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      Knutsen offers its VOC technology to the market

About three years ago, Knutsen OAS unveiled its own volatile organic compound (VOC) capture equipment (KVOC), which had been under development
for 10 years with DNV among others.

The first of Knutsen's KVOC capture tanks was installed on the shuttle tanker Elisabeth Knutsen in 2007 and has since been fitted on board 10 vessels operating in the North Sea.

Following the equipment's success on some of the Knutsen shuttle tankers, the company recently decided to offer the technology to third parties with the result that Teekay purchased the KVOC equipment to fit on board six vessels, including the new Amundsen class shuttle tankers now being delivered.

In addition, the South Korean shipyard Samsung is discussing the possibility of fitting at least foor more and possibly up to another 12 systems, as KVOCs are deemed suitable for other types of tankers, apart from North Sea shuttles.

For example, product tankers are also considered suitable for the fitting of KVOCs, Knutsen said, as are LNGCs, although the fitting of the laffer will probably come later.

The Knutsen newbuilding shuttles will have a KVOC system fitted in each tank and the company claimed that its equipment will last for the lifetime of the vessel.

The breakthrough for the KVOC technology developed by Knutsen is now starting to have an effect on VOC emissions from offshore offloading operations. By 2012, 24 shuttle tankers will have installed KVOCs. This spares the environment annual emissions of oil vapour equivalent to 444,000 barrels of oil at a value of NOK200 mill, Knutsen claimed.

The tanks of a standard shuttle tanker contain about 135,000 cu m of oil. On average, a shuttle tanker carries 30 cargoes annually. For each cubic meter of cargo, the KVOC technology prevents 0.8 kilos of oil from disappearing into the atmosphere as pollution. This is the equivalent of more than 100 tonnes of oil from every cargo.

With a KVOC plant installed on 24 ships, each carrying 30 cargoes per year, a saving of 77,000 tonnes, or more than 440,000 barrels of oil will be possible. The 100 tonnes of oil saved on each loading operation also has an impact on CO2 emissions, as when the use of KVOC cuts emissions by roughly 100 tonnes per cargo, this corresponds to about 520 tonnes of CO2, Knutsen explained.

A crude oil tanker with today's loading arrangement will emit between 0.5 to 1.5 kg VOC for each cu m of cargo loaded. This is equivalent to 2.5 to 7 kg CO2.

A Suezmax loading one million barrels of oil can emit VOC, representing between 850 to 2,500 barrels of oil for each cargo - a loss of between $40,000 and $125,000 per cargo in today's market.
Knutsen estimated that 30 KVOCs will be eventually installed on tankers, representing a VOC reduction of about one shuttle tanker each year, or the equivalent of 375,000 tonnes CO2.

The use of Knutsen's KVOC really took off when, in 2006, a contract was signed between the company and the VOC Industry Co­operation (VOCIC) to use the KVOC system in the North Sea. VOCIC is a co-operative agreement signed by all the companies involved in crude offshore loading on the Norwegian Continental Shelf in the North Sea.

Under the agreement, the first VOC was installed on board the Tordis Knutsen in June of that year, followed by the ngdis Knutsen in September. In addition, the agreement meant that the Sallie Knutsen, fitted with a VOCIC system in April 2005, could switch to Knutsen's system.

The first prototype VOC system was installed on board the Ragnhild Knutsen in 2002, while the first commercial fitting on behalf of a charterer was on board the Siri Knutsen a year later. She is operated by DONG which operates the Siri Field in the Danish sector of the North Sea.

Another charterer, Petro-Canada, later decided to fit a system on board the Gijon Knutsen, which operates from the De Ruyter Field in the Dutch sector.

Basically, oil flows at the cylinder wall and the gas is separated in the middle and the hydrostatic pressure is eliminated. The reduced pressure in piping oil gas at deck level is avoided and a negligible amount of VOC is generated in the KVOC system, Knutsen said.

 

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