The impaCt of hydrOcarbon depletioN on the Treatment of cAprocks within performance assessment for CO2 InjectioN schemes - CONTAIN

The UK is committed to meeting stringent carbon dioxide emission targets over the next 35 years. One potentially valuable technology in achieving this target is the development of Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) technologies, where carbon dioxide is captured during power generation and, instead of being released into the atmosphere, is injected into porous rocks underground. Porous rocks, such as sandstone, can act as a 'reservoir' for CO2, which can potentially be stored at depth over long periods of time and kept isolated from the rocks above by a much less porous 'caprock'. The UK has a large 'porosity resource', currently estimated to be of sufficient capacity to store the necessary 2-5 billion tonnes of CO2 to meet 2050 CO2 emission targets. It has been estimated that up to 9 billion tonnes of UK storage capacity come from reservoirs that previously contained hydrocarbons, which have been extracted by the oil and gas industry. This form of CO2 storage has a number of benefits, as the rocks are generally well characterised and there may be pre-existing infrastructure (such as pipelines) suitable for adaption to CO2 injection.

However, the process of hydrocarbon extraction, or 'depletion', can significantly impact both the reservoir involved and the surrounding rocks. These activities can potentially cause deformation, movement on faults and/or damage to infrastructure. However, the long term impacts of these activities, particularly when the reservoir is 're-inflated' during injection of CO2, are not well understood and there is limited physical data for specific rock types and scenarios. In order for depleted reservoirs to become a viable national resource, these uncertainties must be addressed. As such, this project is focussed on providing a better understanding of the impact of depletion and reinflation on reservoir and caprock material. It will involve a combined approach, using both laboratory experiments and computer simulation to improve our understanding of this aspect of storage site behaviour. The project seeks to address this key area with a focussed programme of work that will generate a much-needed and unique data-set, new modelling tools and a fuller understanding of the processes involved. The findings will inform regulators and aid operators in reducing the financial and environmental risks of CCS, for depleted storage sites, making the technology more likely to happen.

In addition, work will be carried out to examine effective communication with the public, relating to this new technology. Social acceptability represents a major potential barrier to CCS developments, as indicated by protests and moratoria in several countries. It is therefore critical to understand public attitudes and the bases of concern about CCS, and work as effectively as possible to improve understanding and engagement. Work within this project will explore the factors that determine public and stakeholder understanding and acceptability of CCS storage proposals. The lessons and knowledge derived from this work will be summarised in an outreach and engagement toolkit, which will be disseminated to regulators, operators and communication specialists.

1. Who will benefit from this work and how?
Energy and related industries: Companies engaging with CCS technologies will gain insights into storage risks and solutions, and how social barriers to CCS deployment may be overcome through effective public engagement. Other potential beneficiaries include firms developing controversial or novel energy technologies (e.g. shale gas) who will be able to use the project outcomes to understand public concerns and use effective engagement methods.
Policy community: UK Government and other organisations associated with the policy process (e.g. Ofgem, Environment Agency) also stand to benefit. This research will provide novel and robust empirical findings relating to CCS risks and benefits, and tools and methods to mitigate social barriers to deployment.
General public and cluster communities: There may also be wider public benefits in terms of increasing awareness of energy systems and policies, and of the potential role of CCS in meeting requirements for a sustainable energy system.
Academic community: This project will advance research in various fields (e.g. psychology, geomechanics, multiphase flow and reservoir modelling). Strong links with UKCCSRC research programmes, as well as other RCUK energy programmes (including UKERC), will ensure that these contributions are fully utilised.

2. What will be done to ensure that they have the opportunity to benefit from this work?
An engaged scholarship approach will be achieved through the following activities:
(a) Executive Group: To guide research ensuring salience and timeliness, we will convene an Executive Group consisting of work package leaders, Shell, and where appropriate, representatives from policy, industry and EPSRC.
(b) Stakeholder/public interviews, survey and workshops: This research will seek to understand societal perspectives on CCS and feed this into project outputs. Interviews, survey and workshops, will elicit stakeholder and public understandings and perceptions. Project deliverables include a toolkit of tested engagement methods and communication recommendations.
(c) Stakeholder briefings: Electronic briefings will be published bi-annually to provide tailored information in a timely fashion.
(d) Conferences: We will present our work at major UK and international conferences in the relevant areas.
(e) Academic publications: Our research will be published in disciplinary high-impact peer-reviewed journals, including a major synthesis paper, integrating findings from across the project.
(f) Internet portal: A web-based portal will be set up at the beginning of the project, to include details of project activities, outputs and briefings.
(g) Public dissemination event: To disseminate our research and gain further feedback, we will participate in the British Science Festival in September 2016, where we will present our findings and encourage public debate about their implications.
(h) Stakeholder dissemination event: Finally, industry, policy and other UKCCSRC stakeholders will be invited to a final workshop to disseminate project findings, held at a suitable UK venue.

3. Who will undertake these activities?
The project team will share responsibility for delivering impact activities. BGS will have lead responsibility for Executive Group liaison and coordinating meetings; and maintaining the internet portal. CU will lead on the stakeholder and public interviews, survey and workshops, as well as organising the public dissemination event. IC will publish the stakeholder briefings and arrange the stakeholder dissemination workshop.

4. Summary of resources
Costs associated with facilitating the inputs of the Executive Group, workpackage activities, development of stakeholder briefings, attendance at UK and international conferences, development and maintenance of the project internet portal, and the dissemination of our results are included in the costs submitted with this proposal.