Geo-data specialist Fugro stated it’s finishing up a complete floor investigation for a ground-breaking new CO2 freeway, off the coast of Belgium. The contract is a part of a 1,000-kilometre-long deliberate pipeline by Equinor to move CO2 between mainland Europe and Norway. Bringing giant scale CO2 storage to European trade, this venture may very well be a game-changer for CO2 transport and storage in northwestern Europe.
With an bold goal to come back onstream in 2030, it’s important to keep away from delays because of poor design based mostly on incorrect and unsuitable Geo-data. Fugro has been chosen to accumulate top quality knowledge that may enable Equinor to rapidly calculate floor threat and scale back uncertainty.
The bottom investigation is being carried out by WaveWalker; Fugro’s modern, liveaboard jack-up platform. Jack-up barges are ideally fitted to tasks in shallow waters, making WaveWalker an efficient resolution for the location’s coastal location in Zeebrugge, Belgium.
WaveWalker can function in a variety of climate circumstances, permitting Fugro to mobilise on the venture within the winter of 2024 whereas mitigating schedule and value dangers related to hostile winter climate operations. Security and operational effectivity are enhanced by decreasing wave interference because the jack-up’s legs are mounted to the seabed and the necessity for time-consuming crew adjustments are eradicated as workers can dwell aboard.
Previous to the location works, Fugro performed a seek for unexploded ordnance to make sure WaveWalker may very well be safely deployed and guarantee feasibility for the complete floor investigation scope. This contains geotechnical borehole drilling, high-quality sampling, and downhole cone penetration assessments (CPT). The bottom investigation will present Equinor with insights for the event of the landfall, and for deep pipeline burial below the Scheur ship channel, that are important to make sure protected and environment friendly set up of the CO2 pipeline.
This contract award comes off the again of the profitable marine geotechnical marketing campaign Fugro accomplished earlier this 12 months. Two vessels had been deployed in August, first Fugro Galaxy, performing CPT and Vibrocore sampling alongside the CO2 freeway route. Fugro Meridian then took over to finish the deep-water sections.
Matthew Chappell, Regional Nearshore Service Line Director Europe and Africa: “It is a incredible alternative for our Fugro groups throughout Europe to ship vital knowledge acquisition works for Equinor, particularly throughout the pioneering CCUS sector which aligns with our mission to assist create a protected and habitable world.”
The 1000 km lengthy CO₂ pipeline is deliberate to start out from CO₂ hubs in Zeebrugge, Belgium and Dunkirk, France, linked to storage wells on the Norwegian continental shelf. Fugro’s geotechnical work is a part of the maturation of the venture forward of a possible funding choice.
