While the future of oil and gas (O&G) infrastructure within the energy transition is uncertain, the long-distance transportation of energy resources will remain essential for global supply.
As part of long-term diversification strategies, the hydrocarbon industry is increasingly exploring the repurposing of pipelines for hydrogen, but persistent financial barriers have limited broader development.
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In turn, the growing hydrogen industry is aiming to achieve more widespread use beyond current operating networks by tapping into existing infrastructure.
The modifications required are at the forefront of engineering innovation, bringing technical challenges and opportunities in hydrogen-blending for markets beyond traditional fossil fuels.
Power Technology‘s sister publication Offshore Technology assesses whether repurposed pipelines can become a reality for a broadened global energy mix.
Technical hurdles
A total pipeline conversion from the transportation of oil and gas to hydrogen requires a range of modifications to the system and materials.
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By GlobalDataResearch from the International Journal of Hydrogen Energy highlights the “risks of hydrogen embrittlement of pipeline steels and the smaller molecular size of the gas”. Embrittlement is a major safety issue, as it can lead to cracking and overall failure, particularly in older pipelines.
Austenitic stainless steel – an alloy with more than 8% nickel content – is one recommended material for hydrogen pipelines and components such as valves and compressors due to its corrosion resistance. Another is fibre-reinforced polymer, which requires less welding and lower installation costs.
Hydrogen’s energy density poses another variance, as it is significantly lower than natural gas, even when under compression. This necessitates a larger pipeline diameter and compressors that can handle higher flow rates by increasing rotational speed to deliver the same amount of energy. However, best practice for the maintenance of converted pipelines still awaits industry consensus.
“Hydrogen’s low ignition energy and high flammability require changes to hazardous zones and venting strategies,” explains Peter O’Sullivan, CEO of energy consultancy Penspen. “The lack of a visible flame and hydrogen’s higher combustion heat mean changes to operating practices and first responder procedures.”
Given these challenges, repurposing pipelines is an active area of innovation and research and development.
Pipe-in-pipe systems are an emerging solution, as founder and CEO of hydrogen delivery solutions provider H2C Rinaldo Brutoco tells Offshore Technology. “A high-pressure hydrogen pipeline runs inside an existing pipeline, with the interstitial space capturing any leaked hydrogen from the inner system to be scrubbed,” he explains.
“This enables continuous monitoring and detection of any hydrogen degradation and keeps the initial investment in the existing pipeline while moving large quantities of hydrogen,” he adds.
As repurposing pipelines on a large scale remains in an evolutionary phase, companies must weigh the longer-term potential benefits against the short-term security of traditional investments.
Investment considerations
The economics of retrofitted versus new pipelines depends on the conditions, length, diameter and hydrogen concentration levels. However, research shows that constructing new hydrogen pipelines costs ten-times that of using existing gas pipelines.
According to Rajiv Sabharwal, vice-president of business development energy at testing, inspection and certification company Bureau Veritas, “ongoing uncertainty in the hydrogen market and delays in capital investments for new projects means that companies are now focusing more on their conventional O&G operations and products pipelines, rather than pursuing hydrogen pipelines and repurposing initiatives”.
In 2024, Norwegian state-owned multinational energy company Equinor cancelled its early-stage plans to export hydrogen from Norway to Germany due to estimates that the total supply chain cost could run into tens of billions of euros.
Despite such uncertainty, there are mutual benefits to be reaped from collaboration between the industries. Offshore Technology’s parent company, GlobalData, reaffirms the crucial role oil and gas operators can play in hydrogen development by “leveraging skills, expertise and existing assets such as natural gas networks to build production facilities, pipelines and refuelling stations”.
Shu Shu Wong and Conrad Purcell, associate and partner, respectively, at international corporate law firm Haynes Boone, point out that “hydrogen development often hinges on collaboration between investors and technology providers. These typically take the form of joint ventures, bringing with them a familiar set of considerations for investors”.
As with pipelines, a repurposed workforce between oil and gas and hydrogen is also a means of future-proofing the industry. “Fossil fuel companies need to see themselves in the energy business and understand how to maximise profits today and tomorrow,” states Robert Shelton, president of H2C subsidiary H2 Safety Pipe.
“The answer is clearly moving into hydrogen and redeploying labour, such as pipe-fitters,” he confirms.
With targeted investments, pipelines can serve as an enabler for workforces and companies to access new markets as the energy transition gains pace.
Opportunities in hydrogen blending
As hydrogen and natural gas have grown ever closer, blending has become more prevalent. According to National Gas, which operates Britain’s natural gas network, blending into existing networks is “the first step in building the hydrogen economy”.
“In some cases, hydrogen blending – up to 10–20% by volume – is feasible within existing natural gas networks, offering a more immediate route to integration while full conversion is assessed,” Wong and Purcell tell Offshore Technology.
In recent years, the hydrogen-blending market has expanded, presenting an opportunity for emissions reduction and new energy products while creating a reserve offtake sector for hydrogen projects.
Key global projects with hydrogen-blending planned for operation before 2030 are the SK E&S Boryeong Hydrogen Project in South Korea, which is expected to come online in 2026, and the Project Catalina hydrogen plant in Spain, which is aiming to blend into the existing natural gas grid by 2027 with a pipeline between Aragón and Valencia.
Hydrogen blending has increasingly been included in energy regulations. In 2022, Canada amended its Pipeline Act to include pipelines that have been built to carry pure hydrogen or hydrogen blends.
Blending isn’t a fix-all, however. Shelton asserts that the “separation of hydrogen and natural gas should be maintained to avoid cutting into profit margins from dramatically decreasing British thermal units”.
He adds that “once hydrogen has touched methane it is no longer serviceable in fuel cells, which are becoming a larger part of the energy supply chain”.
In O’Sullivan’s view, “scaling up to large, high-pressure transmission networks requires careful engineering and new technical solutions. While not a permanent solution, it creates near-term demand for hydrogen and helps de-risk investment in the supply chain.”
The future of repurposing O&G pipelines
Repurposed pipelines have a key role to play in diversification strategies for the fossil fuel industry and mitigating the pressure to reduce dependence on dominant sources. Shelton underscores the importance of this in Europe as “everybody wants to move away from Russian gas”.
Progress is being driven by governmental initiatives such as the European Hydrogen Backbone (EHB), which is building a dedicated hydrogen pipeline network across Europe. By 2040, the EHB is expected to reach 39,700km, 69% of which will be repurposed natural gas pipelines.
Indeed, Europe accounts for the most hydrogen pipelines globally as it aims to produce ten million tonnes per annum of low-carbon hydrogen domestically as part of the REPowerEU Plan.
Such governmental support is crucial to avoid the growing hydrogen market falling victim to “companies allocating resources to more established and reliable revenue streams in the conventional oil and gas sector”, as Sabharwal underlines.
Delays and complications greatly hinder project momentum, which is particularly detrimental for a nascent technology such as hydrogen that needs substantially more investment, at pace, to make technological and infrastructure advancements.
“Regulatory frameworks and market demand are still evolving, which can delay project timelines,” says O’Sullivan.
“As hydrogen production scales and regulation matures, we expect to see more operators pivot toward partial or full conversions. Long-term, the direction is clear: repurposing is one of the fastest, most cost-effective ways to make hydrogen a real part of the energy system,” he adds.
GlobalData’s 2035 forecast for hydrogen transport networks highlights that there are currently minimal hydrogen pipelines operational and those that are completed largely reflect new-build projects. Supporting infrastructure that can connect hydrogen plants with end-use sectors will be key to encouraging demand and scaling the overall market.
“Fundamentally, moving hydrogen is moving molecules, and that is the business that the traditional oil and gas business has been in,” concludes Brutoco.
