Combined Heat and Power

We plan to invest $400 million to expand our Immingham combined heat and power (CHP) plant in the United Kingdom. CHP technology enables the production of electricity and steam at higher levels of energy efficiency and with lower carbon dioxide (CO²) emissions than traditional methods of power generation. Due on line in 2009, the 450-megawatt expansion – which will raise output to 1.18 gigawatts – will make Immingham CHP one of the world’s largest and most efficient CHP stations, contributing 12 percent toward the United Kingdom’s target to achieve 10 gigawatts of low carbon CHP energy by 2010.

Immingham CHP began commercial operation in 2004 and is already one of the largest, cleanest and most efficient power plants of its type in Europe. It uses 20 percent less fuel and produces 25 percent less CO² than the alternative of producing heat and power separately. In addition to being a clean source of electricity, the plant burns surplus fuel gas produced by our neighboring Humber refinery, which was previously flared.

Immingham CHP provides steam and electricity to the Humber refinery and steam to an adjacent refinery owned by another company. It also feeds electricity to the U.K. national grid and is well placed to supply low-carbon energy to a wide range of local industrial customers. If current studies demonstrate economic feasibility, the enlarged plant could be modified to utilize our E-Gas gasification technology to operate as a “clean coal” facility, with CO² stored or used for enhanced oil recovery.