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Energy: Carbon Dioxide Dumping

Answer

The Government support carbon capture and storage in sub-seabed geological formations as a means of avoiding dangerous climate change and of showing leadership to emerging economies by applying this technology. The compatibility of carbon dioxide storage with international law has long been unclear. Therefore, the Government were a co-sponsor of an Australian proposal to amend the protocol to the London convention to clearly permit the storage of carbon dioxide streams in sub-seabed geological formations. This amendment was passed at the first meeting of protocol parties, held jointly with the 28th meeting of contracting parties to the London convention from 28 October to 3 November, and will come into force on 10 February 2007. The applicability of the provisions of the OSPAR convention to carbon dioxide storage in the sub-seabed are complex, and depend primarily on the route taken to the storage formation. The UK supports amendment of the convention to clearly permit storage in the sub-seabed for all likely routes and, along with many contracting parties, is seeking to achieve amendment of the convention at its next commission meeting in June 2007. The oil and gas fields and aquifers in the UK sector of the North Sea are estimated to have large storage potential (~20,000-260,000Mt CO2). A number of projects for implementation of carbon capture and storage technologies in the North Sea, in conjunction with an enhanced oil recovery project, are now being brought forward by industry.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

30; 687 c25-6WA

Session

2006-07

Subjects

Carbon capture and storage North Sea OSPAR Convention Seabed

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk