Containment risk Mitigation in Indian CO2 Storage (COMICS)

As a signatory to the December 2015 Paris Agreement, India is committed to joining the global community in stabilising global temperature rise to well below 2 degrees Centigrade. Rapidly growing economies such as India are faced with the challenge of reducing emissions from the heavy industry and power sectors while ensuring continued economic growth. Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS), where CO2 is removed from flue gases and injected into deep geological formations for permanent disposal, is recognised by the IPCC as an essential technology for meeting climate goals at least cost. While high-level studies have identified some potential for CO2 storage in India, a perception remains that injected CO2 may migrate upwards from the intended storage reservoir towards the surface. Lack of fundamental research that addresses this issue prohibits detailed assessment of the potential for CCS to contribute to emission reductions in India.

COMICS will establish an international partnership to understand the potential for safe and secure CO2 storage in India's sedimentary basins. The team comprises researchers from the British Geological Survey (BGS) and two leading Indian research institutes engaged in CCS, the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IITB) and the National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI). A new £0.5M project announced by the Indian Government's Ministry of Science and Technology 'A systematic large scale assessment for potential of CO2 enhanced oil and natural gas recovery in key sedimentary basins in India' is led by IITB. The project comprises research groups; Indian Institute of Management Ahmadabad, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, and industrial partners; Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, National Thermal Power Corporation, Essar Oil and Gas, and the West Bengal Power Development Corporation.

COMICS will complement the new Indian-funded project, combining local knowledge and expertise of the Indian consortium with the experience of the BGS CO2 storage research team. BGS has been active in CO2 research for over two decades, and undertakes related research in overburden properties, fluid-migration process, and monitoring requirements, funded by combination of UKRI (such as the current NERC Migration of CO2 through North Sea Geological Carbon Storage Sites, UK Carbon Capture and Storage Research Centre 2017) and EC H2020 projects (such as SECURe and ENOS). Our current research portfolio is worth over £5M. The COMICS project will extend these endeavours to include Indian data acquired through the new partnership, bringing new insights to CO2 storage processes in a region recognised as being vital to meeting regional and global climate ambitions.

The project will initially focus on the Cambay Basin, where the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation have proposed a pilot CO2 injection project for enhanced oil recovery. The assessment of CO2 containment risks and monitoring and conformance requirements imposed by the specific geological setting are critically important. Based on the scientific research undertaken by COMICS, recommendations for safe and secure CO2 storage in the region will be developed. The research will underpin future research and development activities, including the development of new pilot CO2 injection studies. The results will also support nascent policy and commercial development of CCS through collaboration with industrial partners and state-owned companies engaged in the parallel Government of India-funded project. Facilitating CO2 emission reductions in India through targeted research activities is a key aim of COMICS. The proposed activities are aimed at securing future joint research opportunities for UK-India collaboration through Mission Innovation, existing UKRI programmes, and transnational UK Government (BEIS) funding to foster research and innovation related to accelerating CCS technologies.

Meeting international climate goals to arrest climate change requires significant effort to decarbonise industry and power. Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) represents a means of reducing the environmental impact of industrial processes and power generation at least cost while creating new green economies. Impacts of the proposed programme include:

1) Signatories to the Paris Agreement: In emerging economic superpowers such as India, increased CO2 emissions associated with rapid development represent a significant challenge to international climate targets. Until recently, CCS research in India has been limited by lack of a focused research programme to address CO2 storage uncertainties. Establishing an international partnership on CCS by aligning the internationally-recognised research programme of the BGS with a new research project in India will accelerate the development of the CCS knowledge-base in India. This research, supported by international collaboration, is fundamental to effective engagement of relevant stakeholders, and to encourage development of the necessary legislation and policy frameworks. India's economic growth is projected to grow by 6.5% a year by 2040, which necessitates early CCS research to underpin efforts to reduce any negative impacts from this growth.

2) India's environmental policy: India has committed to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions, but also remains committed to its growth and development agenda (for example by doubling indigenous coal production by 2030 to meet increasing energy demand). Meeting India's Nationally Determined Contributions to the Paris Agreement therefore poses a significant challenge, even if the 40% target of energy from renewable sources by 2030 is achieved. Establishing an understanding of CCS potential and risk mitigation in the Cambay Basin, a key region of interest for CCS will be fundamental to achieving the long-term environmental ambitions of the Indian Government.

3) Indian Industry: For industries such as steel production, which emit large volumes of CO2 due to inherent chemical processes, CCS represents the only means of decarbonisation. Within an increasingly carbon-constrained society, industry will require CCS to obtain a social licence to operate. Current political focus on decarbonising energy through renewables has shifted the focus to emissions from industry, which will require CCS post 2030. Research to assess the feasibility of storing captured CO2 in the deep subsurface of India will be required to facilitate this. In the longer term, jobs will be protected by development of CCS.

4) Local communities: Economic models predict a four-fold increase in India's GDP by 2040. Specific policies promote expansion of the manufacturing, construction and extractive industries. Coupled to this are plans to provide electricity to the 304 million people currently without access to power, and to improve the reliability of the present supply. Although not a direct objective of this project, access to energy and employment are key economic drivers. CCS can protect these industries in the context of an overall global and local push towards decarbonisation. Meeting climate targets will also benefit communities through mitigating against the negative impacts of climate change. Capture of CO2 can also be integrated with capture of other harmful emissions, such that overall air quality can be improved. Again, fundamental CCS research and early stakeholder engagement is required to facilitate CCS and to enable these associated long-term benefits.

5) Supporting policy: COMICS will directly support emerging policy developments for CCS in India by; providing recommendations for safe, permanent CO2 storage in the Cambay Basin, by establishing the feasibility of scaling-up from pilot project scale, defining how geological containment can be demonstrated to regulators and communities, and by determining storage system constraints for safe storage.