The offshore rig Noble Resolve has arrived at the Port of Esbjerg, where the rig will now be prepared to play a key role in Project Greensand. Noble Resolve will be inspected, upgraded and optimized so that instead of being able to retrieve things from the subsurface, it can be used to store CO2 1,800 meters below the North Sea seabed as part of the Project Greensand pilot project. This is stated by the Greensands consortium in a statement.
- We are pleased that we can now start preparing Noble Resolve to fulfill its crucial role in the work of storing CO2 in the North Sea. We are proud to be able to contribute to such an important project with our equipment and skills, says Rune Loftager, Head of Technology and Decarbonization, Noble Corporation.
Project Greensand is working to test, develop and demonstrate that CO2 can be safely stored in the Danish underground, thereby making a significant contribution to the green transition in Denmark.
Equipment for safe CO2 storage is installed
Noble Corporation merged with Maersk Drilling earlier this year, so the rig, previously known as Maersk Resolve, is used to working in the North Sea. It comes directly from an operation in the British part of the North Sea and will now be upgraded so that it can safely and effectively contribute to sending CO2 into the reservoir in the Nini field.
During its stay in Esbjerg, Noble Resolve will have equipment installed to pump CO2 underground. The equipment has been selected and delivered by another member of the Project Greensands consortium, Semco Maritime.
- Semco is delivering the equipment to the rig, and we now need to ensure that it is installed correctly and can work safely and efficiently with the rig's other systems. This means we are converting the rig from its original purpose, to drill for oil and gas, to be able to handle the large quantities of CO2 that will be pumped from a transport ship onto the rig and further down into the reservoir. The work in Esbjerg will ensure that we can get started safely and quickly with the pilot project when Noble Resolve arrives at the Nini field in the North Sea, says Rune Loftager.
New safety procedures
In addition to the new installations, the safety procedures on Noble Resolve will also need to be reviewed and adapted. The current safety procedures are designed for oil and gas drilling, which involves different, and often greater, risk elements than the work of storing CO2. Nevertheless, the operation in the North Sea must be under control, where 40 to 50 people will work with the CO2 storage from the rig.
- CO2 is generally less dangerous than the gases we normally have to handle on board. It is not explosive, and a higher concentration is needed before it poses a risk. But safety, as always, comes first. Therefore, correct safety procedures are of course crucial for the project to be feasible, says Rune Loftager.
Milestone
Noble Resolve's arrival at the port of Esbjerg is another step forward in Project Greensand's work to test, develop and demonstrate that CO2 can be safely stored in the Danish part of the North Sea. The commissioning of the tall steel structures on Noble Resolve is one of the most striking milestones in the advanced work on Project Greensand, says Project Director Søren Reinhold Poulsen.
- We are of course incredibly pleased that Noble Resolve is now berthed in Esbjerg, so that we can take another crucial step in the pilot phase of Project Greensand. All 23 partners in our consortium are working very hard to reach the goal, and the arrival of the rig is very tangible proof that we are approaching the first safe storage of CO2 in Denmark with the aim of reducing CO2 emissions to the atmosphere, he says.
The work on preparing Noble Resolve is expected to take 3-4 weeks. Once completed, the rig will leave the Port of Esbjerg to take up its position above the reservoir at Nini West. Project Greensand expects to begin storing CO2 in the Danish part of the North Sea around the turn of the year.
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