The feasibility of CO2 storage in the depleted P18-4 gas field offshore the Netherlands (the ROAD project)

Near the coast of Rotterdam CO2 storage in the depleted P18-4 gas field is planned to start in 2015 as one of the six selected European demonstration projects under the European Energy Programme for Recovery (EEPR). This project is referred to as the ROAD project. ROAD (a Dutch acronym for Rotterdam Capture and Storage Demonstration project) is a joint project by E.ON Benelux and Electrabel Nederland/GDF SUEZ Group and is financially supported by the European Commission and the Dutch state.A post-combustion carbon capture unit will be retrofitted to EONs’ Maasvlakte Power Plant 3 (MPP3), a new 1100 MWe coal-fired power plant in the port of Rotterdam. The capture unit has a capacity of 250 MWe equivalent and aims to capture 1.1 million tonnes of CO2 per year. A 20 km long insulated pipeline will be constructed to the existing offshore platform operated by TAQA and an existing well will be worked over and re-used for injection. Natural gas production in the P18-4 field is projected to end just before the start of the CO2 injection. In this first phase a total storage of around 5 Mt CO2 is envisaged with an injection timeframe of 5 years. This paper gives a description of the field and of the studies carried out to investigate the suitability of the field for CO2 storage.

► We investigated the nearly depleted P18-4 gas field for suitability of CO2 storage.
► We performed a history match based on natural gas production to constrain the models.
► We performed flow simulations to predict pressure and flow behavior in the reservoir.
► First in Europe, the EC issued a positive opinion to grant a storage license.