Offshore staff
EDINBURGH, UK – Shell has joined a joint industry project (JIP) to investigate mechanisms for establishing a carbon dioxide-driven enhanced oil recovery (CO2-EOR) industry in the UK North Sea.
The goal is to improve recovery and extend the life of depleting North Sea oil fields using CO2 captured from UK onshore power plants and other industrial facilities. The captured CO2 would be stored in offshore oil reservoirs.
The project leader isScottish Carbon Capture & Storage (SCCS). Other partners are the Scottish government, Scottish Enterprise, 2Co Energy, and Nexen Petroleum UK.
First phase of the research has investigated issues that could affect development of CO2-EOR linked with CCS projects, such as legal and regulatory frameworks and taxation. The partners have examined various fiscal models and investigated how CO2-EOR is perceived by government, regulators, NGOs, the public, and other stakeholders.
Under the new second phase the JIP will focus on research including reservoir modeling, further analysis of fiscal arrangements, and the carbon balance of CO2-EOR operations.
Fugro GEOS, in partnership with Sonardyne, is looking to develop a CO2 monitoring system using marine robotics under a project commissioned by Britain’s Energy Technologies Institute (ETI).
The first-year program, which has $1.68 million of funding, aims to provide assurance that CO2 stored deep below the seabed in CCS sites is secure.
The consortium will examine the requirements for the measurement, monitoring, and verification system. This should eventually result in construction of a technology demonstrator with sea trials; a comprehensive review at the end of the three-year period; and a solution to a legislative requirement to monitor potential CO2 leaks and their impact on the environment.
Den Gammer, ETI strategy manager for CCS, said, “Although leakage is highly unlikely we have a duty to ensure that stores are actually protecting the environment and this technology will bring peace of mind to both the operator and the regulator.”
05/02/2014
