Estimates of CO2 storage capacity in Europe Karen Lyng Anthonsen, Thomas Vangkilde-Pedersen & Lars Henrik Nielsen Geological survey of Denmark and Greenland
Framework of presentation Overview of European CO2 storage capacity projects CO2 storage capacity estimates for Denmark How to estimate CO2 storage capacity illustrated for aquifers Results of latest total European CO2 storage capacity estimates Conclusions
CO2 storage capacity projects Joule II finalised 1993 The joule II project: The underground disposal of carbon dioxide All Europe GESTCO finalised 2003 Geological Storage of CO2 from Combustion of Fossil Fuel Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Netherlands, Norway, UK Castor (WP 1.2) finalised 2006 Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Rep., Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia GeoCapacity finalised 2008 Assessing European Capacity for Geological Storage of Carbon Dioxide Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Rep., Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, UK
CO2 storage capacity projects
CO2 storage options Oil- and gas reservoirs Limited storage capacity, but well-known geology and proven capability to retain hydrocarbons Possibility to use CO2 for enhanced oil/gas recovery (EOR/EGR) Aquifers (saline) Large storage volumes, but relatively unknown geology and therefore uncertainties about reservoir integrity and properties Coal fields Very limited storage capacity and injection rates, but possible to use CO2 for production of methane
Aquifers in Denmark
Cross-section Modified from Vejbæk 1990, 1997
Criteria for selection of CO2 storage structures Sealed (cap rock) Non faulted, both structure and seal Top of reservoir situated below 800 m to ensure storage of super critical CO2 Reservoir situated less than 2500 m, to ensure enough preserved porosity and permeability Significant size, storage capacity approximately min. 100 Mt Be within reasonable distance from a CO2 source
Deep saline aquifers M CO2e = A h φ ρ CO2r S eff M CO2e : effective storage capacity A : area of trap or regional aquifer h : average height of aquifer average net to gross ratio φ : average reservoir porosity ρ CO2r : CO2 density at reservoir conditions S eff : sweep efficiency (estimated) Typical S eff ranges for structures: 5 40 % Suggested S eff for regional aquifers: 2 %
Level of potential storage estimations Top: Practical capacity with economic and regulatory barriers applied to effective capacity and with matching of sources and sinks: Site specific efficiency factor from reservoir simulations Middle: Effective capacity with technical/geological cut off limits applied to theoretical capacity: detailed estimates with evaluated efficiency factor Bottom: Theoretical capacity including large uneconomic/unrealistic volumes: estimates without efficiency factor
Geological structures
GeoCapacity estimate of storage capacity in DK
Sedimentary basins of Europe
CO2 emission sources
Hydrocarbon fields
Coal fields
Aquifers no data
CO2 emission sources and storage sites
CO2 Storage capacity results of GeoCapacity project Emissions from big stationary sources (Gt CO2) Effective capacity Conservative estimate Storage capacity (Gt CO2) Aquifers Hydrocarbon fields Coal measures Effective capacity Conservative estimate Effective capacity Conservative estimate 2 350 100 30 25 1,5 1,0
Conclusions CCS has a large potential in Europe, but site specific investigations are needed GeoCapacity project include country specific CO2 storage information from 25 countries The GeoCapacity project provides the latest estimate of total European storage capacity: 126 Gt as a conservative estimate
EU GeoCapacity Assessing European Capacity for Geological Storage of Carbon Dioxide www.geocapacity.eu