This poster on the UKCCSRC Call 2 project The Development and Demonstration of Best Practice Guidelines for the Safe Start-up Injection of CO2 into Depleted Gas Fields was presented at the CSLF Call project poster reception, London, 27.06.16. Grant number: UKCCSRC-C2-183. Highly-depleted gas fields represent prime potential targets for large-scale storage of captured CO2 emitted from industrial sources and fossil-fuel power plants. Given the potentially low reservoir pressures as well as the unique thermodynamic properties of CO2, especially in the presence of the various stream impurities, the injection process presents significant safety and operational challenges. In particular, the start-up injection leads to the following risks: • blockage due to hydrate and ice formation following the contact of the cold CO2 with the interstitial water around the wellbore; • thermal stress shocking of the wellbore casing steel, leading to its fracture and ultimately escape of CO2; • over-pressurisation accompanied by CO2 backflow into the injection system due to the violent evaporation of the superheated liquid CO2 upon entry into the wellbore.

In this study, two strategies, thermal pretreatment and chemical doping, were investigated as a method of improving the residual carrying capacity of Longcliffe and Havelock limestone for calcium looping systems. Four parameters were varied during thermal pretreatment: temperature (900-1100 degrees C), time (3-12 hr), gas composition (0-100 % CO2 balanced in N2) and particle size (90-355 micrometre). After pre-calcination, the sorbents were subjected to 20 carbonation-calcination cycles performed in a thermographic analyser (TGA) to monitor any signs of sorbent improvement. The degradation of sorbent activity was modelled using the decay equation suggested by Grasa and Abanades (2006). Both Longcliffe and Havelock samples showed self-reactivation when pretreated under CO2, however this did not result in a greater carrying capacity after 20 carbonation/calcination cycles compared to the untreated limestone. For chemical doping, Longcliffe doped using 0.167 mol % HBr via quantitative wet impregnation method resulted in an increase in residual carrying capacity of 27.4 % after thermal pre-treatment under CO2 when compared to the untreated but doped limestone, assuming self-reactivation continued as modelled. When Longcliffe was doped and then pretreated under pure N2, the limestone showed self-reactivation, which was not seen in the undoped sorbent when also pretreated under N2. Thus, the success of pretreatment may be dependent on the chemical composition of the limestone. Finally, BET surface area and BJH pore volume analysis was used to understand the changes in the sorbents' morphologies. The closure of the mesopores (dpore<150 nm) after the pretreatment was correlated to the self-reactivation in the subsequent cycles.

Saline Aquifer CO2 Storage Phase 2(SACS2). Work Area 1 (Geology) - Progress Report 1 April to 31 December 2000. The report can be downloaded from http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/511460/.

The data consists of a poster presented at 'The Geology of Geomechanics' conference, held at Burlington House, London by the Geological Society on 28-29 October, 2015. The poster describes an overview of work carried-out on behalf of the 'Fault seal controls on CO2 storage capacity in aquifers' project funded by the UKCCS Research Centre, grant number UKCCSRC-C1-14. The CO2-rich natural gas accumulations of the Fizzy and Oak fields are examined for their fault-seal potential, in particular accounting for the impact of IFT and contact angle on capillary threshold pressures. Results of an in situ stress study for the Inner Moray Firth is also presented, with results being applied to a geomechanical stability analysis of faults affecting the Captain Sandstone saline aquifer formation.

The data consists of a poster presented at the twelfth 'Greenhouse Gas Control Technologies' conference (GHGT-12), held in Austin, Texas, on the 6-9th October 2014. The psoter describes work carried-out on behalf of the 'Fault seal controls on CO2 storage capacity in aquifers' project funded by the UKCCS Research Centre, grant number UKCCSRC-C1-14. The geomechanical and fault seal analysis of the naturally CO2-rich Fizzy Field in the UK Southern North Sea is investigated.

Peer reviewed paper published in the journal Petroleum Geoscience - the paper describes work carried-out on behalf of the 'Fault seal controls on CO2 storage capacity in aquifers' project funded by the UKCCS Research Centre, grant number UKCCSRC-C1-14. The geomechanical stability of faults affecting the Captain Sandstone and its overburden in the Inner Moray Firth region is investigated in terms of the ability of the faulted reservoir to safely store CO2. Also available online at http://pg.lyellcollection.org/content/22/3/211.full.

Full proposal cover sheet for scientific drilling (852-CPP) 'GlaciStore: Understanding Late Cenozoic glaciation and basin processes for the development of secure large-scale offshore CO2 storage (North Sea)', submitted to Integrated Ocean Discovery Programme (IODP) April 2014. The full proposal cover sheet document is publicly available from IODP; the submitted full proposal document is restricted to the proponents for publication and for review and response from IODP. The lead submitter, on behalf to the GlaciStore consortium is Heather Stewart, British Geological Survey (BGS).The 30 proponents are from research and industry organisations in the UK, Norway and USA (BGS, Institute for Energy Technology, Lundin Norway AS, SINTEF Energy Research, Statoil ASA, University of Bergen, University of Edinburgh, University of Oslo and University of Texas at Austin). The full proposal cover sheet states the names of proponents of the ‘GlaciStore’ consortium and contact details for the lead submitter of the bid. The full proposal cover sheet comprises: an abstract of the submitted full proposal including description of project funding support as a Complementary Project Proposal: describes and states the scientific research objectives; summarises proposed non-standard measurements; tabulates details of the 13 proposed drill sites (revised from pre-proposal stage) to address the scientific objectives. The objectives are to investigate: glacial history and sedimentary architecture; fluid flow and microbial processes in shallow sediments; and the stress history and geomechanical models for strata that have experienced multiple glacial and interglacial cycles. The table of proposed drilling sites includes the co-ordinates of the position and water depth at each proposed site, the objective for drilling and sampling and the depth to achieve the objective. The proponents, their affiliation, expertise and role for the submission are listed. UKCCSRC Grant UKCCSRC-C1-30.

This poster on the UKCCSRC Call 1 project, Fault seal controls on storage capacity, was presented at the Cranfield Biannual, 21.04.15. Grant number: UKCCSRC-C1-14.

The RISCS (Research into Impacts and Safety in CO2 Storage) project assessed the potential environmental impacts of leakage from geological CO2 storage. Consideration was given to possible impacts on groundwater resources and on near surface ecosystems both onshore and offshore. The aim of the project was to assist storage site operators and regulators in assessing the potential impacts of leakage so that these could be considered during all phases of a storage project (project design, site characterisation, site operation, post-operation and site abandonment, and following transfer of liability back to the state). A secondary objective was to inform policy makers, politicians and the general public of the feasibility and long-term benefits and consequences of large-scale CO2 capture and storage (CCS) deployment. The Final Report can be downloaded from http://cordis.europa.eu/docs/results/240/240837/final1-riscs-final-report-final.pdf.

The objective of the EU SiteChar Project was to facilitate the implementation of CO2 geological storage in Europe by developing a methodology for the assessment of potential storage sites and the preparation of storage permit applications. Research was conducted through a strong collaboration of experienced industrial and academic research partners aiming to advance a portfolio of sites to a (near-) completed feasibility stage, ready for detailed front-end engineering and design and produce practical guidelines for site characterisation. SiteChar was a 3 year project supported by the European Commission under the 7th Framework Programme. This report introduces the lay reader to the research and concepts developed in the SiteChar project and can be downloaded from http://www.sitechar-co2.eu/SciPublicationsData.aspx?IdPublication=351&IdType=557.