30 June 2016

Costain has recently been involved in delivering a Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) appraisal project which will help shape the future of the CCS landscape in the UK.

The project, which was undertaken in collaboration with Pale Blue Dot Energy and Axis Well Technology, identified and technically defined 5 strategically important offshore storage sites within the UKCS. The 12 month project was commissioned and delivered by the Energy Technologies Institute and funded by the Department of Energy and Climate Change.

The project initially focused on shortlisting 20 specific offshore CO₂ storage sites through a rigorous screening process from a potential 579 sites across the UK Continental Shelf. Further appraisal resulted in the selection of 5 sites, creating a portfolio designed to meet the UK’s CCS development strategy. The resulting combined storage of these 5 study sites (together with the sites already appraised to FEED level) is over 1.5 Giga tonnes of CO₂ - equivalent to the emissions from 10 million cars for a period of 25 years. In addition to meeting our national needs, the significant conclusions of this report show that the North Sea has the potential to become the European hub for CO₂ storage – enhancing its economic attractiveness.

Key findings of the report include:

• The UK Continental Shelf can provide a vast national offshore CO₂ storage resource, which can be made readily available without having to undertake extensive appraisal programmes thanks to decades of oil and gas exploration and development activity.

• The 5 sites studied in detail are suitable for storing CO₂ emissions from both power and industry projects around the UK.

• Only two of the five sites would need further appraisal drilling before any investment decision was required.

The Aberdeen based consortium of Pale Blue Dot Energy, Costain and Axis Well Technology presented their findings to a syndicate of CCS experts recently in London at the final stakeholder event. Speaking after the event, Angus Reid, Engineering Manager at Costain Upstream, said: “This has been a tremendous opportunity for everyone involved to play a part in the UK’s long term strategy in decarbonisation and develop our extensive offshore storage capability.”

The full project report has been released online and can be found at

http://www.eti.co.uk/project/strategic-uk-ccs-storage-appraisal/

 

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