This report develops scenarios for CO2 storage development in the Southern North Sea Basin to compare first-come, first-served and managed approaches to CO2 storage site licensing. The report describes the benefits and consequences of these broad strategies for the pore space owner and the operator, and considers current approached to managing offshore and onshore storage resources (in a range of jurisdictions).
This IEAGHG study was funded by the Global CCS Institute and contracted out to the British Geological Survey (BGS).
The report details potential sub-surface pressure increases and brine displacement as a result of CO2 injection; UK policy and regulations for CO2 storage development; potential surface and subsurface interactions between two theoretical case studies in the UK; CO2 storage permitting in the Netherlands; CO2 storage in Australia; the role of CO2 enhanced oil recovery (EOR) in Texas, USA; and managing the pore space in Alberta, Canada.
Key Messages from the Report
- There are many potential competing users of the surface and subsurface in both onshore and offshore environments
- There are various different approaches to storage management, all of which are hjosirly dependent on the jurisdiction involved
- Most jurisdictions currently work under a ‘first-come, first-served’ approach
- Management of storage on a first-come, first-served basis is likely to be sustainable in the short to medium term
- Pressure increases do not always result in detrimental effects, but pressure responses in open storage sites should be the focus of a detailed assessment in all cases
- The operator and regulator must understand the consequences of a pressure increase over an area much larger than the extent of the CO2 plume itself
- The main benefit of a first-come, first-served approach is that the operator has the final decision on where to develop CO2 storage
- The first-come, first-served approach should work for multiple-stacked sites
- Potential disadvantages of the first-come, first-served approach include possible reduced storage capacities, difficulties for monitoring and a lack of regional storage optimisation with stranded sources.