Preliminary Session Information
Session 1: Defining the Challenges
Session Managers: Gustavo Galliano and Francois Kalaydjian
CO2 capture and storage is one of the solutions for combating climate change for which time is of essence. What are the early opportunities, how fast CCS can be deployed, what will be its expected contribution to reduce the CO2 emissions in the next decades, can the CO2 capture technologies be implemented fast and economically enough in large stationary emission sites, are the storage capacities large, known and sure enough to meet the target, will the scientific and technical community be committed enough for maintaining a research and development effort over the years?
Session 2: Public Awareness
Session Managers: Luc de Marliave and Peter Frykman
The general public is unaware of this technology, so how will they react when we have to rush decisions and construction during the next very few years? Will they be comforted by gaining basic geological insight? Will they trust the engineering and technology solutions? Will they accept CCS as a valuable asset for certain communities, creating employment, activity, and sense of contributing to a solution. Can we show positive analog cases where leaks or blowouts have been tamed and controlled, to show that mitigation is possible. Who will take care of the educational challenge - schools, parents, public, press, politicians - a mixed audience to address.
Session 3: Business models
Session Managers: Martin Blunt and Brian Williams
Understanding and clarifying alternative business models (e.g., subsidy, direct taxation, cap-and-trade, market-based, etc), and developing realistic expectations for how governments and society may support and pay for implementation of CCS, are critical considerations facing the emerging carbon management industry. Regulatory frameworks (local, national or global) will have a fundamental impact on how business models will be shaped. Issues of risk vs. reward and of the transition of long-term liability for storage of CO2 will also be important considerations in the definition of motivating models. Finally, the early pace of growth and the ultimate scale of the potential industry will likely establish if and how rapidly fully market-based models are able to develop.
Session 4: Capture and transport
Session Managers: Nils Rokke and Luc de Marliave
Many gas fields under consideration contain more sour gas than hydrocarbons and new thinking is required to make such field more attractive for utilisation. The first session will cover the challenges related to sour gas treatment and new options for co-treatment of many substances like H2S and CO2. Transport of CO2 is often considered a done deal, however it has emerged as a true culprit in the development of new capture plants and the requirements of purity can have a significant effect on the economics of CCS. The session will encourage new solutions and the effect of relaxation of the purity requirements, why should we be so concerned about the purity, can EOR operations also relax on the requirements and what is the true obstacle- the compression train, the liquefaction stage, materials, HSE or the receiving geological formation?
Session 5: Use of CO2 and CCS in unconventional
Session Managers: Mehran Sohrabi and Nils Rokke
Using CO2 in processes like enhanced hydrocarbon (oil and gas) recovery can potentially partially offset the cost of CCS projects while extending the life of hydrocarbon reservoirs. CCS can also play an essential role in the sustainable development of unconventional reserves (e.g. heavy oil, shale oil, etc). This session will explore possible ways that CO2 can be used to facilitate CCS projects and the issues around some of these applications. Potential application of CCS in integrated unconventional hydrocarbon recovery projects will also be discussed.
Session 6: Site Selection
Session Managers: Michel Verliac, Philip Ringrose, Fred Santarelli
What are the criteria that qualify for CO2 storage? And how much information do you need to gather in order to start detailed site characterisation and qualification? This session will discuss the main requirements and challenges for site selection. To what extent can we use the oil and gas exploration model, or do we need a new fit-for-purpose work flow for characterising CO2 storage sites? Issues include:
- Saline aquifers – poorly known, with uncertain confinement
- Depleted reservoirs – What additional information is needed, especially in the cap rock?
- Capacity and injectivity – How to define these?
Session 7: Storage Integrity
Session Managers: Fred Santarelli and Michel Verliac
Ensuring the integrity of CO2 storage is an essential step in the industrial deployment of the methodology. In turn the leakage of fluid out of the intended injection zone can occur along three paths – i.e. along wells, along unconfined hydraulic fractures and along natural fractures. The immediate consequence is that ensuring storage integrity is necessarily a multidisciplinary exercise.
Session 8: Monitoring and Modelling
Session Managers: Peter Frykman and Martin Blunt
Safe storage is a major public concern. At present this can only be demonstrated through monitoring combined with predictive flow simulations. In addition modelling is needed to assess storage integrity, efficiency and ultimately economics. How do we select the tools that are best for these different purposes and for different audiences? How do we use monitoring data to improve our flow predictions?
Session 9: What does the Oil and Gas industry have to offer?
Session Managers: Francois Kalaydjian and Brian Williams
Wrap up session
