Pre-feasibility study of carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies : a case study of offshore natural gas field in Thailand

Abstract

Carbon dioxide capture and storage (CCS) has played more roles in greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction while the Kyoto Protocol sets targets for each nation to reduce its emission of CO2 and reduce investment cost of reduction between developed country and developing country by using Clean Development Mechanism (CDM). In this study, CCS systems are specifically designed to remove CO2 from the natural gas production and safely store the CO2 in deplete gas reservoir. Inclusion of CCS in the CDM could be a way to provide an incentive to those CCS project types that are ready to be deployed commercially. A case study on natural gas field produces natural gas approximately 350 MMSCF per day which contains 28-32 percent of CO2. In order to meet sale specification, company has to reduce CO2 to 23 percent before delivery. The process leads to emit great amount of CO2 annually so the technical and economic feasibility of CCS is being studied. An efficient model was developed to predict the economics involved in the CCS projects. The model mainly consists of Discounted Cash Flow Analysis and Monte Carlo Simulation to determine uncertainties of the project which is composed of capital cost of construction, operating cost and carbon credits. From the study, the CCS project able to achieve significant reduction in GHG emissions approximately 850,000 tons per year. Inclusion of CCS project in the CDM can provide an important incentive for potential investment in the project. This incentive could offset the incremental cost of the technology however the project itself cannot achieve in CCS technology without carbon credit support. Nevertheless, the current price of carbon credit cannot induce the company to invest in CCS as well