Foster Wheeler: Carbon capture the way ahead

London - Amid all the hot air and political football surrounding the global climate change debate, industry scientists and engineers are steadily advancing an understanding of how to actually reduce carbon emissions - with carbon capture and storage (CCS) offering particular promise.

Oil and gas producers are to the fore in exploring the use of CCS technology to reduce emissions; by capturing greenhouse gases emitted from process and power plants and injecting it into formations underground. Re-injection of CO2 can also be used for enhanced oil recovery, which can boost recovery of the remaining recoverable reserves and extend oil production of some wells by 10-20 years.

Among the key participants in the development of CCS are diversified engineering companies, such as Foster Wheeler Energy Ltd, with expertise in both oil & gas engineering and process engineering technologies - particularly reforming and gasification and acid gas removal technologies - as well as power generation project experience.

In a recent technical paper, Foster Wheeler's Peter Brook, process manager, David Scott, oil & gas division project manager, and Chris Noble, oil & gas consultant, examine the application of CCS technology in the oil & gas sector. The paper, titled Carbon Capture and Storage: An introduction to relevant oil and gas processes and their uses, looks at the three components required to recover CO2: a carbon source that includes recovery of relatively large quantities of dense, relatively pure CO2; a CO2 sink that can serve as an alternative to the atmosphere, and transport between the two.

Carbon Capture and Storage - An introduction to relevant oil and gas processes and their uses (PDF)