LMS100 to support carbon capture project in Norway

GE recently announced that it has concluded a commercial alliance agreement with Norway-based Sargas AS to provide a gas turbine for a gas-fired plant with integrated carbon capture for enhanced oil recovery (EOR).

(The Sargas power plant is said to deliver significantly lower costs of electricity and captured CO2 per ton)

The Sargas plant will combine a configuration of the existing LMS100 aeroderivative gas turbine package from GE with Sargas' patented combustion and carbon-capture technology enabling low emissions power generation.

Lower energy required to capture CO2 

Sargas designs and builds integrated power plant facilities that capture 90% of CO2 and other coal-related pollutants. The company’s pressurized CO2 capture technologies require lower amounts of energy to capture CO2 from flue gas. The pressurized combustion and downstream pressurized flue gas capture is said to be 40 times more efficient than conventional capture without pressure. The cost increase resulting from this kind of carbon capture is estimated to be less than USD 0.02/ton of CO2 for coal firing.

Sargas earlier this year made a proposal to use its technology for a power station in Malta. This technology is said to capture carbon dioxide (CO2) at pressure, which requires lower capital investment costs and can be built quickly with existing or slightly modified subsystems and equipment. The Sargas power plant is said to deliver significantly lower costs of electricity and captured CO2 per ton, and therefore enable the Sargas-led engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) consortium to offer industrial-scale volumes of economically competitive CO2 for EOR applications worldwide.

The companies said GE's LMS100 turbine is a combination of proven frame and aeroderivative gas turbine technology representing extensive collaboration of design and manufacturing expertise, delivering unparalleled efficiency.  In combination, the new configuration of the LMS100 in the Sargas plant is expected to capture CO2 for EOR with high efficiency and low parasitic load.

Announcing the alliance, Sargas' Chief Executive Henrik Fleischer said traditional EOR supplies of naturally occurring carbon dioxide stored underground is running out, and with oil prices expected to remain above $80/bbl it is important for oil companies to maximize oil production with enhanced oil recovery. He said, “Our solution will revolutionize the worldwide energy industry providing carbon capture in both a flexible and affordable way for greater energy independence through EOR. It also offers low-emissions electricity, in a proven and practical manner.

Speaking about the alliance, Darryl Wilson, president and CEO - Aeroderivative gas turbines for GE Power & Water stated, "GE's LMS100 is an optimal solution for a pressurized carbon capture plant for EOR applications. The three-shaft system architecture of the LMS100 enables adaptability for use in a carbon capture EOR application. The LMS100 provides a highly efficient production of pressurized flue gas that empowers Sargas technology.” He also said that EOR with compressed CO2 has been used for more than 30 years, but with an increased demand expected and with natural underground sources of CO2 being exhausted, there is an increased need for new sources.