Shipping plays a major role in the transportation process, although there are only very few gas carriers in the business. Similar to LPG - where Anthony Veder has 40 years of experience - the carbon emissions are liquefied to make them transportable by ship.
Currently, there are two main options for the captured emissions: sequestration and Enhanced Oil/Gas Recovery (EOR/EGR). Sequestration stores the captured CO2 into geological formations, on the seabed or in unused gas and oil fields. EOR/EGR, on the other hand, injects the captured CO2 into oil or gas fields and this in turn, allows the fields to boost their recovery rates.
However, the sources of CO2 and where it will be used eventually could be thousands of miles apart and sometimes the time differences will be very different. An oil field may not want to use the CO2 for very long for example. Hence, shipping lines prove a viable means of transportation. Clearly pipelines can take years to plan and get built and also they may not be suited for the long distances involved.
Certainly the full potential of the market is yet to be realised but even Anthony Veder did not envisage the rapid developments it has already undergone when we embarked on our first CO2 project. Lately fuel prices have rocketed and then tumbled. If prices do continue to rise and pressure on emission reduction continues, the CCS market will become increasingly attractive.
