SEQUESTRATION IS SAFE?

Despite Bellona’s enthusiastic endorsement here of emissions sequestration, many question the long term safety of storing acidic gases.

One thing is undeniable: Norway’s Sleipner project has been entirely safe. Of course, Norway’s more recent attempts to organize “clean” coal (carbon-capture-and-sequestration, CCS) projects have succumbed to the problem of excessive cost, the same reason the U.S. Department of Energy recently backed out of FutureGen, its premier pilot project. (See DOE DROPPING FUTUREGEN?)

Many, seeing the biggest and fastest growing nations in the world irreversibly set to burn a lot of coal for the foreseeable decades, desperately hope and pray and wish CCS will be a reality. Bellona’s expert, not wanting to dash those hopes, said this about the new study: “As far as I can see, the report does not say anything indicating that CO2 storage should not be safe. It is only a very good study on well integrity…”

If that’s not damning the study by faint praise, what is it?

At the SINTEF website, there is an announcement from the research organization responsible for the study Bellona is touting as proof of CCS safety that they will begin research for the EU on the subject of CCS safety, not – as Bellona here reports – that they have concluded it is safe.

Both Bellona and SINTEF have long studied the successful Norwegian/Statoil Sleipner project. (click to enlarge)

New report shows no problems with underground storage of carbon emissions, though standards must be codified
Ola Innset, 07 February 2008 (Bellona)

WHO
The Bellona Foundation, the Norwegian Petroleum Safety Authority (PSA), Norwegian research institute SINTEF

WHAT
Bellona reports that research and ongoing pilot projects are finding emissions sequestration safe and calls for the establishment of standards to assess the structural integrity of wells into which the emissions are to be pumped.

SINTEF has done extensive research on the concept of emissions sequestration. (click to enlarge)

WHEN
- New EU “triple 20” goals call for cutting emissions 20% by 2020 (as well as developing 20% of power production from New Energy and upping efficiency 20%).
- A PSA-requested report from SINTEF was delivered in December 2007.

WHERE
200 European CCS experts participated in 2005’s Technology Platform on Zero Emission Fossil Fuel Power Plants (ZEP) which continues to work toward standards for commercial-scale emissions sequestration.

There is extensive experience with injecting emissions into old oil and gas wells to enhance production. (click to enlarge)

WHY
- The SINTEF report reviewed current practices and industrial experience.
- The SINTEF report covered the effectiveness of injecting captured emission gasses into oil wells, enhancing the oil well’s production. It found no short term problems with leakage.
- The SINTEF report describes the research necessary to understand well integrity so that methods to make wells safe for sequestration can be identified and developed.

Early and frequent studies at Sleipner give no indication of leakage. (click to enlarge)

QUOTES
Dr. Aage Stangeland, energy adviser, Bellona: “This new [SINTEF] report is a very important tool in ongoing work on establishing methods and standards to ensure safe CO2 storage…The report does not add anything new to the CCS debate, but it is a very good summary of already well-known aspects of CO2 storage. The report addresses well integrity, i.e. methods to ensure that there is no leakage of CO2 from the injection well. It has been known for a long time that we need standards for ensuring well integrity.”