More companies specializing in carbon capture technologies

The number of companies focused on comercializing carbon capture and storage has climbed steadily in recent years. For instance, Aker ASA and Aker Solutions established Aker Clean Carbon in 2008.

Aker Clean Carbon was demerged from Aker Solutions so Aker Solutions could concentrate on its core oil and gas business, said Liv Monica B. Stubholt, Aker Clean Carbon chief executive. She spoke during a Dec. 6 North Sea CCS conference hosted by the British and Norwegian consulates general offices in Houston.

Stubholt said Aker Clean Carbon provides technological expertise and project execution to energy companies. Aker Solutions developed “green technology” out of its traditional oil and gas business, she said.

Recently, Aker Clean Carbon was awarded a contract to conduct a feasibility study for EnBW’s new coal power plant in Karlsruhe, Germany. Aker Clean Carbon will supply process design and estimates for the capital investment and operational cost of a CO2 capture unit.

Elsewhere, Aker Clean Carbon is part of a consortium led by Scottish Power. The consortium is participating in the UK government’s competition to develop the UK’s first commercial carbon capture and storage project.

Aker Clean Carbon also is compiling a front-end engineering and design study for ENEL’s Porto Tolle CO2 Capture Unit Project. The FEED study is scheduled for completion during the first quarter of 2011.

Baker Hughes opens drilling waste management R&D center

Baker Hughes Inc. opened its Eco-Centre waste management plant in Peterhead, Scotland, in June. In addition to treating and recycling drilling waste, the plant includes a research and development center.

Drilling waste contains oily residues classified as hazardous waste, and its disposal must follow strict federal and local regulations, Baker Hughes said in a recent company magazine, Connexus.

“Facilities that treat hazardous waste in the UK must adhere to Scottish Environmental Protection Agency guidelines and have an Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control Directive permit that outlines operational measures to control emissions to the environment,” Baker Hughes said.

Martin Gilbert, Baker Hughes global R&D manager, said he believes no other R&D center has direct access to drill cuttings and waste fluids like the one in the Peterhead Eco-Center.

Waste disposal from oil and gas drilling and production is an issue of growing important for operators worldwide. Baker Hughes said North Sea operators have the choice of hiring waste management companies to transport cuttings and fluids for disposal onshore or else operators reinject cuttings into dedicated disposal wells.