Svalbard prepares the ground for CO2 storage
Researchers have found substantial CO2 storage capacities in the bedrock near Longyearbyen at Svalbard.
A major underground reservoir in Adventsdalen at Svalbard can be used for the storage of significant volumes of CO2, researchers at the Svalbard University Center (UNIS) conclude after several years of studies.
A total of six wells with depths varying between 190 m and 970 meters have over the past couple of years been drilled in Adventsdalen. Water injection tests conducted indicate that the reservoir is ideal for storage of the climate gas.
“We know that the reservoir is quite substantial”, Ragnhild Rønneberg, manager at the UNIS CO2 Lab, says in a press release. “An estimation is that the reservoir can hold approximately 1,2 million tons of liquid CO2. This estimation equals the expected CO2 output from the local power plant for a 20 year period”, she adds.
The reservoir is believed to have a roof firm enough to withstand the pressure and the climate gas will not leak. The UNIS is now ready to start pumping CO2 into the reservoir and has won support from industrial partners.
Rønneberg points out that the reservoir capacity estimation is still uncertain and that the Lab therefore plans to inject smaller amounts of CO2 in the wells to be able to make precise estimations of the deposit capacities. The CO2 Lab wants to deposit up to 200,000 tons of CO2 in the reservoir over a period of 10 years.
The Lab, a project under the UNIS, has been engaged in the study of the reservoir since 2007 and in 2012 registered as a company funded by external sources. Among the company’s partners are ConocoPhillips, Statoil, Store Norske, Gassnova, Statkraft and Lundin Norway.
“We are doing revolutionary research, developing knowledge and technology which can be exported to the world, leader of the CO2 Lab Ragnhild Rønneberg says to newspaper Svalbardposten. “There is a major need for pilot projects within the field”, she adds.
The carbon dioxide storage project unfolds as the levels of the climate gas in the atmosphere reaches new levels. As previously reported, the Scripps Carbon Dioxide Program this month recorded the highest ever measured levels of CO2.
