Page 11 - EurOil Week 33 2021

EurOil PROJECTS & COMPANIES EurOil
Wintershall, VNG partner on hydrogen pilot
GERMANY
TWO German companies, Wintershall Dea and VNG, have agreed to co-operate on hydrogen development. As a first step, the two companies said they would build a pilot facility to provide “turquoise hydrogen” – a type that combines ele- ments of blue and green hydrogen.
Turquoise hydrogen is made using methane pyrolysis – a method that splits natural gas into hydrogen and solid carbon at high temperatures. Wintershall and VNG have already made an initial investment in a technology partner, Hii- ROC, which has developed methane pyrolysis technology.
HiiROC’s methane pyrolysis method will be used and further developed for a specific appli- cation together with the manufacturer of the pilot facility. The facility is set to go into opera- tion in 2023 and have a nominal capacity of 400 kg of hydrogen per day – equivalent to output of almost 5 GWh per year. It would be the first facility of its kind to produce turquoise hydrogen in Germany.
The companies are already in talks with potential customers for the produced
hydrogen, and about a possible location in East- ern Germany.
“In order to achieve German and European climate targets by 2050, it’s necessary to rapidly establish a functioning hydrogen market,” stated Winterhshall’s chief technology officer, Hugo Dijkgraaf. “We want to be part of the solution and are investing in future-focused projects,” he continued. “This co-operation with VNG will help realise the technology’s potential and estab- lish a hydrogen market, because markets don’t happen by themselves. They have to be built and organised – technology neutral.”
VNG has also been working on hydrogen storage using salt caverns and on green hydrogen production in Germany as the nascent hydrogen industry expands in Europe and globally.
“In order to advance hydrogen as an energy source and establish it as an integral part of the energy mix, strong partnerships are needed, between companies as well as between indus- try and politics,” said VNG’s Member of the Executive Board for Infrastructure/Technology, Hans-Joachim Polk.™
POLICY
Vitrenko: Naftogaz strives
to create gas reserves of
over 19 bcm
As of August 16, accumulated gas reserves in Ukraine’s underground storage facilities have already reached more than 17.5 bcm. Naftogaz now seeks to cross the 19 bcm mark before the upcoming heating period starts. This level is an essential condition for the company to secure a stable heating season, with regard to all additional risks, Naftogaz of Ukraine CEO Yuriy Vitrenko stated during a recent business visit to Lviv Region.
“It is the government’s estimate that at
the start of the next heating season, we must have gas reserves of 17 bcm in underground storage facilities. We are now approaching the level of 18 bcm. However, in order to make sure that this heating season runs smoothly and without interruptions, we want to pump in even more gas”, said the Naftogaz CEO while visiting Bilche-Volytsko-Uherske UGS.
NEWS IN BRIEF
Vitrenko underlined that the Bilche- Volytsko-Uherske gas storage facility is the largest in Ukraine, which makes it the most critical for the uninterrupted heating season.
“We are happy with the preparation progress – we can now see that everything works as necessary. This is why we look with confidence towards the future, knowing that the country will smoothly go through the heating season, and Ukrainians will have enough gas”, Vitrenko assured.
According to the Naftogaz CEO, additional gas volumes that have been planned for
the season are necessary only to make sure there will be no gas shortages during the winter season, even where there is a potential additional consumption by thermal power plants that usually face the problem of insufficient coal supplies in storage facilities.
“Looking back at the previous years, except maybe the last one that was exceptional,
you will see that we used to start the heating season with 16 bcm in underground storage. Today, we already have much more but we still want to reach over 19 bcm. With this secured, we will know that we can give a helping hand to power generation facilities, should they
need gas for electric power generation”, added Vitrenko.
NAFTOGAZ OF UKRAINE, August 17, 2021
UPSTREAM
Drilling permit for well
33/6-5 S in production
licence 882
The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD) has granted Neptune Energy Norge AS a drilling permit for well 33/6-5 S, cf. Section 13 of the Resource Management Regulations.
Well 33/6-5 S will be drilled from the Deepsea Yantai drilling facility in position 61°31’55.02”N and 1°59’12.45”E after concluding the drilling of development wells for Neptune Energy Norge AS in production licence 636.
The drilling programme for well 33/6-5 S relates to the drilling of a wildcat well in production licence 882. Neptune Energy Norge AS is the operator with an ownership
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