The Porthos consortium, comprising EBN, Gasunie and the Port of Rotterdam Authority, is developing a project in which CO₂ originating from industry in the port of Rotterdam will be transported and stored in the virtually empty P18 gas field under the North Sea. This field, the wells drilled in it and the platform above it, are currently still owned by TAQA and partners, but will be transferred to Porthos in 2024-2025. TAQA is and will remain involved in the development, construction and operation of the project as a service provider.
The CO₂ that will be stored by Porthos comes from several large industrial companies in Rotterdam. They capture and then deliver their CO₂ to a collector pipeline running through the Rotterdam port area. The CO₂ is then pressurised at a compressor station.
The CO₂ goes by subsea pipeline to TAQA’s P18-A platform, about 20 km offshore. From the platform, the CO₂ will be pumped via existing gas wells into a sealed reservoir of porous sandstone, over 3 km under the North Sea.
Porthos will store about 37 Mtonnes of CO₂, which is about 2.5 Mtonnes of CO₂ per year for 15 years. The project has been recognised by the European Union as a Project of Common Interest.
Construction of Porthos will start in 2024. TAQA and the Porthos partners have now started the detailed redesign of the platform and wells. The first CO₂ is expected to be stored from 2026.
Read more on the Porthos website
Photo above: Port of Rotterdam