Twister and Petronas have entered into a joint development program for the use of Twister technology for the monetisation and processing of acid gas fields containing large amounts of CO2. Part of the program is to develop, fabricate and test a skid-mounted Crystalliser Vessel for qualification, confirming the functionality and proving the concept of melting CO2 solids and producing liquid CO2 ready for reinjection.
The Crystalliser vessel is similar to the proprietary Twister Hydrate Separator in that both technologies can handle a solid phase, although the Crystalliser vessel operates in a low temperature cryogenic environment. Currently Twister technology is qualifying for an offshore application for CO2 removal using a cryogenic setup. The alternative technology consists of a vast area of membranes that considerably increases the size and weight of the offshore structure. The main feature of the cryogenic approach is the generation of solid pure CO2 (dry ice). Using an adaptation of Twister’s Hydrate Separator, the solid CO2 is melted in order to enable reinjection of CO2 into the reservoir through pumps. A fully equipped skid, fabricated in the Netherlands containing the Crystalliser and test control equipment, is being transported to Malaysia to undergo qualification tests.
The qualification test is scheduled for Q2 2018 in Petronas' facilities in Malaysia and is a key component of the joint technology program, which includes the development of the Twister Supersonic Separator for CO2 removal.
