DNV Leading Project for CO2 Pipeline Standards

27 August 2008

DNV, a Norway-based provider of global risk management services, together with major industry partners, is developing new standards for the transportation of CO₂ in pipelines.

Current pipeline standards do not take into account considerations related to the pipeline transmission—both onshore and submarine—of dense, high-pressure CO₂ from large-scale capture plants to suitable storage sites. This serves as a barrier to the effective large-scale deployment of carbon capture and storage (CCS), says DNV.

The project’s partners are StatoilHydro, BP, Shell, Petrobras, Vattenfall, Dong Energy, ArcelorMittal, Gassnova, Gassco and ILF. The Technical Reference Group consists of government representatives from the UK, the Netherlands and Norway. The European Commission is also supporting this DNV initiative.

The point of departure will be existing pipeline standards for the transmission of hydrocarbons, such as ISO 13623 and DNV OS-F101.

The guideline is intended to help designers and operators limit and manage uncertainties and risks related to the pipeline transmission of CO₂ by incorporating current knowledge related to both offshore and onshore operations. It will state rules for managing risks and uncertainties throughout the pipeline’s lifetime, including the design, testing, inspection, operation, maintenance and de-commissioning phases. It will also incorporate the lessons learned from existing and previous projects.

Due to the features lacking in the current industry standards, this project’s scope of work is related to issues like safety, fast propagating ductile fractures, fatigue crack growth, pipeline operation conditions, flow assurance, corrosion and material compatibility.

—DNV Project manager Frøydis Eldevik