Close Menu
  • Featured
    • News
    • Consumption
    • Environment
    • Industry
    • Opinion
    • Policy
    • Production
    • Storage
    • Transmission
  • About Us
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

News, investigations, and analysis — our top stories every morning to start your day right.

Trending
Illustration of the Lamborghini Temerario GT3, a high-performance race car designed for GT3 racing, showcasing its advanced engineering and aerodynamic features; this is an artificial illustration.
“They Turned a Supercar Into a Missile”: Lamborghini’s New Temerario GT3 Unleashes Brutal Power and Racing Precision for 2026 Debut
Illustration of the Zeekr 9X hybrid crossover showcasing its innovative design and advanced technology, generated by artificial intelligence.
“They Laughed at Chinese Cars—Not Anymore”: New Hybrid EV Hits 621-Mile Range and 0–60 in 3.1 Seconds
Illustration of China producing its first barrel of natural uranium from the 'National No 1 Uranium' project in Inner Mongolia, generated by artificial intelligence.
“Unleashing a Uranium Giant”: China Triumphantly Extracts First 55-Gallon Barrel from This Massive Natural Uranium Project, Sparking Global Ripples
Facebook X (Twitter) LinkedIn YouTube TikTok
Energy Reporters
Facebook X (Twitter) RSS
Subscribe
  • Featured
  • News
    Illustration of Higgs boson decay process, generated by artificial intelligence.

    “We Waited 5,000 Years for This”: CERN Detects Two Ultra-Rare God Particle Decays That Could Rewrite Particle Physics

    July 15, 2025 at 6:04 AM
    Illustration of Qatar's ambitious 3D Printed Schools Project, showcasing the world's largest 3D-printed educational buildings, generated by artificial intelligence.

    Unreal 3D Printing Milestone: Qatar Just Completed the World’s Largest 3D-Printed Buildings in a Stunning Feat of Engineering

    July 14, 2025 at 5:50 AM
    Illustration of the Quipu superstructure spanning over 1.3 billion light-years, generated by artificial intelligence.

    “These Colossal Structures Defy Imagination”: Astronomers Confirm Quipu’s Staggering 1.3-Billion-Light-Year Width, Making It the Largest Known Entity in the Universe

    July 13, 2025 at 9:51 AM
    Illustration of a quantum Rubik's cube with infinite possible states, generated by artificial intelligence.

    Puzzle World Shaken as Physicists Unveil Quantum Rubik’s Cube and Reveal the Most Efficient Solution Ever Achieved in Scientific History

    July 13, 2025 at 9:04 AM
    Illustration of AI-designed gravitational wave detectors revolutionizing scientific exploration.

    “This AI Outperformed Human Scientists”: Tasked With Reinventing Gravitational Wave Detectors, It Designed 50 Revolutionary Models That Could Change Everything

    July 12, 2025 at 6:06 PM
  • Use
    Illustration of the contrasting lifespans of gas and electric vehicles in the evolving automotive industry, generated by artificial intelligence.

    “These Numbers Will Shock Every Driver”: Landmark Study Reveals Gas Cars Last 12 Years While Electric Vehicles Average Just 3, Sending Shockwaves Through the Industryers”: Disturbing Study Reveals Gas Cars Last 12 Years, Electric Only 3

    July 12, 2025 at 10:06 AM

    Trump’s Energy Policy: A Complicated Road Ahead

    December 24, 2024 at 3:28 PM

    World’s First Grid-Scale Nuclear Fusion Plant to Be Built in Virginia

    December 23, 2024 at 2:57 PM

    How West Africa can expand power supply and meet climate goals

    June 15, 2020 at 6:33 AM

    Saudi Aramco shares tumble amid price war 

    March 10, 2020 at 1:18 AM
  • Climate
    Illustration of Google's exploration of nuclear energy for AI power, generated by artificial intelligence.

    “They’re Powering AI With Atoms Now”: Google’s Nuclear Energy Bet Aims to Fuel Gemini and Hit Net-Zero Emissions by 2030

    July 14, 2025 at 5:59 PM
    Illustration of the new tandem perovskite-silicon solar cell with 34.58% efficiency, an artificial illustration.

    “They Just Smashed the Limit”: Chinese Firm Reveals Hybrid Solar Cell With a Jaw-Dropping 34.58% Conversion Efficiency

    July 14, 2025 at 9:11 AM
    Illustration of Lenovo Yoga Solar laptop harnessing solar energy for power, generated by artificial intelligence.

    “This Laptop Runs on Pure Sunlight”: Lenovo Unveils Game-Changer That Charges Directly from the Sun, Leaving Power Cords Obsolete for Outdoor Users Everywhere

    July 13, 2025 at 5:55 PM
    Illustration of the world's first removable railway photovoltaic system in Switzerland, featuring solar panels integrated into train tracks.

    “Never Seen Anything Like This”: World’s First Rail-Mounted Solar System Shocks Experts as Trains Glide Through a Corridor of Power and Innovation

    July 13, 2025 at 4:53 PM
    Illustration of Saharan dust affecting solar panels, generated by artificial intelligence.

    “Solar Panels Are Suffocating”: This Alarming Saharan Dust Crisis Threatens to Halve Vital Energy Output Across 1,000 Square Miles

    July 13, 2025 at 3:46 PM
  • Industry
    Illustration of the Lamborghini Temerario GT3, a high-performance race car designed for GT3 racing, showcasing its advanced engineering and aerodynamic features; this is an artificial illustration.

    “They Turned a Supercar Into a Missile”: Lamborghini’s New Temerario GT3 Unleashes Brutal Power and Racing Precision for 2026 Debut

    July 15, 2025 at 10:08 AM
    Illustration of the Zeekr 9X hybrid crossover showcasing its innovative design and advanced technology, generated by artificial intelligence.

    “They Laughed at Chinese Cars—Not Anymore”: New Hybrid EV Hits 621-Mile Range and 0–60 in 3.1 Seconds

    July 15, 2025 at 9:04 AM
    Illustration of the advanced 3D printing system developed by Oak Ridge National Laboratory and JuggerBot 3D to integrate thermoset and thermoplastic materials, created by artificial intelligence.

    “They Just Cracked the Code for Supersonic Manufacturing”: U.S. Lab Unveils Dual-Material 3D Printing to Reinvent Flight and Power

    July 15, 2025 at 6:54 AM
    Illustration of major oil companies shifting focus from renewable energy back to traditional fossil fuels, generated by artificial intelligence.

    “They Bet on Green and Lost Billions”: Oil Giants That Pivoted to Renewables Are Now Watching Profits Crumble at Record Speed

    July 14, 2025 at 5:09 PM
    Illustration of Eric Schmidt's vision for space-based data centers and Relativity Space's role in revolutionizing energy demands, generated by artificial intelligence.

    “They’re Calling It Starlink on Steroids”: Former Google CEO’s Secret Satellite Project Could Eclipse Musk’s Entire Space Network

    July 14, 2025 at 4:07 PM
  • Opinion

    Pulling back the curtain on Turkey’s natural gas strategy

    September 1, 2020 at 5:59 AM

    How West Africa can expand power supply and meet climate goals

    June 15, 2020 at 6:33 AM

    Review: Oil and the Great Powers: Britain and Germany, 1914 to 1945

    June 9, 2020 at 5:40 AM

    Eastern Mediterranean gas: testing the field

    May 27, 2020 at 5:18 AM

    Energy geopolitics will hinge on the nationalism-globalism swinging door

    May 5, 2020 at 1:37 AM
  • Policy

    Trump’s Global Influence Wanes Amid Rising Foreign Policy Setbacks

    May 31, 2025 at 5:48 PM

    Glaciers in Crisis: Nearly 40% of Global Ice Mass is Already Lost

    May 24, 2025 at 4:52 PM

    iPhone Prices May Triple if Made in the U.S., Analyst Warns

    May 23, 2025 at 5:30 PM

    Labubu Craze: The Cute, Creepy Plush Toy Taking Over the World

    May 17, 2025 at 8:40 AM

    RFK Jr’s Vaccine Views Clash with Measles Outbreak Reality

    April 12, 2025 at 10:49 AM
  • Output
    Illustration of China producing its first barrel of natural uranium from the 'National No 1 Uranium' project in Inner Mongolia, generated by artificial intelligence.

    “Unleashing a Uranium Giant”: China Triumphantly Extracts First 55-Gallon Barrel from This Massive Natural Uranium Project, Sparking Global Ripples

    July 15, 2025 at 8:02 AM
    Illustration of the world’s first integrated hydrogen production simulator within a Small Modular Reactor control room, generated by artificial intelligence.

    “The Future Is Here, and It’s Terrifying”: World’s First Hydrogen-Generating Nuclear Reactor Launches in the US, Sparking Global Energy Revolution

    July 9, 2025 at 7:01 AM

    Billionaire Backlash Grows Against Trump’s Aggressive Tariff Plans

    May 10, 2025 at 5:50 PM

    McDonald’s Sees Worst Sales Since 2020 Amid Uncertainty

    May 1, 2025 at 8:23 AM

    Europe’s Economic Rebound Stalls as U.S. Tariffs Cast a Shadow

    April 30, 2025 at 5:34 PM
  • Storage
    Illustration of a predictive model accurately forecasting lithium metal anode failures in battery technology, created by artificial intelligence.

    China Unveils Groundbreaking Lithium Battery Tech That Flags Deadly Failures Seconds Before the Battery Fully Activates

    July 14, 2025 at 7:50 AM
    Illustration of the internal chemistry of battery materials affecting energy flow, generated by artificial intelligence.

    “These Hidden Hot Spots Hold the Key”: Scientists Uncover Secret Zones to Build Ultra-Durable EV Batteries, Triggering a Breakthrough in Car Longevity

    July 12, 2025 at 8:10 AM
    Illustration of a quantum battery device developed by RMIT University researchers, generated by artificial intelligence.

    “Australia Just Changed Batteries Forever”: Quantum Tech Unleashed With 1,000 Times the Life, Leaving Global Energy Giants Reeling in Shock

    July 11, 2025 at 8:02 AM
    Illustration of lithium-sulfur batteries revolutionizing electric vehicle charging times, generated by artificial intelligence.

    “We’ve Ended Range Anxiety Forever”: US Engineers Reveal EV Battery That Delivers a Complete Charge in Just 12 Minutes, Disrupting the Auto Industry Overnight

    July 11, 2025 at 5:48 AM
    Illustration of a cutting-edge aqueous organic redox flow battery demonstrating enhanced stability and efficiency, generated by artificial intelligence.

    Breakthrough Confirmed: New Water Battery Technology Achieves 220 Full Cycles With Absolutely No Drop in Performance or Energy Storage

    July 9, 2025 at 6:08 PM
  • Grid
    Illustration of a TGV train equipped with satellite internet technology, generated by artificial intelligence.

    “Elon Musk Promises to End France’s TGV Wi-Fi Nightmare”: Starlink Solution Set to Transform Train Travel With Blazing Internet Speeds

    July 10, 2025 at 8:53 AM

    Australian grid struggles with renewables boom: report

    February 24, 2020 at 5:32 AM

    Scottish eco-tariff exposes UK ‘greenwashing’ con

    February 18, 2020 at 2:31 AM

    Lukashenko attacks Russian merger demands

    February 16, 2020 at 4:53 AM

    Probe launched into UK’s Italian-made power cable

    January 29, 2020 at 8:37 PM
Energy Reporters

Storing carbon under the North Sea: are wrong sites being looked at?

Rosemary PotterRosemary PotterDecember 19, 2017 at 9:58 AM0
Share Twitter Facebook LinkedIn Telegram WhatsApp Email Copy Link
Follow Us
Google News
Share
Twitter Facebook LinkedIn WhatsApp Email Copy Link

This article was originally published by The Conversation and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

One effective way of reducing greenhouse gas emissions driving climate change is to prevent carbon dioxide from reaching the atmosphere by capturing and storing it. There are now 21 large-scale carbon capture and storage (CCS) facilities either operating or being built around the world, including in the US, Australia, Canada and Saudi Arabia.

The UK looked like joining them until the government cancelled its £1 billion competition in 2015 which had intended to lead to deployment of the technology. In October, however, a new £100m commitment was announced, potentially benefiting CCS projects in Grangemouth, Teesside and Aberdeenshire.

This includes a cost reduction drive aimed at having a fleet of CCS facilities by the 2030s. The UK government also recently published a new industrial strategy placing clean energy systems including carbon capture at its heart; and the Scottish government has continually promoted and supported feasibility studies.

The three current UK proposals all seek to store the carbon dioxide (CO₂) offshore, probably still the simplest option for the country. But it comes with a major presumption – that the geology works and the gas won’t escape.

Performing seals

The offshore options on the table are depleted petroleum fields and saline aquifers – massive porous sedimentary rock formations saturated with salt water. The petroleum fields are closed-off “traps” that sit within these aquifers. Potentially this makes traps more secure for storage, but aquifers have vastly more storage capacity and may well be required to store CO₂ in substantial quantities.

The Grangemouth and Aberdeenshire projects are both looking at depleted fields in the Moray Firth in the north of Scotland, while Teesside is looking at the Triassic Bunter Sandstone saline aquifer off east England in the southern North Sea. The two leading proposals in the UK government’s previous competition had similar plans – a Shell/SSE Aberdeenshire project would have used the Moray Firth while White Rose in Yorkshire would have used Triassic Bunter.

Oil and gas is trapped in a field or saline aquifer by a robust seal – a layer of fairly impermeable rock surrounding the reservoir. To store CO₂ securely, it must not be able to leak or react with the seal either now or in future – or escape up faults that break the seal or leak along borehole walls.

It is essential to completely understand the physical properties and general integrity of seals in relation to CO₂. After all, it is a more mobile and smaller molecule (0.28nm) than gases more commonly trapped in petroleum reservoirs such as methane (0.38nm) or longer chained hydrocarbons.

Some gas accumulations do contain CO₂, which points to where storage will be viable. The Fizzy and Oak discoveries in the southern North Sea are examples, as are the North Morecambe and Rhyl gas fields in the East Irish Sea Basin off north-west England.

On the other hand, there was no CO₂ in the Goldeneye field in the Moray Firth that Shell/SSE considered. There are no indications that the adjacent Atlantic field proposed for the Grangemouth and Aberdeenshire projects contains CO₂ either. If not, was CO₂ once housed there and leaked? Or if it was never there, can we be confident CO₂ injection is safe?

Another potential issue is chemical reaction. Seals are unlikely to react with hydrocarbons because they are inert. But carbon dioxide reacts with water to produce carbonic acid, which may severely corrode the top seal and allow the gas an unwelcome return to the atmosphere. It all depends on what the seal is made of. The seal for Goldeneye and Atlantic, the Rodby Formation, is carbonate-rich so has reactive potential.

Aquifer anxieties

Aquifers are not traps but large migration pathways for oil and gas. Their vast storage potential has led some to champion them as more attractive sites for carbon storage. The aquifer in which the Goldeneye and Atlantic fields sits is known as the Lower Cretaceous Captain Sandstone. Some suggest it could store 1,700m tonnes of CO₂ – around five years of UK emissions. Goldeneye, in contrast, only had an estimated capacity of about 20m tonnes.

Yet new mapping suggests we should be cautious about the Captain Sandstone. The Moray Firth is riddled with faults reactivated by the uplift and easterly tilt that took place in Britain some 55m years ago.

These are evident in the seismic image of the Moray Firth below. The top of the picture shows the boreholes in the various oil drilling concessions. The coloured bands underneath are different rock formations – the yellow band with red lines on either side is the Captain Sandstone. The black lines cutting through the Captain Sandstone are fault lines that potentially allow CO₂ a route out.

John Underhill/Heriot Watt University

The next image shows the same area but east-west instead of north-south and shows that the Captain Sandstone rises up to the seabed. This raises more concerns about leakage. And like the depleted fields within it, the carbonate-rich formation sealing the entire aquifer is susceptible to corrosion from carbonic acid.

John Underhill/Heriot Watt University

Enthusiasts for the Triassic Bunter Sandstone aquifer in the southern North Sea face the same issue as it is affected by the same tilt as the Captain Sandstone – causing it to rise to the sea floor, a few kilometres off east England.

Plans to store CO₂ in either aquifer are therefore premature. It is better to look to use large traps containing CO₂ like Rhyl and North Morecambe in the East Irish Sea, where an active CO₂ gas processing plant already exists at Barrow.

When the country reaches the stage of a demonstrator project, it really needs to succeed. An early leakage could destroy national confidence in CCS. This means obtaining the best possible geological understanding of the sites and prioritising those fields that contain CO₂ already.

The ConversationIn some cases, these are places where drilling has found CO₂ ruling out commercial extraction of oil or gas. As such, the potential exists to turn an exploration failure into a storage opportunity and extend the life of the North Sea.

John Richard Underhill is Chief Scientist & Professor of Exploration Geoscience at Heriot-Watt University.

Did you like it? 4.5/5 (28)

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

News, investigations, and analysis — our top stories every morning to start your day right.

carbon storage
Follow on Google News Follow on X (Twitter)
Share. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Telegram WhatsApp Email Copy Link
Previous ArticleBattery demand outstrips supply: Porsche 
Next Article We could use old coal mines to decarbonise heat – here’s how
Rosemary Potter
  • X (Twitter)

Rosemary Potter is a Berlin-based journalist for Energy Reporters, covering European energy markets, cross-border policy, industry innovation, and the challenges of energy transition. A graduate of Northwestern’s Medill School of Journalism, she combines investigative depth with a continental outlook. Her reporting amplifies the perspectives shaping Europe’s energy future across sectors, borders, and technologies. Contact: [email protected]

Keep Reading
Illustration of Google's exploration of nuclear energy for AI power, generated by artificial intelligence.

“They’re Powering AI With Atoms Now”: Google’s Nuclear Energy Bet Aims to Fuel Gemini and Hit Net-Zero Emissions by 2030

Illustration of the new tandem perovskite-silicon solar cell with 34.58% efficiency, an artificial illustration.

“They Just Smashed the Limit”: Chinese Firm Reveals Hybrid Solar Cell With a Jaw-Dropping 34.58% Conversion Efficiency

Illustration of Lenovo Yoga Solar laptop harnessing solar energy for power, generated by artificial intelligence.

“This Laptop Runs on Pure Sunlight”: Lenovo Unveils Game-Changer That Charges Directly from the Sun, Leaving Power Cords Obsolete for Outdoor Users Everywhere

Add A Comment
Leave A Reply Cancel Reply

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

News, investigations, and analysis — our top stories every morning to start your day right.

Trending
Illustration of the Lamborghini Temerario GT3, a high-performance race car designed for GT3 racing, showcasing its advanced engineering and aerodynamic features; this is an artificial illustration.
“They Turned a Supercar Into a Missile”: Lamborghini’s New Temerario GT3 Unleashes Brutal Power and Racing Precision for 2026 Debut
Illustration of the Zeekr 9X hybrid crossover showcasing its innovative design and advanced technology, generated by artificial intelligence.
“They Laughed at Chinese Cars—Not Anymore”: New Hybrid EV Hits 621-Mile Range and 0–60 in 3.1 Seconds
Illustration of China producing its first barrel of natural uranium from the 'National No 1 Uranium' project in Inner Mongolia, generated by artificial intelligence.
“Unleashing a Uranium Giant”: China Triumphantly Extracts First 55-Gallon Barrel from This Massive Natural Uranium Project, Sparking Global Ripples
News by category
  • Featured
  • News
  • Use
  • Climate
  • Industry
  • Opinion
  • Policy
  • Output
  • Storage
  • Grid
Information
  • About Us
  • Advertise
  • Meet the Team
  • Contact Us
  • Legal Notice
  • Privacy Policy

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

News, investigations, and analysis — our top stories every morning to start your day right.

Facebook X (Twitter) RSS
© Energy-Reporters.com. All rights reserved.

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.