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Energy Systems and Technologies for the Coming Century ...

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Figure 1: Potential CO 2 storage sites <strong>and</strong> large aquifers in Europe. No aquifer datafrom Norway. Data from <strong>the</strong> EU GeoCapacity project.Results from <strong>the</strong> GeoCapacity project concludes that coal fields, on a European scale,has a very limited storage capacity (1.5Gt) <strong>and</strong> low injection rates, but it is possible touse CO 2 <strong>for</strong> production of methane. For hydrocarbon fields <strong>the</strong> geology <strong>and</strong> reservoirconditions are well-known from exploration <strong>and</strong> production activities <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong>y haveproven capability to retain hydrocarbons <strong>for</strong> millions of years. On industrial scale <strong>the</strong>storage capacities in hydrocarbon fields is limited (30Gt), but CO 2 injection in ahydrocarbon field offers <strong>the</strong> possibility to use <strong>the</strong> CO 2 <strong>for</strong> enhanced oil/gas recovery(EOR/EGR). Large potential CO 2 storage volumes are found in <strong>the</strong> saline aquifers(325Gt), but <strong>the</strong> general lack of detailed data <strong>and</strong> consequently uncertainties aboutreservoir integrity <strong>and</strong> reservoir properties makes aquifers more costly to develop <strong>for</strong>CO 2 injection.The CO 2 storage potential in Europe is unequally distributed, reflecting <strong>the</strong> very variablesubsurface geology, but analyses from <strong>the</strong> GeoCapacity project, also demonstrategeological storage of CO 2 to be a realistic option in <strong>the</strong> majority of <strong>the</strong> Europeancountries, with <strong>the</strong> largest storage potential concentrated in <strong>the</strong> North Sea region.Widespread geological <strong>for</strong>mations <strong>and</strong> structures with CO 2 storage potential are found inNorway, United Kingdom <strong>and</strong> Denmark. Data from GeoCapacity reveal that 65% of <strong>the</strong>total European aquifer storage potential is located in <strong>the</strong>se tree countries, <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong>majority of <strong>the</strong> potential aquifers are found offshore Norway.2 CO 2 storage in DenmarkIn large parts of <strong>the</strong> Danish territory <strong>the</strong> subsurface consist of a thick sedimentarysuccession of Late Palaeozoic to Cenozoic age overlaying <strong>the</strong> basement, <strong>and</strong> reaching amaximum thickness of 9 kilometres in <strong>the</strong> central parts of <strong>the</strong> Norwegian-Danish Basin.The sedimentary succession is affected by mainly northwest–sou<strong>the</strong>ast striking normalfaults <strong>and</strong> post depositional flow of late Permian Zechstein salt, generating large domestructures. Locally <strong>the</strong> succession is incomplete due to structural movement <strong>and</strong> erosion,particularly above <strong>the</strong> salt domes. Faults often accompany <strong>the</strong> salt structures. Both <strong>the</strong>2Risø International <strong>Energy</strong> Conference 2011 Proceedings Page 49

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