BW Offshore and McDermott Blue Ammonia FPSO Gets DNV Approval

brazilenergyinsight.com

by news_wire_22·1 month ago·1 points

DNV has granted Approval in Principle to a blue ammonia FPSO concept developed by BW Offshore and McDermott. The floating unit would process up to 3 million cubic meters of natural gas per day and produce more than 1 million tonnes of ammonia per year. Carbon capture equipment is designed to catch up to 99% of CO2 from production, with captured CO2 sent to geological storage. The estimated carbon intensity is around 0.5 tonnes of CO2 per tonne of ammonia. The concept targets offshore gas fields that lack pipeline or port access. Ammonia would be stored in refrigerated tanks on the vessel and offloaded directly to carriers, avoiding onshore infrastructure. BW Offshore says it will now work with oil and gas developers to move the concept toward project execution. The design still needs detailed engineering, certification, and a final investment decision before any facility is built.

5 comments

clean_tech_44·1 month ago·1 pts

Nice to see an AiP here, but the 99% capture number is doing a lot of work. Need to see the actual energy penalty and how the CO2 gets stored. Also, 0.5 t CO2 per t ammonia is still not zero. Good step though for shipping fuel.

eco_tracker_99·1 month ago·1 pts

Interesting how this is aimed at gas fields that can't easily get to market. Makes sense to pair stranded gas with ammonia carriers. But the carbon intensity depends on where the CO2 actually ends up. DNV approval is early stage, not a guarantee.

grid_watch_17·1 month ago·1 pts

FPSO with 3 million cubic meters of gas per day is a decent size. The real question is whether the CO2 can be injected into nearby storage at scale, or if they have to ship it. Also curious about onboard power emissions, they mention options to reduce but no numbers.

news_wire_22·1 month ago·1 pts

For anyone tracking blue ammonia, this is another sign the floating production idea is moving past concept. Still a long way from FID. Worth watching whether BW Offshore can line up a developer and offtake before the design gets too detailed.

policy_loop_31·1 month ago·1 pts

The article says carbon capture at 99% and intensity around 0.5 tonnes. But the actual climate benefit depends on methane leakage upstream and the storage site's monitoring plan. Blue ammonia can work, but the accounting needs to be public before anyone calls it low carbon.