Potential environmental effects of CO2 leakage in the marine and terrestrial environments

1. Industrial perspective on CCS
marine and terrestrial risk
Ian Phillips – Director, CO2 Infrastructure
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2. Agenda
• Who are CO2DeepStore ?
• What do we mean by a leak?
• Working hypothesis – stores won’t leak to surface!!
• Focus on what is useful

3. Who are CO2DeepStore?
A CCS Developer
• CO2DeepStore is a UK • Petrofac
company – A Co-Investing Energy
– founded in 2007 and based in Services Business
Aberdeen – Designs / Builds / Operates
– focussed entirely on creating, onshore and offshore facilities
developing and operating CO2 • Company profile (2010 Annual Report)
transportation and storage
– Revenues US$4.4 billion
projects as Operator and / or
investment partners – Net cash $1.1 billion
– acquired 100% by Petrofac in – FTSE 100 – Market cap
April 2010 US$7.4 billion (March 2011)
– 14,000+ employees
– 5 major operating centres
• 19 further offices worldwide
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4. Who are CO2DeepStore?
What does Petrofac offer in CCS?
10 $ $ $ $
$
5
0
Capture
Compression &
Dehydration Pipeline transport
Offshore facilities
Reservoir and
wells
CO2DeepStore is Petrofacs CCS co-investment company

5. Who are CO2DeepStore?
CO2DeepStore portfolio of interests
Hunterston
Longannet
East Irish Sea
Peterhead
Goldeneye
Yorkshire cluster
(prospect)
Rotterdam cluster
(prospect)

6. What do you mean by a leak?
• During Operations
– Process equipment
– Pipelines – on and offshore
– Offshore facilities
• Post closure
– Abandoned wells
– Geological fissures
– Catastrophic leaks
• But remember
– EU CCS Directive and UK
law require pre-injection
demonstration of low leak
risk
– Everything carries risk!!

7. What do we mean by a leak?
Picture of a Storage Site

8. What do we mean by a leak?
Picture of a leaking Storage Site

9. What do we mean by a leak?
Natural CO2 vents set expectations
Liquid carbon dioxide from the
Champagne vent in the Marianas Trench
• Existing natural CO2 vents
• Volcanic source CO2 emerges from
fissures and vents
Venting of CO2 at Ischia, Offshore Italy

10. Working hypothesis – stores won’t leak to surface!!
Will a storage reservoir leak?
• Primary store must be demonstrably
able to contain CO2
– Cap rock integrity
– Oil and gas fields ideal
– Deep saline aquifers more
challenging
• Secondary seals required
• Manage pressure
– Stop before original pressure
• Hydrostatic containment
• Conclusion – leakage from the store
to surface is VERY unlikely

11. Working hypothesis – stores won’t leak to surface!!
Even if it does leak………..
• CO2 migrates through porous media
– Rock strata
– Fault planes
– Cement in abandoned wells
• Capillary forces create residual
saturation
– Pore scale trapping
• Conclusion – leakage very unlikely to
reach the surface

12. Working hypothesis – stores won’t leak to surface!!
Abandoned offshore wells
• Subsea well with
Christmas Tree
Minimum 1000m
Storage reservoir

13. Working hypothesis – stores won’t leak to surface!!
What can we see under the sea ?

14. Focus on what is useful
Conclusions
• Geological leakage of CO2 is
extremely unlikely
– If it happens its likely to be at very
slow rates
• Or so big its pretty obvious!!
– If it happens its likely to be a long way
in the future
– Its likely to be very difficult to detect
• Much more likely is operational
leakages
– Potentially larger volumes
– Short term transitory effects
• Video of CO2 release from pipeline

15. Focus on what is useful
Research focus
• Small volume pipeline leaks
– Effects of concentration and time
• Larger pipeline and process
leaks
– Dispersion – speed and
concentrations
– Transient effects
– Long term effects
• Study natural analogues
– Can we spot a geological leak by
its impact on the ecosystem –
without spending a fortune

16. Any questions – or comments!!
Ian Phillips – Director, CO2 Infrastructure
Ian.phillips@CO2DeepStore.com
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