB GFI	Geophysical Institute (Geofysisk institutt)
UiB GEO	Department of Earth Sciences (Institutt for geofag)
UiB IFT	Department of Physics and Technology (Institutt for fysikk og teknologi)
UiB II	Department of Informatics (Institutt for informatikk)
UiB KJ	Department of Chemistry (Kjemisk institutt)
UiB Math	Department of Mathematics (Matematisk institutt)
UiB MBI	Department of Molecular Biology (Molekylærbiologisk Institutt)
UiB Law	Faculty of Law (Det juridiske fakultet)
UiB SS	Faculty of Social Sciences (Det samfunnsvitenskapelige fakultet)
UiB Arts	Faculty of Arts (Det historisk-filosofiske fakultet)

Acknowledgements

The University of Bergen, Bergen University College, Unifob and Christian Michelsen Research highly appreciate constructive discussions and support from several partners in carrying out the competence survey and preparing this document: Hordaland Fylkeskommune, Hordaland Olje og Gass, Idevekst and last but not least Tel-Tek whom we regard as R&D partner in several of the CO₂ technology challenges presented in this report.

Appendix - The individual institutions and groups

Bergen University College (HiB)

Bergen University College is organized in three faculties and the petroleum related activities are mainly connected to the Faculty of Engineering. The Engineering education, comprising 135 staff members and 1900 students, is the largest Engineering faculty in Norway. It offers a wide range of bachelor graduate programs within all the classical Engineering disciplines as well as some interdisciplinary programs like Energy Technology, Sub Sea Technology and Communication Technology.

The Engineering faculty is also chief organizer for Norwegian Centre of Subsea Expertise, and it is a collaborator in The Michelsen Center. It is also important for us to mention a collaboration agreement with Statoil Mongstad. This agreement includes many activities and connects several of our graduate student programs to the petroleum industry. We are also collaborating in an international CO₂ measurement network related to aquaculture.

Important fields of competence related to the Mongstad project are:

♣     Separation, gas-transport and CO₂ chemistry.

♣     Instrumentation and measurement.

♣     Development of computer-software and communication technology.

♣     Process simulation.

♣     Energy calculation and optimization.

♣     Sub-sea activities.

♣     Industrial construction Surveying

Christian Michelsen Research (CMR)

CMR provides innovative research-based solutions for the industry in cooperation with our customers and research partners in Norway and abroad (industry, governmental agencies, universities, research labs etc). Our activities are mainly in the following areas

♣     Energy, primarily petroleum 

♣     Marine/maritime

♣     Environment and safety

♣     Space

The activities range from technological research and development to the construction of prototypes and the commercialization of complete products using our competence and facilities within instrumentation, information system integration and visualisation, explosions and process safety, new energy technology and advanced mechanical design and construction.  

CMR Computing

CMR Computing has competence on developing visualization and virtual reality (VR) tools for a number of tasks relevant for the oil and gas industry. This includes visualization and interpretation of seismic data, well planning, visualization and manipulation of reservoir models and simulation results, and visualization of production data. In cooperation with Norsk Hydro, we have developed a virtual reality system where all these different data types can be imported and manipulated in one environment. The system thus supports cross-discipline work, and it can be run in a distributed mode supporting cooperation between experts at different geographical locations.

In relation to CO₂ handling, visualization tools can aid in the interpretation of simulation output. Advanced visualization techniques can e.g. be an important part of an effective hypothesis-testing environment. One idea is to construct a visualization framework allowing the user to adjust all key parameters from within the VR environment, run the simulation and view the response to parameter adjustments in a matter of seconds. Such ‘tinkering’ with the different parameters within a visualization framework is paramount to understanding how different parameters influence the simulation.

Another interesting usage of visualization is for a risk assessment of CO₂ sequestration at a given location. The number of parameters involved in the simulations and the large degree of uncertainty associated with several of them, especially when leaky wells are included, necessitate a very large number of simulations. Advanced visualization techniques are important for the researchers in interpreting the large amount of complex 3D and 4D data effectively.

CMR Computing has developed FAVE, a virtual reality framework that has been used in several different contexts such as visualization of geological data, medical data, city planning and simulation of gas dispersion and gas explosions. It can serve as a good basis for development of applications targeted on CO₂.

CMR Instrumentation 

CMR Instrumentation is active in the following R&D program areas:

♣     Process Instrumentation

♣     Instrumentation

♣     Environmental monitoring

♣     Multiphase flow measurement

♣     Fiscal oil & gas flow metering

♣     Fisheries and aquaculture

Some selected projects showing the vide range of expertise are briefly mention below.

CMR Instrumentation has experience with NIR gas detection through the Zero-Gen project, where monitoring of CO₂ and other potential exhaust gases from a high temperature process (solid oxide fuel cell integrated with a hydrogen reformation process) are monitored. The aim is to monitor the gas composition at various stages in the process, which has CO₂ capture as a natural consequence.

Uncertainty analysis of metering stations has been a topic over several years. CMR Instrumentation has developed several handbooks for the Norwegian Society for Oil and Gas Metering (NFOGM) within this area (http://www.nfogm.no/). These include ultrasonic gas metering stations, orifices gas metering stations and turbine oil metering stations and are based on more than 20 years of experience at CMR. In a current project for Statoil Mongstad the uncertainty of the reported CO₂ emission (to SFT) from a considerable amount of instrumentation in the whole plant is currently being assessed.

Environmental monitoring is another focus area e.g. covering oceanographic measurement. Further CMR Instrumentation has considerable expertise within flow metering and gas characterization of gas through flow measurement. Experience related to subsea oil and gas monitoring range from ultrasound, electromagnetic and nuclear methods for application within multiphase flow and level detection. In addition CMR Instrumentation has a vide range of experience related to downhole measurements. Ongoing project related to downhole measurement cover both development of an acoustic camera used for drilling operations and a competence building project (KMB) related to instrumentation under the NFR Petromaks programme partially funded by Norsk Hydro and performed and a joint venture between CMR Instrumentation and UiB.

CMR Gexcon

CMR GexCon is developing and selling FLACS, the most widely accepted CFD tool for explosion consequence calculations worldwide. CMR GexCon consultants do explosion risk studies in all parts of the world and can offer very competent services in this field.

CMR GexCon is developing the commercial CFD-tool FLACS which is a leading and maybe the best validated CFD tool for the prediction of leaks and dispersion of gases in the atmosphere. In connection to transport and injection of CO₂, significant leaks may occur. Since CO₂ is a dense gas, hazardous concentrations of gas may be seen far away from the leak location. Important parameters to evaluate the hazard will be topography/ terrain and wind direction and strength.

CMR Prototech

CMR Prototech is a provider of technical solutions, product design and manufacturing services with applications ranging from space exploration to products for the consumer market.

Development of energy systems and fuel cell technology are core activities. CMR Prototech is engaged in several projects dealing with development and demonstration of energy systems featuring solid oxide fuel cell technology (SOFC). CMR Prototech develops technology components (stacks based on SOFC technology, as well as components and complete fuel cell systems.

CMR Prototech is involved in several European projects within the next generation energy solutions in particular the development of fuel cell and hydrogen technologies. In Norway CMR Prototech has cooperation with UiB, NTNU and IFE within new concepts for high efficient power generation.

Bergen University Research (Unifob)

Unifob AS was established in 2003 and is University of Bergen’s primary tool and preferred partner for conducting externally funded research and development projects. Unifob carries out research and other scholarly tasks within each of UiB’s academic disciplines. This work is usually performed in close partnership with the University faculties. Through cooperation with Unifob, clients acquire access to the entire range of UiB’s academic expertise.

Unifob has a decentralized organizational structure comprising independent departments that base their operations upon a broad range of academic areas designed to reflect the needs and demands of modern society.

Unifob’s research programs are project-orientated, and sections often collaborate with one another on a cross-disciplinary basis. Unifob has a professionally run administration and a knowledgeable staff with experience from the field of externally funded research programs and project management. Unifob’s collaboration with UiB gives it access to modern laboratory facilities and the latest scientific equipment. Unifob’s sections are located within UiB’s premises, and are usually positioned near to the University faculty that they partner.

Bergen Center for Computational Science (Unifob BCCS)

BCCS currently has a staff of about 50 people, from 13 countries worldwide, in full- and part-time positions. BCCS has three units. The primary aim of  the Computational Biology Unit (CBU) is to conduct bioinformatics research and to expand the interface between bioinformatics and experimental biological and biomedical research. The second group, Parallab, is the high performance computing laboratory of the university, which operates the supercomputer facilities but also carries out research on high performance scientific computing, parallel and distributed programming, and algorithms. The third unit, Computational Mathematics Unit (CMU), currently focuses on ocean process studies, extreme events in the ocean and modeling of CO₂ behavior in the ocean. CMU and Parallab have well-established national and international networks within ocean modeling and high performance computing.

Expertise with relevance to Mongstad includes:

♣     CO₂ behavior in the ocean; droplets, transport and dissolution.

♣     Ocean processes, including design currents for marine operations

♣     High performance computing support.

Unifob Natural Sciences (Unifob SAM)

The department is a project organisation with two different roles:

♣     Carry out external and in some cases multidisciplinary projects in close co-operation with five different departments at UiB; Biology, Molecular Biology, Physics and Technology, Chemistry and Geosciences. The scientific profiles of the Unifob personnel coincide with the profile of the corresponding UiB department (see separate descriptions of each department).

♣     Carry out contract R&D-projects for industry and public administration.  This is mainly done within Section for applied environmental research (SAM). The marine part of SAM is responsible for carrying out environmental studies for oil companies both in the North Sea and abroad, and observation studies for public and private enterprise along the coast. Environmental monitoring surveys are mainly focused on bottom fauna, hydrography, flora and fauna in the tidal zone, introduced marine species, chemical analysis and monitoring of oil hydro carbons, heavy metals and PCB in the sediment and mussels. SAM Marine is accredited according to NS-EN ISO/IEC 17025 by Norwegian Accreditation.

Department for Petroleum Research (Unifob Petroleum)

The department is housing the Center for Integrated Petroleum Research, which is one of four Centers of Excellence in Bergen. The department performs research with focus on development of technology that brings the oil recovery for operative and future fields up to its theoretical maximum level. Three main research topics have been defined:

♣     Combine geology, chemistry, physics and mathematics to obtain improved understanding of multiphase flow phenomena in porous media.

♣     Develop reservoir models that provide faster and more reliable reservoir simulations, with emphasis on heterogeneous reservoirs.

♣     Contribute to increases oil recovery by improved understanding of oil recovery mechanisms.

The department has focused on the need to improve oil recovery from oil reservoirs in which the communication is influenced by faults. In connection with Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) the department is working with new methods that will improve oil recovery by microscopic diversion, such as cross linked polymer particles, new generation polymers, and surfactant flooding targeted at mobilising microscopic trapped oil.

The department is also active in developing new and improving existing simulations tools. For instance better treatment of compositional effects, improved accuracy for stream line simulations and more efficient methods for coupled reservoir-geomechanical simulations.

The department has continuous work on seismic and dynamic reservoir characterisation. Through inverse modelling  a cross disciplinary effort within seismic/rock physics and reservoir simulation/modelling has lead to very promising results for model updating with production data and 4D seismic data.

University of Bergen (UiB)

The petroleum related activity at UiB is, with the exception of aspects related to social sciences, ethics and law, at the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences. This is the largest faculty at UiB with about 750 faculty and staff members, 1600 undergraduate and 600 graduate students, and 350 PhD students. Research and education have special focus on marine and fisheries biology, oceanography, climate studies and petroleum geology, geophysics and technology which all are more or less relevant to exploitation and utilization of oil and gas. The faculty is organised in 8 departments that are presented in more detail below. Unlike many other universities UiB has its technology activities integrated with the basic disciplines to fully exploit the synergy between these. This also means there is a considerable increasing interdisciplinary activity with foundations in one or several of the departments and Unifob and CMR. UiB has a dedicated panel (SEPF) that plans and coordinates all energy and petroleum activities in cooperation with Unifob and CMR.

Department of Biology (UiB BIO)

The department conducts research and research based education in a wide range of biological disciplines and is Norway's largest academic research institution within marine biology. The research is organized in 16 research groups focusing on marine microbiology, biodiversity and ecology, geomicrobiology, biology and ecology of fish, terrestrial and botanical ecology and palaeoecology. The department has about 140 faculty members and research scientists, 40 research technicians and engineers, and more than 100 PhD and 150 MSc students. Important fields of competence in this context are:

♣     Marine and terrestrial ecology

♣     Biogeochemical processes

♣     Environmental monitoring and effect studies

♣     Bioremediation

♣     Ecosystem modeling

Department of Molecular Biology (UiB MBI)

MBI focuses on basic research in biochemistry/molecular biology of protein structure and function, developmental biology, functional genomics, and experimental bioinformatics. As part of the overall research programme at the department, several groups have well established research projects and expertise in environmental toxicology and the study of cancer causing agents.

Department of Chemistry (UiB KJ)

The research at Department of Chemistry has recently been reorganised into three scientific lines: A) Section for petroleum and process-chemistry, B) Section for bioorganic and pharmaceutical chemistry, C) Section for nanostructures and modelling, The department has in particular excellent instrumentation within spectroscopy (high-resolution nuclear magnetic resonance, NMR; high-resolution mass spectrometry, MS; x-ray diffraction; infra-red, IR; atomic absorption; dielectric, TDS) and chromatography. The department has 24 faculty members, 12 engineers and about 30 PhD and 50 MSc students.

Important fields of competence in this context are:

♣     Petroleum chemistry

♣     Process chemistry

♣     Catalysis

♣     Optimization (chemometrics)

♣     Renewable fuels

♣     Surfactants and colloid chemistry.

♣     Multiphase technology

♣     Synthesis

♣     Structural chemistry

♣     Thermodynamic systems

♣     Spectroscopic and chromatographic instrumentation for detection and analysis

Department of Earth Science (UiB GEO)                            

Performs research and education covering a wide range of geological and geophysical themes and disciplines. Modern laboratory facilities, national seismological network, modern equipment for acquisition of marine geological and geophysical data, access to the fleet of university research vessels. National coordinator for Integrated Ocean Drilling Program and earth science-based gas hydrate research. Among mother departments for three national centres of excellence.

The research is organized into five thematic research groups:

♣     Geodynamics (structural and regional geology, tectonics, earthquake seismology, petrology, geochemistry)

♣     Petroleum earth science (petroleum geology, petroleum geophysics and rock physics)

♣     Marine geology and geophysics

♣     Quaternary geology and paleoclimate (including paleomagnetics)

♣     Geomicrobiology (jointly with BIO)

Geophysical Institute (UiB GFI)

Research is performed in 5 groups: coastal and small scale oceanography, dynamical and large-scale oceanography, chemical oceanography, meteorology, and climate. Three of the five research groups are involved in advanced instrumentation. Experimental and theoretical studies of small-scale turbulence, mixing and transport processes in the atmosphere and ocean are relevant to environmental aspects of CO₂ handling and other emissions.

There is relevant competence in ocean carbon chemistry in the chemical oceanography group with strong connection to the Bjerknes Center for Climate Research. The group develops and uses high precision instrumentation and also has a strong modeling activity. Present research addresses acidification of the ocean due to CO₂ emissions, but not CO₂ handling.

There has however been a long term engagement in CO₂ handling as manifested e.g. by lead authorship of the 2005 IPCC Special Report on Carbon Dioxide Capture and Storage (Peter M. Haugan) and external collaboration. There is also an increasing activity on near bottom processes, including methane and oxygen. The Geophysical Institute has recognized research capability and can educate students within

♣     Small scale ocean physics; modeling and deep sea experiments

♣     Global climate change effects from storage

♣     Acidification

♣     Meteorological aspects of leakage to air

Department of Informatics (UiB II)

Currently the department has 20 permanent faculty members, 6 adjunct professors, and a technical/administrative staff of 8. The department has approximately 15 postdocs, 40 dr. students, 100 master students, and 300 undergraduate students. The following research areas are covered by the department: algorithms and complexity, bioinformatics, coding theory, cryptography, wireless communication, programming theory, visualization, and optimization theory.

Most relevant to the Mongstad development will be the Optimalisation group.  Research activities of the group include a broad range of optimization methods and applications, including linear programming, integer and combinatorial optimization, and non-linear programming. Recent applications that have been studied in our research include oil and gas processing and transportation, vehicle transportation, telecommunications and wireless networks, medicine, and signal and image processing. Of particular relevance to the Mongstad energy plant, is a project on optimized regularity of gas transportation networks, which started very recently. In collaboration with SINTEF/NTNU, the University of Stavanger, Statoil, Gassco and CognIT, we develop methods and tools for optimal exploitation of the pipeline system in the North Sea. Specific tasks assigned to the Optimization Group at II, include the development of algorithms for computing transportation schedules. The main challenge in this work is to take into account the computational difficulty offered by complicated pressure and quality conditions in the gas network.

Department of Mathematics (UiB Math)

Research covers pure mathematics and statistics in addition to applied and computational mathematics.  There are 31 permanent faculty members and approximately 30 PhD students and postdocs.  Research areas include:

Algebra and algebraic geometry, algebraic topology, mathematical analysis, time series and econometrics, epidemiology, insurance and finance mathematics, mechanics and modeling, reservoir mechanics, hydrodynamics, image processing, geometric integration, numerical analysis, inverse modeling, and computational science.

Department of Mathematics has for several years been involved in projects studying how CO₂ will behave within geological formations, among others with focus on the possibility of a migration of CO₂ out of the intended formation, including risk assessment in connection with leaks through bore holes. The institute will advertise a professor position within reservoir modelling, with emphasis on CO₂ migration in geological formations, spring 2007. Researchers at MI have also been involved in ocean sequestration of CO₂ for the last 15 years, and lately environmental impacts from a CO₂ leak to oceanic waters. The department has good national and international network within the field of CO₂ handling, with a general overview of all aspects involved.

Other relevant competences with relevance to Mongstad include:

♣     Inverse modeling and seismic data analysis,

♣     Time series analysis and extreme event statistics,

♣     Ocean processes and modeling

Department of Physics and Technology (UiB IFT)

Research has a broad profile, ranging from fundamental problems connected to the contents of the universe to advanced technology projects within electronics, oil- and gas- related areas, and is organised in 8 research groups: Acoustics, Electronics and Measurement Science, Optical Physics, Petroleum and Process Technology, Space Physics, Science Education and Outreach, and Subatomic Physics. The department has 35 faculty members, 13 engineers and about 50 PhD and 100 MSc students. Important fields of competence in this context are:

♣     Reservoir physics

♣     Multiphase technology

♣     Thermodynamic systems

♣     Process safety technology

♣     Electronics, instrumentation and measurement systems based on optics, ultrasound, nuclear radiation and electromagnetism.

♣     High temperature and high energy technology and processes

♣     Gas turbines and their role in a sustainable and stable energy distribution network

♣     Process optimization, transport phenomena in multiphase systems, computational fluid dynamics

♣     Physical gas cleaning from particles

♣     Stability and combustion issues with high energy gas turbines