Norway-based Aker Solutions has been awarded a contract by its compatriot Equinor to carry out a feasibility study for the latter’s Mongstad industrial transformation project in Vestland County on the west coast of Norway.
According to Aker Solutions, the study aims to identify solutions to significantly reduce CO2 emissions from the existing refinery and transform the site into a new low-carbon industry cluster whilst demonstrating safe, technical and economically feasible solutions.
The scope includes a new greenfield facility, which will be developed to produce blue hydrogen from natural and refinery fuel gas, along with a carbon capture and export solution, Aker Solutions revealed, adding that it also covers a new facility to produce sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) from municipal solid waste with more than 70% reduced emissions.
Aker Solutions said its consultancy will deliver a feasibility study for both new and existing facilities, integrating brownfield, greenfield and third-party technologies to examine options for future operations.
Roddy Macpherson, Senior Vice President of Consultancy at Aker Solutions, stated: “We are excited to support Equinor on this truly transformational study, maximizing industrial synergies to produce low-carbon solutions and sustainable fuels at a time when decarbonization is very high on the agenda.”
“The Mongstad study will help to further accelerate Norway’s energy transition, transforming the country’s only remaining oil and gas refinery to create energy sources of the future.”
To note, Mongstad is a medium-sized refinery in Europe, emitting around 1.7 million tons of CO2 emissions annually and Equinor aims to significantly reduce its emissions. Study work is ongoing.
As for Aker Solutions’ other recent endeavours, this month, the company announced it was awarded a front-end engineering and design (FEED) contract by Hafslund Oslo Celsio (Celsio) to develop a CO2 terminal for intermediate storage and export to ship at the Port of Oslo.