WorldWide Drilling Resource

The Nation’s First Clean Coal Plant is Online! Compiled by Bonnie Love, Editor, WorldWide Drilling Resource ® Construction has been completed for the world’s largest post-combustion carbon capture plant. The Petra Nova project, located near Vanderbilt, Texas, is a joint ven- ture between NRG Energy, Inc. and JX Nippon Oil & Gas Exploration Corporation. The nation’s first large-scale clean coal facility uses a carbon capture process developed by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. and the Kansai Electric Power Co., Inc., and employs a proprietary KS-1 high-per- formance solvent for the CO 2 absorption and desorption called the KM-CDR Process ® . The process begins at the WA Parish coal power plant where the CO 2 is cap- tured and sent to Petra Nova. The captured CO 2 is com- pressed and transported through an 80-mile pipeline to an operating oil field, the West Ranch oil field near Vanderbilt, Texas, where it is utilized for enhanced oil re- covery (EOR). Using wells more than a mile underground, the CO 2 is injected into oil reservoirs. The CO 2 acts as a solvent loosening oil stuck on rock surfaces en- abling it to flow freely to production wells. Once on the surface, the oil and CO 2 mix- ture is separated, then the CO 2 is recompressed and reinjected. When production is completed, much of the CO 2 is confined in the rock formation. “Completion of the Petra Nova project is an important milestone in our quest to help ensure reliable, affordable, and in- creasingly cleaner energy from fossil fuels,” said Mauricio Gutierrez, president and CEO of NRG Energy. “This project repre- sents another major step in NRG’s effort to reduce our carbon emissions and create a more sustainable energy future, and we are proud that this accomplishment was achieved on-budget and on-schedule in a competitive energy environment.” Construction on the Petra Nova project began in 2014, with a goal to be operational by the end of 2016. With construction finished and final performance acceptance testing completed, the Petra Nova carbon capture facility has achieved its goal. Hilcorp Energy Company is the operator of West Ranch oilfield. Both Hilcorp and the University of Texas Bureau Of Economic Geology will monitor the move- ment of CO 2 deep in the oil reservoir. Over the next few years, oil production at the field is estimated to increase from approxi- mately 300 barrels per day to 15,000 barrels per day using captured CO 2 . “To date we have drilled nearly 100 new wells in the West Ranch field and have implemented a robust CO 2 and groundwater monitoring program,” said Jeffery D. Hildebrand, chairman and CEO of Hilcorp Energy Company. “We are excited about this project, and expect to see a meaningful increase in oil pro- duction at West Ranch in the near fu- ture.” The project was partially funded through the United States Department of Energy, which is providing up to $190 million in grants as part of the Clean Coal Power Initiative Program. Ductwork measuring 16 feet in diameter takes flue gas from the coal plant to a carbon capture facility where the CO 2 is re- moved from the flue gas using amine solution (a basic organic compound derived from ammonia) in the tall absorption tower and then separated from the amine as 99.9% pure CO 2 . Photo courtesy of Business Wire. The Nation’s First cont’d on page 54. 4< /*2'3* "& > > > > ,'< ? /2+ '6* /3+6 /3+6 ')1/3- " " !8=2+ /7843 4* 4* ')1/3- !+8 5)7 !8'3*'6* $'2:+ 9((+6 6':+2 $'2:+ 9((+6 !+'87 9((+6 $'2:+ 37+687 #6+8.'3+ $'2:+ 37+687 $'2:+ !56/3- ! ! $'2:+ 4:+6 '71+8 ? !;/:+2 ')1/3- ? !+6/+7 ? !+6/+7 ? !+6/+7 ? !+6/+7 ? !+6/+7 ? !+6/+7 < /3+6 < /3+6 < /3+6 < /3+6 < /3+6 6/)+7 !9(0+)8 "4 .'3-+ %/8.498 48/)+ !@ @ < < < < < 302-684-3197 FAX: 302-384-0643 142 Broadkill Rd. • Milton, DE 19968 www.atlantic-screen.com email: atlantic@ce.net Manufacturers of Slotted & Perforated Pipe ranging from ½” to 24” diameter Atlantic Screen & Mfg., Inc. • Well Rehab. Products • Manholes • Bentonite • Filter Sock • Inline Chemical Mixers • Sampling Bailers • Clear PVC Pipe • Locking Caps 49 WorldWide Drilling Resource ® MARCH 2017