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Review of Project Permits Under the London Protocol - As Assessment of the Proposed P18-4 CO₂ Storage Sites

1 May 2016
Policy & Regulation
Storage

The London Convention and Protocol is one of the first global agreements to protect the marine environment. The Protocol promotes the protection of the marine environment by prohibiting the dumping of wastes and other matter into the sea. Under the Protocol all dumping is prohibited, with the exception of a limited number of selected wastes. In 2007, an amendment entered into force which permitted CO₂ streams to be considered for dumping under the London Protocol. The amendment was shortly followed up with a set of “Specific Guidelines for Assessment of Carbon Dioxide Streams for Disposal into Sub-seabed Geological Formations”, developed to support the National Authorities of Contracting Parties in evaluating permit applications for CO₂ disposal activities in their marine territories. As few offshore CO₂ storage sites have been permitted in the territories of Contracting Parties, there is no evidence of the application of the above mentioned guidelines to actual permitting processes. The P18-4 field is a near-depleted gas field at a depth of 3.5 km under the seabed, located approximately 20 km off the Dutch coast in the North Sea. The operator of the gas field applied for a CO₂ storage permit to the Dutch authorities in 2011, for the storage of a maximum of 8 Mton CO₂. An irrevocable storage permit for P18-4 was provided to the operator in September 2013, however the project has been postponed indefinitely due to economic constraints. The objective of this report is to assess to what extent the proposed P18-4 storage site, originally part of the ROAD CCS Project, complies with the London Protocol’s 2012 Specific Guidelines for Assessment of Carbon Dioxide Streams for Disposal into Sub-seabed Geological Formations, and therefore the 1996 London Protocol itself. The assessment has been achieved through a simple, but systematic, cross-check of the requirements of the Specific Guidelines against the contents of the application material provided by the operator to the National Authority. This involves the appraisal of approximately 1100 pages of submitted material in order to identify evidence of compliance

Technical Review

Review of GHG Accounting Rules for CCS

1 May 2016
Policy & Regulation

This report aims to provide a comparative review of how current rules for compiling and reporting inventories of GHG emissions and removals, and for MRV of GHG emissions and removals (hereafter collectively termed “GHG accounting rules”) apply to CCS activities worldwide. These include international, regional and national approaches employed under policies and measures such as mandatory GHG emissions reporting, carbon taxes and emission trading schemes (ETS). The report will identify any significant differences between accounting protocols for CCS, the reasons for differences, and any issues that might arise from their differences. It will identify issues, gaps and potential barriers emerging from the review and possible measures that could be taken to support CCS deployment.

Technical Review

CCS deployment

1 July 2015
Policy & Regulation

Meeting the long-term goal to limit global temperature rises to 2°C compared to pre-industrial levels requires large-scale deployment of low carbon technologies such as CCS. According to the most recent assessment of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), without additional efforts to reduce emissions, global mean surface temperatures are likely to increase between 3.7 and 4.8oC by 2100 compared to pre-industrial levels. Scenarios that keep the atmospheric concentration of CO₂ to around 450 ppm by 2100 (66 per cent chance) are consistent with holding a rise in global temperatures to below 2°C – the long-term goal of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Such scenarios involve deep cuts in GHG emissions over the coming decades, requiring radical changes to energy systems and a step-change in the uptake of low carbon technologies.

Technical Report

Biomass and CCS - Guidance for accounting for negative emissions

1 June 2014
Policy & Regulation

The main objectives of this study are as follows: GHG accounting rules applicable to bio-CCS: Understand how they apply, assess their ability to appropriately recognise, attribute and reward negative emissions and suggest potential scope, options and pathways for improvement where necessary. This should include consideration of how other incentive schemes outside ETSs account for GHG emissions associated with bioenergy use, in particular in relation to life-cycle GHG emissions and dLUC/iLUC. Sustainability and potential negative environmental impacts of bio-CCS: Provide an assessment of measures to regulate sustainability impacts and other potential negative environmental effects that could arise through promoting bio-CCS (e.g. leakage, transboundary issues, dLUC/iLUC effects). Options to appropriately reward bio-CCS: Taking into account the GHG accounting rules and issues for sustainability, consider options for modifying policies to appropriately reward operators undertaking bio-CCS.

Technical Report

IEAGHG OPEC Report of Workshop on CCS and CDM

1 December 2013
Policy & Regulation

This report outlines the discussions and outcomes from a workshop jointly held by the IEA Greenhouse Gas R&D implementing agreement (IEAGHG) and the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) on the topic of “Carbon Dioxide Capture and Storage in the UN Clean Development Mechanism”. The workshop was the latest in a series of activities by IEAGHG in supporting CCS in the CDM. The objective of the workshop was to share knowledge amongst IEAGHG technical experts and OPEC secretariat and member country delegates, and enhance the understanding amongst all participants of the issues, challenges and approaches to developing CCS projects under the UNs clean development mechanism (CDM) with a focus on OPEC member countries

Technical Report

Global Storage Resources Gap Analysis for Policy Makers

1 October 2011
Policy & Regulation
Storage

The IEA Greenhouse Gas R&D Programme (IEAGHG), on behalf of the Global CCS Institute, commissioned Geogreen to undertake a study reviewing the current global portfolio of operational and announced CO<sub>2</sub> geological storage projects, in the context of key CCS deployment targets for 2020: 20 operational sites stipulated by the G8; and 100 operational sites as described in the 2009 IEA CCS Roadmap ‘Blue’ scenario (limiting atmospheric CO<sub>2</sub> concentrations to 450ppm). The Geogreen study included detailed modelling of the timescales and resources required for storage sites to achieve bankable status, whereby final investment decisions can be made in advance of site construction, commissioning and operations. Building on this analysis, the study showed that the current CCS project portfolio could allow the G8 target to be reached provided that adequate resources are made available for a large proportion of the proposed projects and that storage associated with CO₂-EOR can be included.

Technical Report

Carbon Dioxide Capture and Storage in the Clean Development Mechanism: Assessing market effects of inclusion

1 November 2008
Industry Insights
Policy & Regulation

This report provides analysis on the potential impacts that inclusion of carbon dioxide capture and storage (CCS) as a clean development mechanism (CDM) project activity could have on the global carbon market. It has been undertaken in response to concerns raised about the possibility that CCS inclusion could result in the flooding of the carbon market with certified emission reduction (CERs) from CCS project activities, given the enormous scale of emission reductions potentially achievable.

Technical Review

ERM - Carbon Dioxide Capture and Storage in the clean development mechanism

1 April 2007
Industry Insights
Policy & Regulation

In September 2005 project design documents and methodologies for two carbon dioxide capture and storage projects under the Clean Development Mechanism were submitted for approval. The CDM Executive Board were unable to agree how CCS projects should be handled and sought advice from COP/MOP. This initiated a process of wider consultation. The IEA Greenhouse Gas R&D Programme sounded out its members and interested organisations to determine the level of interest in developing CCS projects under the CDM and found it to be sufficient to warrant organizing a workshop. At this first workshop, held in London in April 2006, the main issues which needed to be addressed when formulating a methodology and preparing a Project Design Document for such projects were discussed in order to determine whether a common approach was possible. Several organizations indicated that they were contemplating the possibility of undertaking CCS projects and that in some cases these might be in countries eligible for hosting CDM projects. Furthermore there was a considerable degree of consensus on how the main issues surrounding monitoring and storage site integrity could be handled.

Technical Report

Role of Risk Assessment in Regulatory Frameworks for CCS

1 February 2007
Policy & Regulation
Storage

One of the key issues that need to be resolved for wide scale implementation of CO₂ capture and storage (CCS) is that of security of storage. To gain general acceptance of the technology it will be necessary to prove that CCS is a safe and environmentally acceptable option. To resolve this issue it is considered that no single activity or action will satisfactorily answer the question alone. However, a number of different activities when taken together should be able to resolve it

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