Major carbon sequestration scheme announced

Shell and Norwegian oil company Statoil have agreed to work together on the world’s biggest carbon sequestration project. The proposed scheme would pump 2 to 2.5 million tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) produced by a 860 MW gas-fired power plant at Tjeldbergodden in Norway to two offshore oil and gas fields in the Norwegian section of the North Sea (at Draugen and Heidrun). The scheme, which is expected to commence in 2010, would also increase oil recovery in these two fields.

This announcement follows an agreement between the UK and Norwegian Governments in November 2005 to cooperate on projects to inject and permanently store CO2 beneath the North Sea. According to the UK Energy Minister, Malcolm Wicks, carbon sequestration could potentially cut the level of CO2 emissions from power stations by up to 90%.