Hydrogen Power

Peterhead Hydrogen Power Project

BP's initial hydrogen power project at Peterhead, Scotland, is the world's first industrial-scale hydrogen power project and is designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by capturing carbon dioxide (CO₂) and safely storing it permanently.

The project will bring together for the first time in a single integrated scheme a number of technologies already operating at scale around the world.

The plant will convert natural gas from North Sea fields into hydrogen, a clean-burning gas, and CO₂. The hydrogen gas will be used to fuel a 350 mw power station while 1.2 million tonnes of carbon dioxide per year will be transported offshore and stored in deep underground oil reservoirs where it will be used to enhance oil production.

When completed, the plant will be the largest hydrogen-fired power generation facility in the world, producing 350 mw of low carbon electricity, enough to power a quarter of a million homes in a city the size of Glasgow.

At the heart of BP's first decarbonised fuels project is a natural gas reformer and carbon capture facility where natural gas is transformed into hydrogen and carbon dioxide (CO₂). The facility will capture 1.2 million tones of CO₂ while a converted power plant will use the hydrogen as a fuel to generate 350 mw of electricity.

Project Overview:

First industrial scale installation of an integrated hydrogen power system.
Planned for Peterhead in North East Scotland.
Will take natural gas from North Sea fields and convert it to hydrogen and CO₂.
Hydrogen will then be used as fuel in Scottish & Southern Energy's Peterhead power station, generating 350 mw of low carbon electricity enough to power a quarter of a million homes in the UK in a city the size of Glasgow.
1.2 million tonnes of carbon dioxide per year will be transported by pipeline and injected for enhanced oil recovery and permanent geological storage in the BP-operated Miller field.
Injecting the CO₂ into the Miller field reservoir more than 4 kilometers under the seabed will extend the life of the field by about 15-20 years and enable production of an additional 40 million barrels of oil.
The project's reformer plant will convert up to 70 million cubic feet of natural gas per day into CO₂ and hydrogen.
The project would require total capital investment of about $600 million.

Timeline

Initial engineering feasibility studies have been completed
Front-end engineering and design is now underway and targeted for completion in the second half of 2006
After the project is sanctioned, construction will require 36 months

Location

Onshore: The project's hydrogen reformer and power station will be located at Scottish & Southern Energy's Peterhead power station in Aberdeenshire.
Offshore: The project will transport CO₂ via existing pipelines to the Miller field, located 240 kilometers offshore.

Impact and Significance

Miller Field

The Miller field is currently due to cease production in 2006/7 but the injection of CO₂ into the reservoir could increase the amount of oil extracted from the field, potentially allowing the production of up to 40 million additional barrels of oil and extending the life of the field by 15 to 20 years.

Milestones

When completed, the project will set several milestones for the industry and the UK, including:

Largest CO₂ enhanced oil recovery project in the North Sea, 40 million barrels.
First CO₂ pipeline in the North Sea.
First CO₂ storage in an offshore oil reservoir.
Largest hydrogen-fired power generation facility in the world.

Economic Impact

The project has the potential to create new economic development opportunities in North East Scotland by expanding the region's traditional strengths in the offshore oil and gas industry to now include carbon capture and storage technology products and services.
About 200 construction jobs may be created during construction of the onshore facilities.
About 100 permanent jobs may be created at the enlarged operation at the Peterhead Power Station.

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