Carbon Clean and MODEC strike landmark deal for offshore carbon capture

MODEC

UK CARBON capture technology developer Carbon Clean has entered a long-term commercial partnership with an offshore oil processing operator to capture emissions from floating production storage and offloading vessels (FPSOs).

Under the deal with MODEC, a subsidiary of Japanese conglomerate Mitsui, Carbon Clean will deploy its modular carbon capture units on FPSOs to capture the significant CO2 emissions generated during offshore oil processing. The technology is expected to eventually capture up to 300,000 t/y of CO2 per vessel.

The deal follows February’s announcement of a pilot of Carbon Clean’s technology on an FPSO. Targeted for a launch date in 2026, the pilot will see Samsung E&A install Carbon Clean’s CycloneCC unit onto a MODEC FPSO in Brazil.

FPSOs are large floating vessels used to process and store oil between offshore extraction and transport to shore. MODEC leases and operates these vessels for oil and gas exploration companies. They are a significant source of CO2 emissions, largely from the gas turbines used to power them. According to MODEC’s most recent sustainability data, the company’s total emissions from its 18 offshore assets around the world were 5,298,244 tCO2e in 2023 – up from 3,784,892 tCO2e. The significant rise in emissions is due to the increase in MODEC’s assets.

Emissions from FPSOs – and shipping more generally – are considered especially difficult to abate. Before the deal with Carbon Clean was announced, MODEC said carbon capture challenges in shipping “arise due to the large size of the absorption tower” from conventional technology. Carbon Clean says its CycloneCC units are well suited for offshore use, featuring a rotating packed bed (RPB) reactor that uses a centrifuge to extract CO2 from flue gas with amine solvent. The units are around half the size of traditional column-based systems.

Following the pilot, Carbon Clean will move straight onto scaleup, targeting “partial decarbonisation” of up to 100,000 t/y of CO2 from a single FPSO, followed by further scaleup to a capture capacity of up to 300,000 t/y with 90% efficiency. Last month, Carbon Clean announced the completion of the largest commercial-scale demonstration of a CycloneCC unit, reporting capture of 285 t/d of CO2. MODEC and Carbon Clean are currently assessing potential locations for initial FPSO scaleup.

Koichi Matsumiya, CTO of MODEC, said: “Based upon the early success of the partnership that we are currently enjoying with Carbon Clean on the pilot plant project, we decided to take this daring step to commit early to accelerating this work.

“As a technology integrator and offshore solutions provider, we must remain committed to our core values and continue to seek realisation of our vision to explore ways to contribute to society humbly and diligently.”

Aniruddha Sharma, chair and CEO of Carbon Clean, said the long-term partnership with MODEC “is a major step toward commercialising onboard carbon capture for FPSOs and sets a precedent for the broader maritime industry”.