In keeping with ADIPEC 2013’s focus on gas, Maersk Oil is out showcase its TriGen system, which is being touted as a natural fit for Abu Dhabi’s future energy needs.
“TriGen is a very exciting proposition for the Middle East, and ADIPEC is the ideal platform to promote a concept which, in one package can generate 180 MW of clean electricity, fully capture 45 mmcfd of reservoir ready CO2 for enhanced oil recovery, and produce 500,000 gallons of pure water each day – and all of which can be achieved with zero emissions,” enthuses Richard Doidge, MD, Maersk Oil Middle East.
The system includes combustion technology which was first deployed in space rockets. It burns hydrocarbon gas together with oxygen at very high temperature and pressure to produce electricity, pure water and fully captured carbon dioxide (CO²).
Water and power can be provided to utility companies, while the captured CO² can be used for enhanced oil recovery (EOR) and enhanced gas recovery (EGR) projects, ensuring a zero emission operation.
TriGen’s multi-value process offers a cost-effective alternative to other carbon capture options. All of its products have value, and the resulting low unit cost of CO² can be very attractive as an enabler for EOR/EGR developments.
“The Oxy-Fuel technology allows zero-emission power generation in combination with oil and gas projects and that makes it a rich offering anywhere, but in Abu Dhabi the value proposition is particularly strong. EOR operations by CO² injection is seen to offer the best fit and highest recovery potential for many of the reservoirs here in Abu Dhabi,” explains Doidge.
Chief among the its many advantages is that it enables resource owners to maximise overall recovery. Abu Dhabi has many tight carbonate reservoirs where the effectiveness of water injection is limited as it is difficult to sweep the low permeability pore spaces with water.
This is often more significant than it first sounds, given that a significant percentage of the original oil in place can still be left in a reservoir after years of waterflooding operations.
“Through the implementation of CO2 EOR methods, Abu Dhabi has the potential to recover an additional 18 billion barrels, beyond what can be achieved by conventional production processes,” says Doidge.
Another reason TriGen could be an attractive proposition for Abu Dhabi is that the Emirate is currently injecting significant quantities of natural gas into its oil fields to boost recovery, partly a legacy of the time when there was a surplus of gas in the Emirate.
“Today, Abu Dhabi is importing gas from Qatar and other countries and part of this gas deficit can be solved by replacing natural gas injection with CO2 injection. CO2 injection offers superior recovery potential to lean gas injection and frees up valuable natural gas for other uses,” says Doidge.
Maersk Oil’s hopes for ADIPEC are clear, he continues. “This is a fantastic opportunity to showcase our TriGen capability, together with our long-standing commitment to this region, as demonstrated by our successful partnership with Qatar Petroleum where our cooperation efforts have taken the Al Shaheen field from a marginal discovery to a giant field with over one billion barrels of oil produced.
“We have some very exciting meetings lined up and look forward to hosting representatives of national and international oil companies on our stand.”
