A pioneering plan to tackle climate change by capturing carbon dioxide (CO2) fro ...

A pioneering plan to tackle climate change by capturing carbon dioxide (CO2) from power plants and storing it safely in depleted North Sea oil and gas fields has been outlined by UK Energy Minister Malcolm Wicks. Carbon capture and storage could be up and running within a decade and is central to a new £40mn package for emerging low-carbon technologies designed to stimulate demonstration projects for cleaner electricity generation from coal and gas as well as for hydrogen and fuel cells. Speaking in the run up to July’s Gleneagles G8 Summit, at which the Prime Minister will put climate change centre stage, the Minister said: ‘Reaching our ambitious target of cutting carbon emissions by 60% by 2050 means action now to support emerging technologies that will enable us to burn coal and gas more cleanly. At the same time, with major expansion of coal-fired power generation expected in China and India, we want to put the UK at the forefront of what could be a valuable new export opportunity.’ ‘We've consulted the industry closely and it's clear that the long-term benefits of capture and storage, which could reduce emissions from power plant by up to 85%, merit significant investment now. We must, of course, maintain the push toward renewables and energy efficiency that deliver cuts in emissions here and now. But cleaning up our use of fossil fuels, developing the vast potential of hydrogen and fuel cells, and keeping UK industry on the front foot is a vital long-term objective.’ The Carbon Abatement Technology Strategy is worth £25mn. It will advance all forms of carbon abatement technologies, including improving the efficiency and co-firing existing power plant with low carbon alternatives such as biomass, but the demonstration of carbon capture and storage is the most radical of the options and sets the new strategy apart from the previous Clean Coal Technology programme. However, according to the UK Offshore Operators Association (UKOOA), a number of its members have already studied the feasibility of capturing or sequestering CO2 emissions from onshore sources (such as power stations) and storing it in depleted oil and gas fields, and have found that there are ‘considerable technical, regulatory and cost barriers still to be addressed, with economic and fiscal implications’. ‘Sequestration is already practised in the US on land, though it requires fiscal incentives to be attractive. Offshore in Norway in the Sleipner gas field, CO2 is removed from the produced natural gas stream on the platform, to improve the natural gas quality, and is re-injected for permanent storage. Removal and reinjection of the CO2 was an integral part of the field's overall development planning and economics, and the offshore production facilities were specifically designed for the purpose. In addition, reinjection at Sleipner is into a saline aquifer and not into the gas reservoir. BP has also begun a similar project in the Algerian desert,’ notes UKOOA. But it continues: ‘Capturing CO2 from an onshore location and transporting it offshore for reinjection through existing oil and gas pipelines and installations is an entirely different and much more costly matter. In the North Sea it would require significant investment in new infrastructure both on and offshore, including substantial retrofitting of the offshore installations, where there are weight and space limitations.’ ‘A further hurdle is the legality of transferring carbon dioxide, officially designated a “waste” product, from one location to another for disposal offshore, which is not allowed under current international law (OSPAR and the London Convention).’ ‘Injecting CO2 into fields could help recover more oil from maturing reservoirs, as in the US. However, not all oil fields are suitable candidates for this technique. The process of enhanced oil recovery (or EOR) is already practiced in various forms in the North Sea, so using CO2 for EOR, where practicable, will only bring marginal benefit to the recovery of oil reserves.’ A Hydrogen Strategy worth a further £15mn has also been announced by the UK government. This will include demonstration programmes for hydrogen and fuel cells and the establishment of a Hydrogen Coordination Unit and represents a step change in the government's commitment to hydrogen energy. Previously disparate efforts on hydrogen and fuel cells R&D will be brought together for the first time within an overall strategy. It will help to ensure that the UK's participation in international initiatives such as the International Partnership for the Hydrogen Economy is fully effective and benefits both the UK and its international partners.