Applying ISO Standards to Geologic Storage and EOR Projects

International Standards and Testing for Novel Carbonaceous Building Materials

• 1 December 2023
• Policy & Regulation
• Utilisation

Over 4 billion tonnes of cement are produced each year, equating to approximately 8% of global anthropogenic CO2 emissions, and this industry will continue to grow with the expansion of the built environment at a time that emissions need to be reduced. The utilisation or reduction of CO2 within cement, concrete and building materials could be a valuable way to contribute to emissions reductions in the sector , but there are several barriers, including the current state of standards, regulations and policies. This study will provide useful information for the technical and research community, the CCUS industry, the construction industry, and policymakers, providing an unbiased and non-prescriptive evaluation of international standards and testing relevant to novel carbonaceous building materials to address some of those barriers. The market potential for CO2 utilisation processes in the construction industry is also investigated, and the methods for certifying and measuring embodied carbon content of carbonated building materials is evaluated and the challenges therein.

6th International Workshop on Offshore Geologic CO2 Storage

• 1 December 2023
• Event Proceedings
• Storage

The 6th International Workshop on Offshore Geologic CO2 Storage was held in Aberdeen on 13-14 September. Organised with the University of Texas and hosted by the University of Aberdeen. The loca on was very appropriate as we were co-hosted and sponsored by Storegga who leads the Acorn project nearby in Scotland. This project had been recently announced by the UK government as a Track 2 Cluster project. This 6th workshop had 190 delegates (60 in-person and 130 virtual) from 35 countries, with a good mix of industry, researchers and regulators.

Monitoring Network Meeting Report

• 1 December 2023
• Event Proceedings
• Storage

The IEAGHG Monitoring Network aims to assess new technologies and techniques in the monitoring of CO2 storage, determine the limitations, accuracy and applicability of monitoring techniques, disseminate information from research and pilot storage projects around the world, develop extensive monitoring guidelines for the different sub-categories of geological storage; oil and gas fields, unmineable coal seams, and saline aquifers covering the differing conditions and reservoir properties encountered globally as well as to engage with relevant regulatory bodies.

Components of CCS Infrastructure – Interim CO2 Holding Options

• 27 November 2023
• Storage
• Transport

This work, undertaken on behalf of IEAGHG by TNO and SINTEF, provides an overview of temporary / interim CO2 storage, or ‘holding’, options (also called buffers) and investigates the role of buffer storage and its potential to create flexible and robust carbon capture and storage (CCS) chains. The report looks at current and emerging buffer technologies, conducts simulations to demonstrate the temporary storage required for given flow-rate scenarios and discusses the impact of buffer capacity on transport costs. In the report, the storage requested in the chain for normal operation is presented as " temporary storage" and storage to give buffer capacity is presented as " buffer storage". This report has focussed on buffering at the emitter site. The results of this study will benefit CO2 storage site project developers, operators, financiers and regulators.

Classification of Total Storage Resources and Storage Coefficients

• 1 November 2023
• Storage

The CO2 Storage Resources Management System (SRMS) is a classification scheme to quantify, classify and categorise CO2 storage resources. It comprises ‘total storage resources’, which are understood as maximum (theoretical) storage quantities that could ever be accommodated in the subsurface. Comprising maximum mobile CO2 in structural/stratigraphic traps, maximum residually trapped CO2 in other parts of the formation, and maximum dissolution potential in remaining formation water. ‘Storable quantities’ are understood as accessible from one or several current or future projects. It is the sum of capacity, contingent and prospective resources. The concept of ‘storage coefficient’ ‘E’ is the ratio of the subsurface volume of CO2 storable quantities to either the total storage resources or the pore volume. The calculation is arguably complicated as E is impacted by lithological heterogeneity, trapping structures, boundary conditions, injection rates, well spacing, fluid properties etc. Due to its complexity, there is much controversy on how to estimate E, with some arguing it should not be used at all and that reservoir simulation is a better path. However, estimates for E are used in most regional mapping studies. This study explores storage resource classification schemes and their evolution in understanding, the calculation of storage resources and the storage co-efficient. This is explored in terms of calculating E for CO2 storage sites, through flow modelling and analytical solutions.

Risk Management Network Meeting Report

• 29 September 2023
• Event Proceedings
• Storage

The Risk Management Network meeting was held as an in-person event with a particular focus on the risk of wells (particularly legacy wells) in a CCS project, looking at the topic from basin scale through to detailed characterisation of well materials and monitoring. Attended by over 75 delegates from 15 countries, the two day meeting was held at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, UK. It was kicked off by a welcome reception in the Lyell Centre (home to both BGS and the Institute for GeoEnergy Engineering) and was followed by a field excursion to explore the geological history of Arthur’s Seat in Edinburgh and a tour of a very new distillery located in an old train station within stone’s throw of Holyrood Park.

Prospective Integration of Geothermal Energy with Carbon Capture and Storage

• 23 August 2023
• Storage
• Utilisation

The aim of the study is to provide a dispassionate review and overview of scenarios where geothermal energy and CO2 utilisation and storage technologies can be combined for mutual benefit and contribute to Net Zero targets. Sourced from a rich body of literature from global research institutes and some demonstration projects many of the concepts identified have been conceptualised over the past 20 years and are still in the early concept stage. These concepts have been categorised, described and evaluated using qualitative and quantitative methods. And a map based screening exercise useful for initial evaluation of areas suitable for combined synergies has been undertaken.

Integrating CCS in international cooperation and carbon markets under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement

• 18 January 2023
• Policy & Regulation

This work assesses the status of and outlooks for international cooperation under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement and considers how approaches could support the deployment of carbon capture and storage (CCS). It provides an up-to-date look at the Article 6 rules, the types of markets and mechanisms that could evolve, and the units that could be traded. It then considers how Article 6 could apply to CCS through linked emissions trading systems, crediting systems and alternative approaches.

5th International Workshop on Offshore Geologic CO2 Storage

• 17 October 2022
• Event Proceedings
• Storage

This 5th Workshop on Offshore Geologic CO2 Storage covered multiple subjects, including: summary of multiple CCS projects worldwide, subsurface considerations for depleted hydrocarbon fields, containment/ pressure management, and saline formations to store CO₂, as well as considerations on regulating offshore CCS, monitoring offshore CCS projects, CO2 shipping and infrastructure for CO2. Importantly, this is the first hybrid in-person and virtual workshop, which represents a milestone to bring this knowledge sharing to multiple people interested on CCS worldwide

CCP Results – Carbon Dioxide Capture for Storage in Deep Geologic Formations

• 1 June 2022
• Storage