International Workshop on Offshore Geological CO₂ Storage report

 The report is now published of the workshop on Offshore Geological CO₂ Storage which was held on 19-21 April, 2016 at the Bureau of Economic Geology (BEG) at The University of Texas, Austin, Texas, USA. The workshop was organized by the Gulf Coast Carbon Center at BEG, IEAGHG, and the South African National Energy Development Institute, and was supported by the Carbon Sequestration Leadership Forum (CSLF). Over 50 people attended from 13 countries, including from seven developing countries.

The workshop was organized in response to a recommendation for international knowledge-sharing outlined in the CSLF Final Report on Technical Barriers and R&D Opportunities for Offshore, Sub-Seabed Storage of CO₂ which was finalized in September, 2015.

The aims of the workshop were to undertake a global needs assessment for offshore geological CO₂ storage, to initiate a discussion about the various aspects of offshore transport and storage, and to build an international community of parties interested in offshore storage.

Of note was that the UNFCCC’s Climate Technology Centre and Network (CTCN) supported attendees from Nigeria and Ghana, and this was possibly the first activity on CCS supported by CTCN.

Overall, it was clear that each country is at a different stage on the path to offshore CCS, but with common interests. The enthusiasm from attendees suggested they considered the workshop a success. There was common recognition that there is a nexus of interests and needs converging in progressing CCS offshore, and that momentum was being created towards international collaboration, not just in knowledge-sharing, but towards pilot and demonstration projects.

The report is available on the IEAGHG website.The PowerPoints of the talks and the posters are posted on the GCCC website at http://www.beg.utexas.edu/gccc/goi.php