Memorandum submitted by Carbon Capture
and Storage Association
1. The Carbon Capture and Storage Association
welcomes the opportunity to respond to the Energy and Climate
Change Committee's Inquiry into UK offshore oil and gas and would
like to submit the following evidence for your consideration:
CONTRIBUTION OF
ENHANCED OIL
RECOVERY (EOR) TO
MAXIMISING OIL
RESERVES
2. Exploiting Europe's indigenous oil and
gas reserves is fundamental to the security of European energy
supply and is therefore central to European energy policy. In
Europe's maturing hydrocarbon provinces, Enhanced Oil Recovery
techniques employing CO2 offer potential additional recovery,
to extend the longevity of oil & gas operations and to mitigate
the steady decline in indigenous production, thereby minimising
the rate at which Europe's import dependency increases. Just as
importantly, EOR using CO2 provides for the long-term, secure
storage of significant volumes of CO2, commensurate with the incremental
oil and water produced.
3. The technology to use CO2 for EOR has
been technically (and commercially) proven in other parts of the
world, specifically on land in the US. To date economics and the
resultant lack of infrastructure carrying high volume concentrated
CO2 have proven to be a key barrier to its adoption here in Europe.
The eventual onset of carbon capture and the intention to permanently
store large quantities of CO2 (CCS) beneath the North Sea should
lead to the situation whereby EOR using CO2 becomes increasingly
viable here. The combination of specific EOR opportunities with
dedicated CCS schemes creates an economic synergy that should
significantly reduce the cost burden faced by either as a stand
alone development. There will also be additional ongoing benefits
arising from the deployment of EOR:
— First, and very much consistent with
Government policy on climate change, where appropriately designed,
CO2 storage operations may continue after EOR operations have
ceased. Thus, investment in EOR has the potential to make incremental
storage capacity available for later use that would likely otherwise
not be developed. In this way, EOR projects could quite feasibly
bring CCS deployment forward by many years.
— Secondly, EOR can similarly contribute
to the investment in pipeline infrastructure helping to enable
other pure CCS storage operations. In this way we believe EOR
has the potential to make a contribution to the cost of early
CCS demonstration projects.
— Thirdly, EOR can provide an effective
route to long-term, secure CO2 storage. Lifecycle CO2 emissions
from EOR operations are usually limited since operators have to
pay for the CO2 they use and are therefore naturally incentivised
to recover and recycle any produced volumes. Also it should not
be overlooked that a significant fraction of CO2 used for EOR
would be expected to have remained underground anyhow. Only the
overall fraction of CO2 verified as permanently stored would benefit
from a CO2 emissions allowance under the Emissions Trading Scheme.
4. In summary it is clear that our dependence
on foreign oil imports is reduced by exploiting a significant
additional source of home grown oil production. Whilst not applicable
in all cases and not a substitute to dedicated CCS, the synergy
created by CO2 EOR could with appropriate economic stimuli contribute
to both security of energy supply and accelerate progress towards
deploying low carbon power generation.
The view expressed in this paper cannot be taken
to represent the views of all members of the CCSA. However, they
do reflect a general consensus within the Association.
March 2009
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