A combined heat and power (CHP) station is planned by StatoilHydro to provide process heat and electricity for the Mongstad refinery.
Under an agreement with the Troll licensees, this facility will also supply power to the Troll A gas platform in the North Sea and the associated Kollsnes processing plant on land.
The Mongstad energy project (EVM) also embraces a new gas pipeline from Kollsnes as well as necessary modification work and tie-ins at the refinery.
A desire to strengthen and preserve Mongstad’s position as a cost-efficient supplier of refined petroleum products is the principal motivation behind the EVM plans.
Ensuring a robust and long-term competitive status for this complex as an industrial site is another objective.
Energy currently accounts for about 50% of operating costs at the refinery, which is roughly 30 years old. In addition, process heat is poorly utilised and much energy gets wasted.
A CHP station will reduce operating costs while providing stable energy supplies.
Measured by the output of useful kilowatt-hours per volume of natural gas input, the energy efficiency of the CHP station will be 70-80% – depending on how much of the heat is utilised.
Efficiency will be about 70% at start-up, which will in turn reduce emissions of carbon dioxide per kilowatt-hour of energy output.
Capacity will be about 280 megawatts of electricity and roughly 350 megawatts in the form of heat.
Total investment in the EVM is put at roughly NOK 4 billion in current money.
Plans call for the creation of a separate company to own and operate the CHP station, but the ownership and structure of this enterprise remains to be clarified.
Danish energy company Dong Energy (Elsam) will be a shareholder as well as taking responsibility for construction and operation of the generating facility.
The CHP station is due to be completed in 2010.
