Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) – Basics

As the world works to reduce Global Warming, the capture and storage of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions has been identified as an important step. CO2 is a by-product of power generation combustion and some industrial processes. CO2 can also be produced from conventional oil and gas reservoirs. Fortunately there are effective technologies to capture this CO2 which can be deployed at source with compression and pipelines to transport the gas to subsurface storage locations.

To be economically and environmentally sustainable, CCS facilities need to be efficient, not require unreasonable amounts of additional energy to be implemented, and consider their own carbon footprint

It is evident that significant amounts of CO2 are being emitted today, and these emissions are available and able to be captured, processed, transported, and stored.

Business and technical cases needs to be prepared for proper consideration of proposed work scopes, technical specifications, operational functional requirements, safety and risk management, reliability, resilience, long term integrity, and life cycle costs and benefits.

CCS is technically and commercially viable (subject to regulatory environment in a particular jurisdiction) and its increased usage can help reduce carbon footprints of conventional oil and gas.

Common Myths about CCS

CCS is unproven high-risk technology
CCS has been running safely since 1972.
Every stage of the CCS process has been proven at scale: the capture, the compression, the transport, and the injection of CO2 underground.
Also, industry uses well known technologies from O&G for developing and monitoring, which have been successfully used for decades. According to the Global CCS Institute, today, there are 65 commercial CCS facilities.
CCS competes with Renewables
CCS and Renewables complement each other. Some industrial processes couldn’t be decarbonised without CCS, because 40-60% of these emissions are unavoidable, and there is no alternative to fossil fuels for those processes.
We can’t completely switch to renewables or nuclear to decarbonise steel, cement, refining, and plastics. There is no alternative to CCS in those industries.
CCS isn’t needed, fossil fuels production will decline
CCS is a technology with wide applications.
CCS can help decarbonise not only the power sector, but also major industrial processes.
Developing economies will keep using fossil fuels. Unmitigated, the fossil fuels we use now will emit more CO2 than the carbon budget.
CCS causes earthquakes
CCS may cause very small micro-seismic activity which could be hard to notice.
CCS does not require hydraulic fracturing, just permeability.
No earthquakes have been recorded which are the results of CCS or EOR operations with CO2.

INDEPTH CCS

In the following pages we are covering some further details about CCS methods and technologies which will be helpful for those of you who wish to know more.

Carbon Capture and Storage in Depleted Oil & Gas Reservoirs

Carbon Capture and Storage in Deep Saline Aquifers

Carbon Dioxide Sequestration with In-situ Mineral Carbonation

CCS combined with Geothermal

CO2 Partial Pressure Influences CCS Cost

Carbon Dioxide Capture Technologies: Pros and Cons

Carbon Dioxide Transport

CCS – Decarbonising the Cement Industry

CCS – Decarbonising the Steel Industry

Carbon Capture New Technologies: What Comes Next