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CCP publishes CO2 geological storage report
Storage, Aug 26 2009 (Carbon Capture Journal)
- “A Technical Basis for Carbon Dioxide Storage”, an 86-page report, edited by Cal Cooper (formerly of ConocoPhillips), provides guidance on how to assess and manage industrial-scale CO2 Geological Storage (CGS) projects through appropriate site assessment, operational parameters and monitoring.
The report is published by the CO2 Capture Project (CCP), a partnership of eight of the world’s leading energy companies and three government organisations undertaking research and developing technologies for CO2 capture and geological storage.
The CCP is a technical authority on CCS, formed in 2000, with the aim of facilitating the sharing of expertise to advance the development of next-generation capture technologies, transport and the development of key aspects of CO2 geological storage, including a certification framework for CO2 Geological Storage.
The report provides a definitive treatment of CO2 storage subsurface technical issues and how oil and gas experience technology and protocols are available to address them.
It draws on the shared expertise of the CCP participants, research of more than 50 academic institutions, and feedback from leading environmental non-governmental organizations (NGOs).
Aimed at technical and non-technical stakeholders, it provides key lessons and experience that could support the deployment of CCS at industrial scale by enabling decision makers to draw upon more than 50 years of subsurface expertise from the oil and gas industry.
There are four main topical areas covered in the report: site selection; well construction and integrity; monitoring programs; and development, operations and closure.
Key findings include:
· Site Selection – The most effective way to ensure permanent safe storage is to choose sites of sufficient depth (deeper than 800m where CO2 can be injected efficiently in its dense phase) with adequate capacity and an overlying sealing system to ensure containment of fluids. With well chosen sites, CO2 will be efficiently stored while greatly reducing the risk of operational and containment problems.
· Well Construction and Integrity – Wells must have functional barriers that provide isolation between geological storage intervals and from drinking water and the near surface environment. The well integrity study example included illustrates that good drilling and cementing practices are more important than specific materials used in well construction.
· Monitoring Programs – A wide array of monitoring technologies have been successfully applied by the oil and gas industry to understand fluid movement in the subsurface [e.g. geological
structures below the surface]. These techniques are readily adaptable to CO2 storage. The challenge is to select to most appropriate techniques to apply based on site specifics and level of risk.
· Development. Operations and Closure – As in hydrocarbon extraction, the progression of a CO2 project from site assessment to closure will be accompanied by learning that will greatly improve its efficiency and risk profile. With operational and monitoring data, anomalous events can be detected and intervention applied. At the time of project closure, a thorough understanding of the geology of the system and fluid movement within it will form the basis for the future behaviour of CO2 and longer term needs for monitoring and intervention contingencies.
The report can be downloaded for free upon registration from the web link below.
