Operators: BP, Statoil, Sonatrach
In Salah is the world’s first onshore industrial-scale CO2 storage site designed specifically for environmental purposes. CO2 injection started in 2004, at a rate of about 0.9 Mt per year.
The developments taking place in Algeria’s In Salah gas fields are estimated to be costing $2,300 million. The field is being developed by In Salah Gas, a 50:50 joint venture between BP and state energy company Sonatrach. Ultimately, In Salah Gas aims to supply 9 billion m3/y of gas to the southern European market (most likely Italy and Spain).
Two pipelines are currently linking Algeria to Europe. On one of these, a new gas compression station is being constructed. This initial phase will include the development of wells and well sites, a 310 mile long gathering system, and gas processing facilities. The latter will include CO2 removal, a compression station and metering systems. Completion will allow plateau production to be held at 9 bn cm for several years.
A component part of the In Salah Gas project includes the facility to remove CO2 from the gas produced, followed by large-scale reinjection into an underground formation. In order to meet export gas specifications, CO2 in the produced gas will need to be reduced to a level of no more than 0.3%; depending on the location, CO2 levels can vary between 1-10%, the remainder being almost exclusively pure methane.
During the project’s lifetime, the anticipated peak in CO2 production is likely to be ~60 MMscf/d, with an overall total of ~450 bscf. Re-injection of the CO2 from the produced gas stream is expected to result in a net emissions reduction of ~900,000 tpa/CO2.
It is suggested that this exercise in CO2 sequestration will be one of the largest yet undertaken.
