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British Geological Survey, Kingsley Dunham Centre, Keyworth, Nottingham NG12 5GG, UK rach{at}bgs.ac.uk
In northern Europe numerous industrial point sources of CO2 surround the North Sea Basin, which contains a number of viable underground sequestration opportunities. These include injection into depleted oil and gas fields and into major regional aquifers; the latter probably offering the greatest ultimate storage potential. At the Sleipner gas field, CO2 is being injected into the Utsira Sand, a large saline aquifer. More than 6 Mt of CO2 have currently been injected, with a projected final target of about 20 Mt. Time-lapse seismic reflection data are being used to monitor the operation and have provided clear images of the CO2 plume and its development with time. Moreover, CO2 volumetrics derived from the seismic data are consistent with the well injection figures. In conjunction with reservoir simulation studies, time-lapse seismic monitoring seems, therefore, to offer an effective means of predicting the future growth, migration and dispersion of the CO2 plume. Another important aquifer, the Bunter Sandstone, stretches from Britain to Poland. In the UK sector alone, the pore volume in structural closures is equivalent to about 350 years’ worth of current CO2 emissions from UK power generation. Industrial CO2 sources in northern Europe are well placed to exploit these major subsurface reservoirs and European countries are technically very well equipped to use and develop this emerging technology.
