Porthos CCUS consortium gains $2.4bn of Dutch funding
The Porthos CCUS consortium, which includes ExxonMobil and Shell, has gained $2.4bn in subsidies from the Dutch government for what will be one of the largest carbon capture utilisation and storage (CCUS) projects in the world.

The oil majors, along with gas suppliers Air Liquide and Air Products, are invested in the scheme to transport carbon from industry in the Port of Rotterdam and store this in empty gas fields beneath the North Sea. Porthos stands for Port of Rotterdam CO₂ Transport Hub and Offshore Storage.

Companies will supply carbon dioxide gas via a collective pipeline that runs through the Rotterdam port area. The gas will then be pressurised in a compressor station and transported through an offshore pipeline to a platform in the North Sea, approximately 20km off the coast. From this platform, the carbon will be pumped in an empty gas field. The empty gas fields are situated in a sealed reservoir of porous sandstone, more than 3km beneath the North Sea.

It is expected that, in its early years, the project will be able to store approximately 2.5 million tonnes of Carbon dioxide per year.

The Netherlands has clear climate objectives: the emission of greenhouse gases must be reduced by 49 per cent in 2030 and by 95 per cent in 2050 compared with 1990. As around 15 per cent of CO2 emissions in the Netherlands take place in the Rotterdam port area, the region’s contribution to the national climate objectives is extremely important.

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