EU Policy Options for Regulating Carbon Capture and Storage

Abstract

This article, written by Assistant Technology Editor Karen Bybee, contains highlights of paper SPE 111824, "Policy Options in the EU for Regulating Carbon Capture and Storage," by David J. Williamson and Paul Zakkour, Environmental Resources Management Ltd., originally prepared for the 2008 SPE International Conference on Health, Safety, and Environment in Oil and Gas Exploration and Production, Nice, France, 15-17 April. The paper has not been peer reviewed. Carbon capture and storage (CCS) represents a potentially useful tool to enable the European Union (EU) to manage its emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) as it transitions from a fossil-fuel to a renewables energy strategy. The full-length paper examines the regulatory requirements for effective operation of CCS by identifying the issues and risks associated with the capture, transport, and storage of CO2, and reviews the regulatory options available and their applicability to the operation, management, and control of CCS. Introduction CCS is a widely recognized opportunity to enable EU member states to lower emissions of CO2 by the capture of carbon from large-scale emitters (e.g., power stations) and provide for the long-term, safe storage of this material in underground reservoirs. The EU has set targets for member states to reduce their total volume of CO2 emissions by 20% of 1990 levels by the year 2020. Achieving these targets in the time scales involved by reducing overall energy consumption or by transferring generation capacity to noncarbon-emitting alternatives is not a feasible option, and, therefore, alternatives must be sought. While the EU will seek to provide a legislative framework that will enable and encourage the development of the infrastructure required to operate CCS effectively across its sphere of influence, there are particular challenges to be faced in drafting policy and regulation related to the unique nature of the CCS process. Approach The CCS process must be described and reviewed to outline the various technical tasks that must be carried out to achieve the goals of the process. In this case, there are three main areas that must be reviewed:CO2 capture.CO2 transport.CO2 storage. Each of these parts of the process represents varying health, safety, and environmental (HSE) risk profiles. Each of these areas has regulatory analogs in which similar or related processes are subject to current EU and member-state regulation.