CO2 solutions

CO2Sink at Ketzin, Germany, is the first European onshore project to store CO₂ underground.

The CO2Sink project at Ketzin in Germany, led by Shell, became the first onshore project in Europe to inject CO₂ underground in 2008. Over two years the project will store up to 60,000 tonnes of CO₂ in saltwater rock layers, showing how effectively CO₂ is absorbed and its movement over time. Shell is leading this project, providing  technical expertise and helping  find the most cost-effective ways to store CO₂ in saltwater formations. Governments will also use findings to help design effective safety regulations.

Boosting energy efficiency by transforming waste heat from electricity production into industrial steam.

A new natural gas-fired combined heat and power plant started up at our Pernis refinery in the Netherlands in 2008.

The plant replaces a gas-fired unit and oil-burning boilers. It provides the refinery with over 400 tonnes of steam an hour – almost half its needs – and 50MW of power. Local pollution – such as sulphur dioxide emissions – is expected to drop by over 90% and CO₂ emissions by 300,000 tonnes annually after the decommissioning of the boilerhouse in April 2009. The plant, built and operated by Air Liquide, will also supply 250MW of electricity to the grid – enough for around 500,000 Dutch households.

Sharing knowledge and expertise on capturing and storing CO₂ in the Netherlands.

The Utrecht Centre for Energy Research is leading a consortium of Dutch companies, research institutions, universities and environmental organisations to learn more about capturing and storing CO₂. It is studying how much CO₂  could be stored in the Netherlands and how it can be monitored, as well as analysing the public’s perception.

Storing CO₂ deep underground in Australia.

The CO2CRC Otway project In south-west Victoria, Australia, started injecting CO₂ underground in 2008. The Co-operative Research Centre for Greenhouse Gas Technologies is leading a group of representatives from industry – including Shell – universities and international government agencies. The project compresses CO₂ and methane from a gas well, then pipes it for injection into a depleted natural gas reservoir two kilometres below the surface. It aims to demonstrate to the local community the safety of storing CO₂ and its findings will inform policy-makers in the future.

Managing CO₂ emissions from liquefied natural gas production in western Australia.

A project to develop the Gorgon gas fields off the coast of western Australia - approved in 2009 - will involve the capture and storage of CO₂. Natural gas will travel through undersea pipelines to a liquefied natural gas plant on nearby Barrow Island. The plant has an annual production capacity of 15 million tonnes. Between 3 and 4 million tonnes a year of  naturally occurring CO₂ produced with the natural gas will be captured and injected into deep saltwater formations over two kilometres beneath the island. Chevron is leading the Gorgon project, with Shell and ExxonMobil as partners.

Learning more about CO₂ capture and storage to help governments develop policies for wide-scale deployment.

In Regina, western Canada, the International Performance Assessment Centre for Geologic Storage of CO₂ (IPAC-CO2) assesses proposed CO₂ capture and storage projects. It provides information and advice, and shares findings with other research organisations. The centre, founded by Shell and the government of Saskatchewan, also works with the University of Regina and the Clinton Foundation.

Plans to capture CO₂ from oil sands processing in Alberta, Canada.

The Quest project would capture, transport and store up to 1.2 million tonnes of CO₂ a year from Shell’s Scotford Upgrader near Fort Saskatchewan in Alberta, Canada, starting in 2015. Drilling to assess potential deep geological storage sites started at the end of 2008 with the support of the Alberta Energy Research Institute. Shell is leading this project on behalf of the other Athabasca Oil Sands Project joint venture owners, Chevron and Marathon.

The governments of Alberta and Canada recently announced they would provide for $800 million  to support the project. Shell is consulting with landowners, community leaders, government and other industry on the potential impact of the project.

Using CO₂ to boost oil recovery in western Canada and storing it safely.

The Weyburn-Midale project is researching CO₂ storage in Saskatchewan, western Canada. The CO2 is first injected into the ground to boost oil recovery and is later injected for permanent storage. This was the world’s first CO₂ storage measuring and monitoring project- since 2001 it has injected over 7 million tonnes of CO₂. Weyburn-Midale is supported by an international partnership of governments, research institutes and industry, and is managed by the Petroleum Research Centre.

Learning more about depleted reservoirs for CO₂ storage.

Most oil and gas reservoirs in the Middle East consist of fractured, porous calcium carbonate rock. It is difficult to extract oil and gas from these reservoirs and it is challenging to store CO₂ here.  Shell has joined a 10-year research collaboration with Qatar Science and Technology Park, Imperial College in London and Qatar Petroleum to develop new techniques for CO₂ storage in such reservoirs.

A huge capacity for learning.

The European CO₂ Technology Centre Mongstad (TCM) is the largest planned demonstration facility of its kind. It will develop and test CO₂ capture technology, potentially  capturing up to 100,000 tonnes of CO₂ a year.Two  different chemical processes will capture CO₂ from the emissions at Mongstad’s combined heat and power plant and refinery. Findings could be  applied to coal- and to gas-fired power plants, as well as refineries. Centre partners are Gassnova SF, A/S Norske Shell and Statoil ASA. Construction is under way and the centre  is expected to start operating towards the end of 2011.