UNDERGROUND-STORAGE OF CARBON-DIOXIDE

To prevent recovered carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere, it m ust be disposed of or stored. It is important to have more knowledge a bout the CO2 storage capacity, the global distribution of the capacity and the costs of storing CO2. The potential storage capacity in natur al gas fields is estimated at 600 to 1500 Gtonnes carbon dioxide and i n oil fields at 200 to 400 Gtonnes carbon dioxide. If a structural tra p is required the storage capacity in aquifers is about 200 Gtonne of carbon dioxide. If a structural trap is not required the storage poten tial might be up to several tens of thousands. The costs of carbon dio xide storage depend on the depth, the size and location of the reservo ir and the flow rate at the well. Storage costs in onshore aquifers ar e calculated to be typically between 2 and 8 US$ per tonne of carbon d ioxide. In a large onshore natural gas field the storage costs will be 0.5 to 3 US$ per tonne of carbon dioxide, Storage costs for offshore reservoirs are typically 50% higher.