Unlocking the North Sea’s CO₂ storage potential: unique study reveals benefit of ‘multiple user’ storage sites

The secure and permanent storage of carbon dioxide (CO₂) within a single geological storage formation can be optimised by injecting CO₂ at more than one point simultaneously, according to results from an innovative study of rocks beneath the UK North Sea.

The findings could help to unlock an immense CO₂ storage resource underlying all sectors of the North Sea for the storage of Europe’s carbon emissions, and will inform the work of those managing and operating this natural asset.

The process of storing CO₂ captured from power plants and industrial facilities in deep geological formations is known as Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) and is a key technological solution for meeting climate change targets over the coming decades.

The research by scientists and prospective site operators has used a UK North Sea case study – the Captain Sandstone – to predict the performance of a potential CO₂ storage formation when the greenhouse gas is injected at two points at the same time over three decades.

The study’s conclusions will help to increase confidence among regulators and investors in the secure containment of CO₂ within “multiple user” storage formations.

For more on this story please see the SCCS website.