CCS conference provides insights on growth prospects  

Riviera’s September CO2 Shipping & CCS Conference, Asia held in association with DNV left its 170 attendees in no doubt that realising CCS’ vast potential requires transformative growth in shipping capacity plus massive infrastructure build-outs under new business and policy frameworks. This reality presents significant commercial opportunity.

Multiple speakers highlighted that only a handful of vessels exist today that are purpose-built for bulk CO2 shipping. However, forecasts shared at the conference indicated that 50+ ships will be needed by 2030.

Expert speakers also said that delivering large-scale CCS will require billions in capital expenditures on elements like pipelines, liquefaction facilities, docking terminals and injection platforms. For example, developing a CCS hub around Singapore would necessitate substantial outlays on CO2 collection infrastructure plus shipping assets. Governments will also play a vital role through investments and policy incentives. These system-wide investments offer attractive prospects across transport, materials, engineering and construction.

The conference also highlighted some innovative commercial structures starting to emerge around CCS. For example, projects are looking at repurposing offshore oil and gas infrastructure like depleted wells, platforms and pipelines to lower costs rather than new builds. CO2 shipping also opens creates opportunities for companies to become carriers, aggregators or storage service providers. New revenue models can arise from industrial CO2 users paying for storage or enhanced oil recovery using CO2.

Some project developers are moving ahead based on government incentives and emission control regulations. Mandates, tax credits and public co-investments are expected to support early movers until costs decline further with scale.

While strategies differ on how best to capitalise on these significant opportunities one view at the conference was unanimous: Keeping abreast of the accelerating activity in this nascent sector made attending Riviera’s September CO2 Shipping & CCS Conference, Asia an incredibly worthwhile investment with high demand for information on the next installations in the conference series. 

Both Riviera’s one day CO2 Shipping and Terminals Europe and one day CO2 Shipping & CCS Conference, Asia will return in 2024.