NRG Energy、JX Nippon 及其合作伙伴于 1 月 10 日表示，价值 10 亿美元的装置已竣工，该装置旨在从发电厂捕集 CO _{2并通过管道运输，用于 West Ranch 油田的 EOR。}

迄今为止，NRG 位于德克萨斯州本德堡县的西澳教区工厂已捕获了超过 100,000 吨 CO ₂，​​并通过 90 英里长的管道输送至 Hilcorp Energy Co. 运营的 West Ranch 油田，作为该项目被称为“佩特拉新星”（Petra Nova），该项目似乎是最大的燃烧后碳捕获系统（CCS）。

CO ₂预计将增加该油田的石油产量（NRG 和 JX Nippon 也持有该油田的权益），未来几年产量将从每天 300 桶 (bbl/d) 增加到每天 15,000 桶，增长 5 倍。

“迄今为止，我们已在 West Ranch Field 钻探了近 100 口新井，并实施了强有力的 CO ₂和地下水监测计划，”Hilcorp 首席执行官 Jeffery D. Hildebrand 在一份声明中表示。“我们对这个项目感到兴奋，并期望在不久的将来看到西牧场的石油产量大幅增加。”

NRG 在一份新闻稿中表示，在 2016 年 12 月的性能测试中，该系统从发电厂烟气中捕获了超过 90% 的 CO _{2 。}当在此水平运行时，CCS 每天能够捕获超过 5,000 吨 CO ₂。

这一成就的关键是三菱重工和关西电力公司共同开发的技术。

正如 2014 年 9 月 Petra Nova 奠基活动中所解释的那样，发电厂的烟气流过一个容器，其中溶剂捕获 CO ₂。_{该化学品具有适合CO 2}的插座，使两者结合，被泵入容器中并加热以释放CO ₂，​​然后将其分离成纯CO ₂流。

从这里，CO ₂通过管道流向油田。一旦注入，CO ₂就会溶解到油中，从而降低油的粘度，从而当水冲过地层时，油就会被推上来并产生。从此时起，水、油和CO ₂在处理设施中被分离。然后CO ₂被压缩并重新注入储层，该过程再次开始。该过程称为 KM-CDR。

这个耗资 10 亿美元的项目获得了美国能源部高达 1.9 亿美元的联邦拨款，其财务成功部分取决于油价，目前油价已远低于每桶西德克萨斯中质原油的 93.32 美元左右。 2014 年 9 月 5 日。

但环境效益预计将有助于推动 NRG 更接近其到 2030 年将碳排放量减少 50% 的目标。

NRG 首席执行官毛里西奥·古铁雷斯 (Mauricio Gutierrez) 称 Petra Nova 是“NRG 努力减少碳排放并创造更可持续的能源未来的又一重大步骤，我们感到自豪的是，这一成就是在竞争激烈的能源领域按预算、按计划实现的”环境。”

JX Nippon Oil & Gas Exploration Corp. 总裁兼首席执行官 Shunsaku Miyake 补充道：“该项目将有助于显着增加传统油田的原油产量，也将成为帮助减少全球 CO 2 排放量的重要一步。_” .”

可以通过vaddison@hartenergy.com联系 Velda Addison 。

NRG Energy, JX Nippon and partners’ $1 billion unit to capture CO₂ from a power plant and transport it via pipeline for EOR at the West Ranch oil field has been completed, the companies said Jan. 10.

So far, more than 100,000 tons of CO₂ has been captured from NRG’s WA Parish plant in Fort Bend County, Texas, and delivered via a 90-mile pipeline to the Hilcorp Energy Co.-operated West Ranch oil field as part of Petra Nova, as the project—deemed the largest post-combustion carbon capture system (CCS)—is called.

The CO₂ is expected to grow oil production at the field, in which NRG and JX Nippon also hold interests, from 300 barrels per day (bbl/d) to up to 15,000 bbl/d over the next few years, an increase of 5x.

“To date we have drilled nearly 100 new wells in the West Ranch Field and have implemented a robust CO₂ and groundwater monitoring program,” Hilcorp CEO Jeffery D. Hildebrand said in a statement. “We are excited about this project and expect to see a meaningful increase in oil production at West Ranch in the near future.”

The system captured more than 90% of the CO₂ from a stream of flue gas from the power plant during performance testing in December 2016, NRG said in a news release. When operated at this level, the CCS is capable of capturing more than 5,000 tons of CO₂ daily.

Key to the accomplishment is technology co-created by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Kansai Electric Power Co.

As explained during the September 2014 groundbreaking event for Petra Nova, flue gas from the power plant is run through a vessel where a solvent captures the CO₂. The chemical has a socket that fits CO₂, enabling the two to bind, be pumped into a vessel and heated to release the CO₂, which is then segregated into a pure CO₂ stream.

From here, the CO₂ flows through the pipeline to the oil field. Once injected, the CO₂ dissolves into the oil, lowering the oil’s viscosity enough so that as water sweeps though the formation, oil is pushed up and produced. From this point, the water, oil and CO₂ are separated in a processing facility. The CO₂ is then compressed and reinjected into the reservoir, and the process starts again. The process is called KM-CDR.

The financial success of the $1 billion project, which received up to $190 million in federal grants from the U.S. Department of Energy, rests in part on oil prices, which have fallen far from roughly $93.32, which a barrel of West Texas Intermediate crude was fetching Sept. 5, 2014.

But the environmental benefits are expected to help push NRG closer to its goal of reducing its carbon emissions by 50% by 2030.

NRG CEO Mauricio Gutierrez called Petra Nova “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.”

Shunsaku Miyake, president and CEO of JX Nippon Oil & Gas Exploration Corp., added “the project will contribute to significantly increasing incremental crude oil production from legacy oil fields and also will be a major step forward in helping to decrease CO₂ emissions globally.”

Velda Addison can be reached at vaddison@hartenergy.com.