When the first European natural gas liquefaction plant comes on-line, it will have to meet tough new carbon emission limits. Lewa provided a solution by supplying the biggest high-pressure process diaphragm pumps that have ever been built. Inside the Arctic Circle, at Hammerfest, Norway, oil and gas company Statoil plans to start up the first natural gas liquefaction plant in Europe, processing natural gas from the Snohvit, Albatross and Askeladd fields in the Barents Sea. Natural gas contains up to 9% carbon dioxide (5-8% at Hammerfest) and traces of hydrogen sulphide, but both components are removed almost completely during processing. With traditional technology, these waste gases are exhausted into the atmosphere. However, the Kyoto Protocol, which sets the limits of the carbon dioxide emissions, makes this solution untenable. Furthermore, Norway imposes an extra tax of ?50 per ton of carbon dioxide emissions in consideration of the agreement.
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