Economic Efficiency and Safety Greatly Improved... Korea National Oil Corporation Obtains Patent for 'Mobile' Carbon Dioxide Injection Method in Continental Shelf

Domestic Carbon Dioxide Storage Development Project Opens Path for Leading Role

East Sea Gas Field.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Kim Yong-woo] Korea National Oil Corporation has developed a CCS technology method that liquefies carbon dioxide captured on land and injects it into the domestic continental shelf seabed through offshore injection facilities and subsea control facilities, and has been officially recognized as a patent by the Korean Intellectual Property Office.

Since last year, the corporation has been working on patent applications for the concept and technology of a marine mobile carbon dioxide injection system for domestic marine storage utilization in relation to the development of carbon dioxide reduction technologies to achieve future carbon neutrality.

The corporation announced that in July it received recognition for technical differentiation and economic superiority compared to existing patents, and subsequently obtained final registration approval from the Korean Intellectual Property Office.

This patent concerns the configuration and operation of vessels and facilities that inject carbon dioxide into subsea formations, which is known to be necessary for converting numerous small- to medium-sized offshore reservoirs or saline aquifers around Korea’s seabed into commercially viable carbon dioxide storage sites.

Named the “Mobile Marine Carbon Dioxide Storage System,” the operational concept of this patent involves first transporting carbon dioxide captured from power plants, etc., via liquefied transport vessels to the tanks of carbon dioxide injection vessels located on the surface of the subsea storage site.

Then, using pressurizing pumps on the injection vessel, the liquefied carbon dioxide is safely injected into the storage formation through subsea control facilities installed on the surface of the storage site.

To prevent accidents such as equipment derailment caused by weather factors like storms, the corporation plans to precisely operate the dynamic positioning system (DPS) of the storage vessel and the mooring system of the subsea injection facilities.

Additionally, to prepare for any possible carbon dioxide leakage situations, remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) will be deployed to continuously monitor the entire operation process via video.

The subsea carbon dioxide storage injection method is attracting attention as an innovative technology that significantly improves economic efficiency compared to existing fixed carbon dioxide injection methods, due to the ease of installation and removal of equipment and facilities and their recyclability.

Maintaining the existing method requires installing and dismantling platforms and subsea pipelines each time after injection is completed, which involves considerable economic costs and time.

A Korea National Oil Corporation official projected that considering the characteristics of Korea’s marine terrain, where numerous small- to medium-sized storage sites are scattered, economic efficiency could be greatly improved especially when developing multiple storage sites sequentially compared to existing methods.

The corporation plans to accelerate the discovery of promising domestic carbon dioxide storage sites and research on direct atmospheric carbon dioxide capture technologies to carry out multifaceted carbon dioxide reduction projects in the future. The strategy is to actively develop solid technological capabilities necessary for CCUS projects, which are gaining attention as future new growth industries.

Seo Jeong-gyu, Head of the Global Technology Center, said, “The corporation will leverage this patent acquisition as a stepping stone to focus on demonstrating the feasibility of the mobile carbon dioxide storage system. Through this, we will promote the development of commercially viable marine storage conversion technologies while actively playing a role in revitalizing national related industries such as shipbuilding and injection facility design and manufacturing.”

Korea National Oil Corporation is known to currently hold a total of 14 technology and method patents, including patents related to domestic and international oil development operations.