Capture and store CO2: a way to tackle climate change

Davide Rubini*

Mirjam Stegmann*

The above article is to be intended as the personal opinion of the authors and not as Statoil’s official position.

Avoiding the impacts of human-induced climate change is one of the most pressing issues of our time. Emissions will have to be reduced by at least 50% percent by 2050 if disastrous effects of global warming should be avoided. Thus, the large sources of emissions including the energy industry have to be addressed in a comprehensive manner. As Europe’s energy mix will continue to consist to a large extent of fossil fuels the production and use of these sources of energy have to become more climate-friendly.

In the oil and gas business a certain amount of emissions can be avoided for example through increased energy efficiency and the reduction of gas flaring but the processing of fossil fuels will always come along with the CO2 emissions. Despite so these do not have to be emitted into the atmosphere. They can be captured and injected back into reservoirs deep beneath the ground where they came from. Only if Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) technology will be applied on a large scale the EU will be able to reduce it’s emissions to the extent necessary to reach the climate targets agreed upon by all European Member States in March this year. Such endeavour will enable the oil and gas industry as well as the power industry and other large emitters to operate in a climate-friendly manner.

The technology needed for Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) is not new - as a world leader Statoil has been demonstrating for more than 10 years that CO₂ can be captured and stored safely. About 10 million tons of CO₂ captured at the Sleipner gas platform have already been stored in a saline aquifer deep beneath the North Sea where there is the potential to store the CO₂ emitted at all power stations in Europe for far up into the future.

In addition, Statoil is engaged in a CO₂ removal project at In Salah (Algeria) and will this year start its third CO₂ injection at Snøhvit in the far North of Norway. Also Halten and Mongstad, two large scale CCS projects, are currently on the drawing board. In Mongstad about 2 million tons of CO₂ will be captured and stored each year from 2014 on at the first gas-fired power plant with CCS. To make this happen the technology will be further developed during the upcoming years at the “European CO₂ Test Centre Mongstad” which has been set up as joint initiative by the Statoil, the Norwegian government, and other industry partners.

For further and commercial development working on different CO₂ capture, transport and storage options is of utmost importance. This will allow for identifying the best technologies for capturing the CO2, bring down the costs, and help to make CCS technology economically viable. Public support on both the EU and national level is needed to enable the construction of a variety of large-scale demonstration projects. In view of this need the EU has called for up to 12 demonstration plants to be built by 2015 and it has committed to promote their realisation.

Morever a comprehensive regulatory framework, including provisions allowing state aid, is being drafted to give investors the stability they need for long term action. The EU is indeed in the process to define the rules that will allow operators to integrate CCS in their ordinary business.

Finally, even if costs can be reduced significantly industry will need sufficient long-term incentives to invest in CCS. Attributing a price to carbon emission is crucial in this respect. Making the emitter pay for its emissions will make him reduce these up to the point where this becomes more costly than paying the price for emitting. For a company the cost of emitting CO2 will have to be incorporated into its decision-making process in the same way as traditional production or labour costs.

With respect to CCS the EU is on the right track to contribute to the fight against climate change. Its ability to deliver will depend upon sticking to its commitment. If the European industry works together with politicians and other stakeholders on bringing CCS technology to the market and creating the appropriate framework conditions and financial incentives the large emitters from today can become part of the solution.

Statoil and other industry partners are ready to make the start and we understand that the EU is well intended to take a leadership role in CCS as a key measure to combat climate change.

* Davide Rubini and Mirjam Stegmann are researchers from Statoil Eu Affairs Office in Bruxelles

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Capture and store CO2: a way to tackle climate change