Evaluation of Barriers to National CO₂ Geological Storage Assessments

Publication Overview

This report is the published product of a study undertaken for the Carbon Sequestration Leadership Forum (CSLF) to assess barriers to high-level geological CO₂ storage assessments for the Clean Energy Ministerial. This review was undertaken by the CO₂ Storage team of the British Geological Survey on behalf of UK Department of Energy and Climate Change and the Korean Clean Energy Ministry to support the work of the CSLF. The review was funded by the UK Department of Energy and Climate Change and the Korean Clean Energy Ministry. The project was managed by the IEA Greenhouse Gas Research and Development Programme (IEA-GHG). The survey responses expressed and analysed in this report are based on publicly available information and the views of respondents to a questionnaire and follow-up interviews. The responses do not necessarily reflect the view of authorities or government policies for the countries included in the survey.

Publication Summary

• A well-structured database with clarity on data source, accuracy etc is an essential underpinning activity that will support capacity assessments and future work.
• Simple volumetric estimates are a strong first step. These will be comparable with the early national storage estimates typically prepared during early CCS development stages. These simple volumetric estimates will give an order of magnitude estimate of storage capacity.
• Clarity on the methodology used is critical to comparability of estimates.
• A probabilistic approach allows extension of the storage estimate to regions where there are few data. A clear explanation of where this has been performed and the methodology utilised supports comparability of estimates. Clarity on uncertainties in the data remain critical.
• A National level database of potential sites (CO₂Stored; http://www.co2stored.co.uk/) provides a good stepping stone towards detailed site surveys and flow simulations. These are typically funded through national funding and help identify ‘sweet spots’ for potential storage operators.
• Flow simulations are needed to really understand dynamic capacity. New data will almost certainly be required. Relatively sophisticated software and expertise in software operation will also be required.