Wintershall, university to study North Sea pipelines for CO2

Wintershall Dea is working with the OTH Regensburg University of Applied Sciences on how existing natural gas pipelines in the southern North Sea can be used for future CO₂ transport. Results obtained so far suggest that the offshore pipelines could be safely and efficiently repurposed for transport of liquid CO₂. As the study progresses, technical feasibility will be tested, and certification will take place.

There are more than 4,800 km of pipelines in the southern North Sea, of which 1,200 km are operated by Wintershall Noordzee, a 50-50 joint venture between Wintershall Dea AG and Gazprom EP International BV. Parts of this network could be used for CO₂ transport.

Wintershall Noordzee also operates numerous depleted reservoirs, potentially suitable for storing CO₂. Experts estimate that around 800 million tons of CO₂ could be stored  in the Dutch Continental Shelf. That’s enough to store the entire annual emissions of all Dutch industry thirty times over, or by comparison, 8 years of German industrial emissions, based on 2018 International Energy Agency data.

"Wintershall Dea is investing in CCS because we are convinced that it is a safe and affordable technology for decarbonization. We have the technological know-how and the depleted offshore reservoirs required for CCS, as well as access to the pipeline network for transport," said Klaus Langemann, senior vice president of carbon management and hydrogen at Wintershall.