Monitoring and Verification

In essence, every CO₂ storage site will be chosen and operated to avoid the risk of CO₂ leakage into the atmosphere or to other underground assets such as drinking water aquifers or operational gas and oil reservoirs. The challenge is that CCS can only be effective both in terms of safety and as a climate change solution if the vast majority of CO₂ is retained in geological formations indefinitely. This means taking into account both man-made potential leakage routes such as closed injection wells or faults in the rock formation.

Therefore a risk reduction approach underpins the entirety of the process - from characterizing or assessing a potential storage site for suitability using a variety of modeling and engineering techniques, through to monitoring and verifying the CO₂ once it is underground both during operation and over the long-term. As with any engineering process, there is no such thing as zero risk. But with expert analysis, modeling and engineering, these can be minimized to ensure storage safety and effectiveness.

The CCP is tackling the geological storage challenge head on through the activities of its Storage, Monitoring and Verification Team. The Team - backed up by the huge operational expertise of the CCP member companies - is undertaking a variety of technical and field research to demonstrate how geological storage can be undertaken today in a safe, practical and cost-effective manner.