CO2 storage is also often called “Carbon capture and storage,” abbreviated CCS (Carbon Capture and Storage).
A large, modern natural gas-fired power plant may typically produce one million tonnes of CO2 per year as well as a thousand tonnes of nitrogen oxides, which cause acid rain.
A similarly sized coal-fired power plant will typically emit 2.5 times as much CO2 and an even greater proportion of nitrogen oxides.
Although the idea of storing CO2 from combustion or chemical processes in geological formations is relatively new, the oil industry has several decades of experience with similar techniques involving pumping gas underground.
This type of storage keeps CO2 out of the atmosphere on a permanent basis and thus eliminates its contribution to climate change.
CO2 on the agenda
The main topic on the agenda of governments and environmental NGOs with respect to CCS is to ensure safe geological storage for the necessary long-term period. Industry and research institutions have risen to this challenge and extensive research and development has been carried out over the last 15 years.
Industries in a position to implement CCS are focusing on lowering the cost of this technology and to achieve a long-term, stable climate framework that encourages the utilisation of such technology.
We are proud to have been a pioneer in the area of CCS by being the first company to store CO2 in a geological formation solely for environmental reasons. This took place with the Sleipner CO2 project starting in 1996.
