ANGOLA ALGERIA CAMEROON CHAD. CONGO EGYPT.. EQUATORIAL GUINEA GABON LIBYA. NIGERIA SOUTH AFRICA SUDAN TUNISIA OTHERS
The Second New Energy Era is Emerging in the Stavanger Region
The Stavanger region on the western coast of Norway has hosted the major oil and gas cluster in Europe for decades. Now, a new energy cluster is developing, based on natural gas.
The Stavanger region is a major centre for oil and gas activities in the North Sea. Large international energy companies such as Shell, BP, ConocoPhillips, Total, ENI and Statoil have their head offices there. A new era for the oil and gas cluster is now emerging. Several smaller oil companies have entered the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS) recently, and most of them have chosen to locate their offices in the Stavanger region.
A project to establish an energy park (Energiparken) is now well underway in a compact region with a large and competent workforce. Energiparken is tailor-made for companies determined to develop and commercialise new technologies using energy resources and the environment.
Synergy Effects
Energiparken is a site where energy producers and energy consumers will be co-located and different economic sectors coupled around a common infrastructure. Such an industry cluster will create many synergy/symbiosis effects for the ‘inhabitants’, which will be directly visible on their bottom line.
A Solid Foundation
Energiparken was brought to life as part of an inter- municipality project in the Stavanger region. Four municipalities and one county joined forces to develop new industry clusters in addition to the petroleum cluster, which is already very strong in the region. Two of the new clusters are the energy cluster and the food industry cluster. Energiparken is an important element in the energy cluster.
Three energy companies – Lyse Energi, Statoil and Norske Shell – decided at an early stage to join the project to develop an energy park. The company Energiparken was subsequently founded in November 2001. The early part of the project focused on maturing the concept. It soon became apparent that ownership to a property had to be secured because of the long-term horizon required for commercialisation of almost any new technology. Many property developers have shorter time horizons and different objectives.
Figure 1
A
daughter company – Energiparken Eiendom – was consequently founded in 2002 with
the purpose of developing the property. A couple of areas were evaluated and it
was finally decided to opt for an area at Risavika, the former site of the Sola
Refinery, which was shut down by Norske Shell in 2000.
The former refinery site is being cleaned by Norske Shell in what is probably the largest environmental clean-up project of its kind in Europe. This impressive undertaking will return the area to a very clean state ready for new industrial activities. Energiparken Eiendom subsequently purchased a 168,000m2 plot in September 2003. The plot comprises both industrial areas totalling 116,000m2 and the surrounding green area.
Domestic use of Natural Gas
Natural gas is the starting point for many future activities in the Stavanger region. A subsidiary of Lyse Energi – Lyse Gass – has built a connecting pipeline from the gas terminal at Kårstø to Risavika. The pipeline is 48km long with a diameter of 25cm. The gas pipeline was laid by Stolt Offshore in just two weeks in August 2003 and broke many records with respect to cost, depth and speed. With its deepest point close to 600m below sea level, it is the deepest pipeline ever laid in Northern European waters.
The gas receival and pressure-reduction station is located within Energiparken and high-pressure gas is therefore available in large quantities in Energiparken. This is also the starting point for the distribution grid for domestic use of natural gas in Norway. Commercial gas deliveries began on 1st March 2004.
The low-pressure domestic gas distribution grid was also built by Lyse Gass and currently more than 300km has been constructed. This is the largestonshore gas distribution grid in Norway. Initially, natural gas is used as a substitute for other energy carriers such as fuel oil. The majority of the customers are greenhouses, which can make use of both gas heating and the resulting carbon dioxide (CO2). Other users are being connected to the grid continuously. Domestic gas utilisation in Norway is gaining momentum.
Focusis on Industry Projects
At an early stage in the development of Energiparken, a composition was made to illustrate the types of industry projects that would have the greatest synergy effects if they were located together. This became the ‘road-map’ of Energiparken. Space has subsequently been created for several companies wanting to locate and commercialise specific activities within the energy and environmental sectors.
The natural starting point for several value chains is natural gas. The most important of these are:
Energy production could be combined with heat and power generation from the demonstration plant with CO2 treatment and power production from other technologies such as fuel cells.
Energy consumers may include industrial production facilities as well as production of bioproteins for fish and animal fodder.
Production of hydrogen would form the starting point for introduction of hydrogen as a fuel for transportation. The Stavanger region is a part of the HyNor project, a joint industry-operated project with the objective of establishing a transportation route between Oslo and Stavanger. Along the route there will be several node points. On each of these, hydrogen will be produced and supplied to hydrogen-fuelled vehicles. A hydrogen value chain in the Stavanger region is planned to be in operation in 2005. Energiparken, therefore, has to focus on identifying a company or group of companies wanting to establish hydrogen production from natural gas.
Current Status
Lyse Energi, one of the owners of Energiparken, has purchased the first plot in this exciting development. This will be used for the gas receival and pressure reduction station as well as other gas-related activities in the future. Another important project currently being evaluated is the establishment of a test centre for new gas technologies by Rogaland Research. Energiparken is in dialogue with several companies that are evaluating the benefits of locating some of their activities to Risavika.
New Opportunities
Energiparken offers many possibilities for oil and gas companies, suppliers and others. One opportunity could be the development and testing of energy and environmental technologies for use on offshore platforms and production units, for example compressor technology. Domestic energy producers will have the opportunity to develop and commercialise new technologies for energy production and address the environmental aspects.
As Energiparken is centrally located within a city region, interaction with the surrounding society is made possible. Products and by-products from energy production can be used as resources for other companies in Energiparken as well as downstream in the surrounding urban area. Electricity can be distributed efficiently through the connection to the overhead power grid.
Figure 2
There
are also plans to lay a district heating grid in parts of the urbanised area;
thereby, waste heat can be utilised and the energy efficiencies of plants can be
increased. As facilities can be shared between different companies, there are
several opportunities for cost saving. For example, if two companies need
facilities for oxygen production and CO2 disposal, the facilities can
be shared and costs can be lowered. The price for testing out new technologies
can therefore also be lowered.
Competence networks will be set up to assist the participants in their endeavours. These will involve connections to relevant authorities, contacts with investors, research institutions, local project development staff, consultancy companies and financial programmes providing economic support and incentives. Energiparken is adjacent to a new harbour, which is under development. In combination with the proximity to the Stavanger airport which is only 5km away, the foundation for effective logistics has been created.
Energiparken’s Vision
In the 1960s and 1970s, the industrial pattern in the Stavanger region underwent a major transformation from a fish-canning industry to an oil- and gas-based industry. While oil and gas continue to be major industrial activities, the foundation for new developments within energy and environment as well as the food industry is now being shaped. Energiparken welcomes companies to learn about their project and join their vision of becoming part of an internationally recognised cluster for development and commercialisation of future-oriented energy and environmental technologies.