Kårstø is an industrial facility located in Tysvær, Norway. The site features a number of natural gas processing plants to refine natural gas and condensate from the fields in the northern parts of the North Sea, including Åsgard, Mikkel and Sleipner. The Kårstø processing complex is Europe's biggest export port for natural gas liquids (NGL) and the third largest in the world.[1]
The plant opened on July 25, 1985 and exported the first gas to Germany on October 15. Gas is transported from the North Sea via Statpipe and Åsgard Transport. Condensate is received from the Sleipner field and stabilised and fractionated in a separate plant that started operation in 1993. About four million tonn stabilised condensate are each year exported from Kårstø by ship.
Natural Gas Liquids (NGL) are separated from the rest of the gass and split into propane, butane, isobutane, naphtha and ethane. The propane is stored in two large mountain halls with a total capacity of 90,000 tonnes. The rest of the refined products are stored in tanks. The facility is the third largest export port for Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) in the world and exported all around the globe. In 2002, 575 shiploads of LPG, ethane, nafta and stabilised condensate were sent. Gassnova has been engaged for the development of technology for full-scale CO2-capture at the gas fired power plant and large-scale transport and geological storage of CO2 from Kårstø.[2]
The ethane production is 950,000 tonnes annually and are sold on long term agreements to the companies Borealis, I/S Noretyl and Norsk Hydro. Dry gas is exported via Europipe II to Dornum in Germany and via Statpipe and Norpipe to Emden. The pipes are owned by Gassled and operated by Gassco.The company Naturkraft (owned by Statkraft and Statoil) operates Kårstø power station, a natural gas-fired thermal power plant at Kårstø.[3]