ABS has granted approval in principle to a liquefied carbon dioxide floating storage and injection unit designed by MODEC, Inc. in collaboration with Mitsui OSK Lines Ltd, according to ABS's release.
The unit is tailored to the carbon capture, utilization and storage value chain and eliminates the need for onshore facilities by enabling offshore storage and injection.
It is designed to inject up to 10 million tonnes of CO2 annually with a minimum total tank storage capacity of 100,000 cubic meters. ABS conducted design reviews against class and statutory requirements.
“Carbon capture is advancing rapidly, with the International Energy Association projecting global capacity to reach 435 million tonnes per year by 2030. Floating storage and injection units, such as MODEC's innovative design, will be important for enabling the safe and efficient sequestration of captured carbon. This concept is a step forward in delivering the global carbon value chain and ABS is proud to support its development,” said Miguel Hernandez, ABS Senior Vice President, Global Offshore.
The unit is designed to operate directly at the injection site, receiving low-pressure CO2 from transport carriers, converting it to high-pressure storage onsite, and injecting it into subsea wells for permanent storage.
Key design features include tandem loading at the aft and simultaneous side-by-side loading at the midship port side, enabling uninterrupted operations. To reduce emissions from its own activity, the unit integrates diesel engine generators with onboard carbon capture.
Arata Kamishohara, Vice President of Business and Project Development at MODEC, said: “While this FSIU is a new concept, each component on the unit is not necessarily new to MODEC. MODEC has experience with CO2 injection (removed from pre-combustion produced gas) and dual (oil) offloading system. All the utility systems are similar to what we do on FPSOs every day. We collaborated with MOL, who cover the transportation portion of CCUS value chain, for interfaces between LCO2 carriers and the FSIU. With this, we are planning to achieve $5/tCO2 or less, which I don’t think is a stretch target.”
ABS (American Bureau of Shipping) is a classification society headquartered in Spring, Texas. It develops and applies technical standards for the design, construction and operation of ships and offshore structures, ensuring compliance with safety and environmental regulations.
MODEC, Inc. is a Tokyo-based company incorporated in Japan. It engages in engineering, procurement, construction and operation of floating production systems, including FPSOs, TLPs and other offshore facilities.
Mitsui OSK Lines Ltd. (MOL) is a publicly listed shipping company incorporated in Japan. It operates a global fleet that covers dry bulk carriers, tankers, LNG carriers and container vessels, along with logistics and offshore businesses.