12-05-2022

Phillips 66 Limited Advances Carbon Capture Project in a Deal with Worley Using Shell’s Cansolv CO2 Capture Technology

The Phillips 66 Humber Refinery in the UK is on track to become the first refinery in the world to reduce its carbon dioxide emissions using a technology pioneered by Shell Catalysts & Technologies.

The companies announced an agreement today to deploy the Cansolv* CO2 technology to capture carbon produced in the North Lincolnshire, England refinery’s fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) process. The Shell technology will capture at least 95% of the carbon dioxide in the FCC flue gas, compressing it before the gas is transported to be safely stored in geological structures under the seabed in the North Sea.

Phillips 66 Limited will also work alongside engineering services firm Worley in the Front-End Loading 2 (FEL 2) stage of the design process to build a facility in which the carbon dioxide-capture process will take place.

Worley’s role is to integrate Shell’s carbon-capture technology into the Humber Refinery and design the infrastructure required to export the carbon dioxide into the transport and storage network. The projected startup is expected in 2027.

Humber Refinery General Manager Darren Cunningham, the Lead Executive for Phillips 66 in the UK, described the project as “hugely significant” from a technology perspective.

“There are more than 300 FCCs in the world,” Cunningham said. “We would be developing technology that has the potential to decarbonise them.

“We are looking forward to working with the Shell team – which brings a huge amount of carbon- capture experience to the table – and, with Worley, delivering this important project to the region.”

The project supports Humber Zero, a first-of-a-kind project that has been supported by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), the largest public funder of research and innovation in the UK.

Humber Zero is a collaboration between the Humber Refinery and combined heat and power company VPI-Immingham, a subsidiary of commodity trader Vitol, with participation from other businesses, organisations and academic institutions. Its goal is to capture up to 8 million tonnes of carbon dioxide per annum by 2030.

Shell will also provide their Cansolv* CO2 technology at the VPI site.

Phillips 66 Limited Project Leader Adam Young said: “This decision adds momentum to the Humber Zero consortium. It will provide added synergies, including increased knowledge-sharing that will directly lower the cost for capture.”

Phillips 66 Limited is a wholly owned subsidiary of Phillips 66, a diversified energy company headquartered in Houston. Carbon capture is one of the pillars of Phillips 66’s Emerging Energy organisation, and reducing carbon dioxide emissions is part of the company’s vision for the refinery of the future.

More than 1,000 people work at the Humber Refinery, and the refinery makes a significant contribution to the local economy.

Cunningham added: “Humber Refinery is tackling the dual challenge of providing the energy the world needs to power human progress while at the same time addressing climate change. We are providing a model for the energy transition.”

The refinery’s coastal location is ideally situated to help the UK Government’s goal of industrial decarbonisation, given the plans to take the captured CO2 via pipeline to be stored under the North Sea.

Andy Gosse, President, Shell Catalysts & Technologies, said: “We are very pleased to have another opportunity to provide our technology solution to help the Humber region transform to a lower-carbon energy future.

“Having two facilities operating in such close proximity should enable further synergies and opportunities to reduce the cost of CO2 capture.”

Bradley Andrews, President at Worley, said: “We’ve been working at the Humber Refinery for over two decades, and we look forward to collaborating with Phillips 66 Limited and Shell on this significant project to reduce carbon dioxide emissions at scale.

“This is aligned with Worley’s focus and investment in capability to help decarbonise existing industrial assets in the UK and our purpose in delivering a more sustainable world.”

The Humber region produces 40% of the nation’s industrial carbon dioxide emissions, so Humber Zero will play a crucial role in the Government hitting its 2050 net-zero carbon emission target.

UKRI, through the Industrial Decarbonisation Challenge, is investing £12.5m of Government funding in the project, matched by Phillips 66 Limited and VPI Immingham LLP.