Uchenna Izundu
OGJ International Editor
LONDON, Mar. 9 -- StatoilHydro's injection of carbon dioxide into the Utsira sandstone formation in the Norwegian North Sea has been spreading as expected throughout the structure over the past 13 years, according to new 4D seismic data. To It has stored more than 10 million tonnes of CO2.
Edvin B Ytredal, vice-president of operations for the Sleipner area, said wellhead pressure also showed that the carbon injection has been successful.
"Twelve years of data and seven surveys confirm the indications from the [mathematical] models and forecasts," added Eli Aamot, head of the new energy and ideas research program in StatoilHydro. "They show that long-term carbon storage in subsurface geological formations represents a secure approach."
It is thought that carbon capture and storage technologies (CCS) is an important technique for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and that CCS could reduce power plant emissions by about 85% or more in the longer term. But high costs, a lack of the right investment framework in the relevant countries, and lack of suitable technologies on a commercial scale have been barriers to adopting it.
However, new research from research firm, Cooperative Research Centre for Greenhouse Gas Technologies, suggests that the CO2 capture costs from Australian power stations could be reduced by 25%. This would be achieved by studying the heat and cooling requirements of the power plant and by capturing plant emissions holistically, rather than individually.
By 2020, the European Union wants to cut its carbon emissions by up to 20%, and agreed to a climate and energy package last December.
StatoilHydro and its partners, ExxonMobil Corp. and Total SA, decided to store the carbon from Sleipner gas field because it was cheaper than paying the emission fee introduced by Norwegian authorities in 1993.
The company has removed 2,600 tonnes of carbon from Sleipner West production and stored it 1,000 m beneath the seabed, rather than releasing it to the air.
"The seven geophysical measurements conducted to date show a stable trend, with the carbon dioxide spreading upwards from the injection site and slowly through the rock," said StatoilHydro.
Its dispersion speed has been constant since 2006, and no gas has leaked to the surface. It covers about 3 sq km of the roughly 26,000 sq km available in Utsira.
Contact Uchenna Izundu at [email protected].
