Study proposes dual hydrogen/gas role for Dutch North Sea trunklines

Offshore staff

Groningen — Guidehouse and Enersea are investigating the reuse of the Netherlands’ offshore gas trunklines for hydrogen transport.

Their study claims that the Noordgastransport (NGT) and NOGAT systems’ offshore infrastructure could be repurposed for hydrogen transportation before 2030. This could be achieved by re-routing production from certain gas fields, while maintaining transportation services for current and future Dutch offshore natural gas projects.

NGT and NOGAT commissioned the study. Each of their pipelines has a capacity of 10 GW to 14 GW, and both were certified by Bureau Veritas Inspectie en certificering last year.

Reuse, rather than installing new pipelines, could be more cost-efficient and implemented more quickly—up to 90% lower cost than installing new pipelines, the study found. Fewer permits would be needed, and the environmental impact could be lower as the pipelines are already in place in an already “crowded” part of the North Sea, with no requirement to take new pipelines through sensitive areas such as sand dunes and the Waddenzee.

The study analysed transportation onshore of hydrogen that will be produced in the North Sea via electrolysis of offshore wind power, also examining the time frame in which the pipelines could be available for transport.

Guidehouse and Enersea devised two main scenarios that could be implemented before 2030. In each case, one of the pipelines becomes fully available for hydrogen while the other continues to transport produced gas. Blending of hydrogen with natural gas would also be feasible, in addition to transport of pure hydrogen only, they concluded.

Both the NOGAT and NGT pipelines are said to be conveniently located in relation to planned large wind farms in the north of the Dutch North Sea, and for the pilot "North of the Wadden." Connecting the wind farms would involve construction of some short new offshore pipelines.

The pipeline network is also connected to Denmark through the NOGAT-Tyra-Denemark connection, with potential for connections of the western branch of the NGT with English North Sea gas pipelines, or another to Germany’s Aquaventus/Aquaductus project.

Existing gas fields, the authors claimed, could also switch in the future to storage roles to address temporary fluctuations due to wind variability and to hold strategic reserves of hydrogen.

10.16.2023