Maersk Tankers has taken a leap of environmental responsiveness by entering into the CO2 transportation market, which promotes the wider use of Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) – a technology identified as key to mitigating the effects of climate change.
Martin Fruergaard, Senior Vice President of Maersk Tankers, said the initiative was designed to “act on the global challenge that is climate change and to develop innovative and creative ways to limit carbon emissions.
“By utilizing our experience in transporting liquefied petrochemical and natural gases, we have developed a large scale case for transport of CO2 for storage or EOR (enhanced oil recovery),” he added.
Demonstrative of the A. P. Moller-Maersk group’s dedication to leading the way in the environmental challenges posed to the shipping industry, the new diversification is a foreshadowing of the future expected demand for CO2 usage and goes some way to alleviating the growing problem of emissions.
The company’s subsidiary, Maersk Oil, has also tapped into the potential opportunities of CCS projects implemented to remove CO2 from point sources such as coal fired power plants and to transfer it to underground stores, either onshore or offshore.
Michael Engell-Jensen, Senior Vice President and Head of Maersk Oil’s Carbon and Climate Department, indicated that its current involvement in fields in the North Sea has instigated further development of expertise: “Maersk Oil is investigating CO2 mitigation technologies for the geological storage of CO2, to meet the expected future demand,” he said.
According to Maersk Tanker studies, more than 750 million tonnes of CO2 are emitted from large stationary coastal power plants in the North Sea region alone, yet fifteen handysize gas carriers could transport more than half of Denmark’s annual CO2 emissions for storage in the North Sea.
Such figures reveal both the developmental potential for the company’s operations and also the environmental benchmark Maersk is placing on the shipping industry as the issue of climate change continues to grow.
