Offshore installation contractor Allseas has won a contract to construct a subsea pipeline for the recently sanctioned Porthos carbon capture and storage (CCS) project in the Port of Rotterdam.
Porthos, a partnership between EBN, Gasunie, and the Port of Rotterdam Authority, will transport CO2 from industrial sites in the port area to empty gas fields in the Dutch North Sea, where it will be permanently stored up to 4 kilometers beneath the seabed.
Allseas has been selected to construct the subsea pipeline. Starting in 2025, the work includes the installation, burial, and commissioning of the 16-inch CCS pipeline connecting a compressor station on the Maasvlakte with the P18-A platform approximately 20 kilometers offshore.
Allseas' dynamically positioned S-lay vessel Lorelay, with construction support from Oceanic, will be responsible for the pipelaying works.
"The vessels can position precisely and safely in the busy waters around Rotterdam, the busiest and largest port in Europe," Allseas said.
“We are delighted that the Porthos partnership recognized Allseas’ offshore installation capability as being key to the success of this landmark project,” says Allseas Chief Executive Pieter Heerema.
“Back in the mid-1980s, as the world’s first pipelay vessel operating fully on dynamic positioning, Lorelay installed some of the earliest gas and oil pipelines in the Dutch North Sea. The fact that almost four decades later, the same vessel will install the first carbon capture pipeline is a testament to our ongoing innovation and continuous improvement of our vessels’ capabilities.”
Expected to be operational by 2026, Porthos is expected to reduce the Netherland’s annual CO2 emissions by about 2%.
The pipeline will transport about 2.5 million metric tons of CO2 per year for 15 years to the North Sea storage site. The EU has recognized Porthos as an important “Project of Common Interest” in meeting climate targets and awarded a €102 million subsidy to accelerate development.
