Joey Minervini, Chris Consoli, Global CCS Institute; Elle Lashko, Shelagh Baines, Alison Davies, Angus Wright, Rachael Jennings, Storegga
As the pace of global net zero commitments increases, the need has emerged for a consistent picture of CO₂ storage resources across the globe. While numerous evaluations of storage resource potential exist within the public domain, their different approaches to evaluation make them challenging to compare, ultimately impeding CO₂ storage site investment and development. One solution is to assess published CO₂ storage resource evaluations against a common classification scheme, such as the 2017 Society of Petroleum Engineers CO₂ Storage Resources Management System (SRMS). To address this challenge, the Global CCS Institute and Storegga, in partnership with and funded by the Oil and Gas Climate Initiative, launched the CO₂ Storage Resource Catalogue (CSRC) in July 2020 to serve as the authoritative, independent, and open-access global repository for CO₂ storage resource estimates. The goal of the CSRC is to accelerate global commercial-scale carbon capture and storage (CCS) project development and increase investor-level confidence by providing a clear global picture of CO₂ storage resource potential and commercial maturity. To date, three CSRC assessment cycles have been completed, comprising 30 countries and >850 storage sites. This presentation will describe the CSRC assessment approach, present an update on total global discovered and undiscovered CO₂ storage resources, and demonstrate to stakeholders the power of the CSRC to drive resources toward commerciality and thereby facilitate project development. Though the number of CCS facilities in operation or in development has doubled in the last year, few countries have established a regulatory regime for CO₂ storage. Similarly, very few CO₂ storage resource assessments are associated with defined CO₂ storage projects – a requirement of the SRMS. These two factors restrict resource accessibility, limit resource maturity, and are reflected in the distribution of resources in the CSRC. Only a fraction of 1% of the total global resource base is currently commercial. Progression of resources through the SRMS requires scientists and stakeholders to share their data, results, and project development plans. This concerted effort to drive CO₂ storage resources towards commerciality will enable CCS to meaningfully contribute towards meeting the goals of the Paris Agreement. Access to the CSRC can be found here: https://oilandgasclimateinitiative.com/CO₂-storage-resource-catalogue.