Geological Storage of CO2 Team

 Staff:

The team was established in 2014 due to GEoEcoMar’s already existing activities in the field of carbon capture and storage, among which we mention the 2002 affiliation to the EneRG Association. Over time, the activities in the field have led to the participation in national and international projects (EUGeoCapacity, CO2NetEast, CGS Europe, CO2Stop, ENOS, ECOBASE, ALIGN-CCUS, STRATEGY CCUS, REX-CO2, ACTION, CTS, RamonCO, EASTERN LIGHTS). The team members were also involved in the storage part of the GETICA CCS Feasibility Study. In addition to the research projects, over the years, through the CO2 Geological Storage team, GeoEcoMar has conducted studies to identify local storage solutions for industry beneficiaries.

The team’s main objective is to support, through the research activity, the implementation of CCUS projects (carbon capture, storage and use) in Romania and the large-scale implementation of this technology.

The research activities carried are: identifying the geological storage solutions of CO2 and energy at regional, sedimentation basin and local scale, selecting and evaluating the geological storage sites of CO2, static modelling, preliminary assessment of site performance, risk assessment and monitoring of sites of geological storage of CO2, and identification of hydrocarbon reservoirs suitable for the application of advanced oil recovery technology through injection and storage of CO2 (CO2-EOR), identifying the best transport and financial analysis solutions for CO2-EOR projects, evaluating the integrity of wells within the CO2 storage potentials, measuring the natural CO2 emissions and identifying of migration paths testing of monitoring methods in natural laboratories.

List of projects:

  1. CO2 Transport and Storage directly from a ship: flexible and cost-effective solutions for European offshore storage – CTS (2024-2025) is an ERA NET project financed by CETP (Clean Energy Transition Partnership). The project, under the coordination of NORCE, with partners from Norway, Portugal, Estonia and Romania, aimed to assess the feasibility of using direct ship injection to store CO2 in sites in the North Sea, the Baltic Sea, the Black Sea and the Atlantic coast of Portugal. Under the CTS, GeoEcoMar, funded by UEFISCDI and co-funded by the European Commission, coordinated the scenario of implementing direct ship injection technology in the Black Sea storage solutions. https://geoecomar.ro/proiecte/cts-transportul-si-stocarea-co2-direct-de-pe-o-nava-solutii-flexibile-si-eficiente-pentru-stocarea-in-partea-de-offshore-a-europei/
  2. EASTERN LIGHTS: Development of CO2 transport and storage demo project in Eastern Europe (2024-2028) project funded by the Horizon Europe program represents the first crucial step towards achieving a large-scale onshore CCUS cluster in Eastern Europe. This initiative, carried out in northwestern Bulgaria and supported by a consortium of 19 organisations from 8 countries, will help reduce the risks in the development phase by demonstrating CO2 transport and storage capacities. By bringing together multiple expertise, through industrial demonstrations, in-depth research and proactive stakeholder engagement, EASTERN LIGHTS aims to eliminate the most important uncertainties regarding CO2 transport and storage. https://geoecomar.ro/proiecte/eastern-lights-development-of-co2-transport-and-storage-demo-project-in-eastern-europe/
  3. Risk-based framework for assessing CO2 storage monitoring – RamonCO (2024-2026) it is an ERA NET project financed by CETP (Clean Energy Transition Partnership). The project, under the coordination of NORCE, aims to mature and apply the modelling/inversion framework developed in DigiMon on a full scale and to quantify the societal challenges and requirements, as well as the costs, in order to develop the risk governance strategies for industry and regulators and to incorporate them into decision support tools. Within RamonCO, GeoEcoMar will contribute to the monitoring data modeling processes and risk analysis as base for the monitoring plans for geological CO2 storage. https://cetpartnership.eu/calls/funded-project/ramonco
  4. Advanced Multitemporal Modelling and Optimisation of CO2 Transport and Storage Networks – ACTION (2021-2024) is a project funded under the ACT (Accelerating CCS Technologies) program coordinated by Imperial College London. The main objective was to establish how an efficient infrastructure connecting CO2 sources with storage and geological use options can be developed as part of regional decarbonisation efforts. The main outcome of the project was the development of a multi-temporal integrated assessment model to support the stakeholders in planning and designing large-scale, flexible CO2 transport, utilization and storage networks, and to enable reporting on decarbonization efforts, while addressing the impact of geological and engineering constraints, the effect of economic conditions and the regulatory environment, and the inevitable uncertainties faced in defining them. Within ACTION, GeoEcoMar was the only partner in Romania and is responsible for developing the multitemporal model for CCS implementation in southern Romania. https://www.act-ccs.eu/
  5. HyStorIES: Hydrogen Storage In European Subsurface (2021-2023) focused on the possibilities of hydrogen storage in porous reservoirs, such as depleted gas or oil fields and aquifers. Hystories developed the technical solutions and produced socio-economic analyses to support the implementation of underground hydrogen storage. https://hystories.eu/6.
  6. Reusing existing wells for CO2 storage operations – REX-CO2 (2019-2022) was an ERANET project financed under the ACT (Accelerating CCS Technologies) program. The consortium, coordinated by TNO (Netherlands), comprised research and industry institutions from 6 countries, the Netherlands, the UK, France, Norway, the United States and Romania. The main objective was to develop a tool and procedure to assess the feasibility of reusing hydrocarbon wells in CO2 injection and storage. Within this project, GeoEcoMar’s activities, funded by UEFISCDI, consisted on a study on the potential for reuse of depleted wells within the Salonta field, study that was transferred to the Romanian State. The study was carried out using data provided by ANRM for the mentioned field. GeoEcoMar also coordinated work package 6, “Legal, environmental and social aspects”, through which an assessment was made of the legislative framework in the 6 countries participating in the project regarding the possibility of reusing hydrocarbon wells and fields in the geological storage of CO2. GeoEcoMar conducted the study of the legislative framework for Romania, identifying the main barriers and opportunities in terms of re-use of wells and deposits in the country for CO2 storage. This study also benefited from periodic consultations with the Competent Authority for the geological storage of CO2 in Romania, namely ANRM. https://rex-co2.eu
  7. Strategic planning of Regions and Territories in Europe for low-carbon energy and industry through CCUS Coordination and Support Action – STRATEGY CCUS (2019-2022) was a project financed by Horizon 2020 which aimed to support the development of zero carbon energy and industry in Southern and Eastern Europe. Within the project 8 promising regions for the implementation of CCS were studied, namely the Lusitanian Basin (Portugal), the Ebro Basin (Spain), the Paris Basin and the Rhone Valley (France), the northern region of Croatia, North Silesia (Poland) and the Galați region (Romania). The results of the project consisted of formulating and analysing scenarios for the implementation of carbon capture and storage technology in these regions, scenarios that were also discussed with key industrial actors at local level. As part of the project, and following consultation with key industrial actors in the region, GeoEcoMar designed various scenarios for the implementation of CCUS in the Galați region. For each scenario, GeoEcoMar carried out a techno-economic analysis that highlighted both the costs of technology implementation and the benefits of the industrial actors involved, as well as the uncertainties related to scenario realization and the need for concrete decarbonization plans at regional level. https://www.strategyccus.eu/8.
  8. Accelerating low-carbon industrial growth through CCUS – ALIGN CCUS (2017-2020) was an ERA NET project financed under the ACT (Accelerating CCS Technologies) programme, co-funded by the European Commission, that had as main objective the acceleration of the implementation of CCS in certain industrial regions in the countries participating in the ACT: Teesside and Grangemouth (UK), Rotterdam (NL), North Rhine-Westphalia (DE), Grenland (NO) and Oltenia (RO) programe. The final results of the project consisted of the development of roadmaps for each studied region. GeoEcoMar’s activities, funded by UEFISCDI, and developed and coordinated within ALIGN CCUS, together with CO2Club and PicOil Info Consult, consisited of a roadmap for the implementation of carbon capture, storage and use in the Oltenia region, also taking into account the possibility of using CO2 in advanced oil recovery in the region’s fields. https://www.alignccus.eu/about-project
  9. Establishing CO2 enhanced Oil recovery Business Advantages in South Eastern -ECOBASE (2017-2020) was funded by the ACT (Accelerating CCS Technologies) program and co-financed by the European Commission. The project, coordinated by NORCE (Norway), had research institutions from Romania, Greece, Turkey and the Netherlands as partners. The major objective of the project was to carry out a techno-economic analysis on the implementation of advanced oil recovery technology using CO2 injection and storage (CO2-EOR) in Southeast Europe. GeoEcoMar, as coordinator of the Romanian consortium that also included CO2Club and PicOil Info Consult, has made a selection of Romanian oil reservoire to which CO2-EOR technology could be applied, based on the available public data. Following the analysis of the distribution of major industrial CO2 sources and the deposits selected in the first stage, the Romanian consortium identified possible carbon capture, storage and use networks at the Romanian level. GeoEcoMar selected the Isalnita-Bradesti chain as a case study for Romania. For this chain, GeoEcoMar, together with specialists from Norway and the Netherlands, made a techno-economic analysis, determining the key performance indicators of the CO2-EOR process in several capture and storage scenarios. https://ecobase-project.eu/
  10. Enabling Onshore CO2 Storage in Europe – ENOS (2016 – 2020) was a project financed by Horizon 2020 Program. The project consortium was led by BRGM (France) and included 29 partners from 17 countries, and 5 pilot sites testing various elements of CO2 geological storage. The major objective of the project was to stimulate the implementation of geological storage of CO2 on land in Europe by: developing, testing and demonstrating in real conditions the key technologies; integrating geological storage of CO2 in the socio-economic environment and involving the local population, creating a favourable environment for land storage by promoting knowledge exchange, integrating research results and establishing best practices, including supporting the preparation of new pilot storage projects, bringing innovation to society through dialogue and communication, and promoting carbon capture and storage through training and education. GeoEcoMar, the only partner in Romania, contributed to the risk analysis related to the integrity of old wells, to the development of materials for the dissemination of geological storage of CO2 to the general public (in collaboration with other research partners but also with communication specialists), conducted a study for the implementation of a potential storage pilot in Romania, provided a lecturer at spring schools and also produced the chapter related to storage risks in the e-book “Geoscience applied to geological storage of CO2”. https://www.enos-project.eu/
  11. CO2 Storage Potential in Europe – CO2 Stop (2012 – 2013) was a project financed by the European Commission that estimated the storage capacity at European level. Project results were provided as a database of Europe-wide storage locations, a data analysis/query tool, a GIS database, and a storage capacity and injection rate (StoreFit) calculation tool. The database is available on the website of the Joint Research Centre – European Commission and will be available as an interactive Atlas of CO2 storage for Europe. The CO2Stop database was the first step towards a European Atlas storage. https://setis.ec.europa.eu/european-co2-storage-database
  12. Pan-European coordination action on CO2 Geological Storage” – CGS Europe (2010-2013) was a project financed under the Framework Programme 7. The main objective of the project was to promote cooperation in the field of research on geological storage of CO2 and to develop platforms and materials for the dissemination of knowledge at European level. The project, coordinated by BRGM (France), brought together 34 research institutions from 25 EU Member States and 4 associated states. The cooperation within CGS Europe was closely linked to the activities of the CO2GeoNet Association, GeoEcoMar being accepted as a member upon completion of the project.
  13. Scrutinizing the impact of CCS communication on the general and local public – Impact of communication (2009-2010) was a project funded by FENCO ERA-NET and carried out in 6 countries. The main objective was to develop recommendations regarding the communication of CCS to the general public in such manner that the public can form stable and consistent opinions about the technology. Within the project, GeoEcoMar coordinated the Romanian consortium, provided experts for the focus organized groups and conducted, together with Romanian partners SNSPA and ISPE, the first public survey on the attitude of the general public in Romania regarding the possibility of implementing CCS technology in Romania.
  14. CO2NetEast (2006-2009) was a coordination project financed under the Framework Program 6 of the European Commission. The main objective was to extend the carbon capture and storage research network to the new member states of the European Union and the Associated Countries. Within the project, GeoEcoMar has undertaken a dissemination of knowledge related to carbon capture and storage in Romania, including by organizing the first workshop on this topic in 2008.
  15. EUGeoCapacity (2006-2008). Pan-European project (26 partners from 21 countries) co-financed by the European Commission through Framework Program 6 and coordinated by GEUS (Denmark). The main objective of the project was to assess the geological storage capacity of CO2 at European level. The secondary objectives were to develop innovative methods for assessing storage capacity, economic modelling and for establishing criteria for the selection of storage sites. Within the EUGeoCapacity project, GeoEcoMar was the only partner in Romania, thus being solely responsible for providing relevant data regarding the geological storage potential of the country. Thus, GeoEcoMar provided data on Romania’s major emissions, potential CO2 injection locations from these points, as well as other information necessary for the implementation of the GIS project. At the same time, within the project, GeoEcoMar made a first estimate of Romania’s storage capacity in hydrocarbon deposits and deep saline aquifers.
  16. GETICA CCS (2010-2013) was a carbon capture and storage demonstration project, located in the Oltenia region, which involved capturing 1.5 Mt of CO2 per year from a modernized energy unit of the Turceni power plant, pipeline transport and storage in saline aquifers. The designated operators were Oltenia – Turceni Energy Complex for capture, Transgaz for transport and Romgaz for storage. A feasibility study was conducted for this project coordinated by ISPE and financed by Global CCS Institute and the Ministry of Economy. The feasibility study was divided into the 3 components of the CCS chain, capture, transport and storage, and was carried out by a technical consortium composed of ISPE, Alstom, GeoEcoMar and Schlumberger. GeoEcoMar was the coordinator of the storage part of the feasibility study in which Schlumberger also participated. As part of the study, in addition to coordination, GeoEcoMar selected and delimited storage solutions (saline aquifers), developed static models of the two selected deep saline aquifers (named Zone 5 and Zone 1 because 7 potential storage areas were initially identified) and analysed the performance of the sites following dynamic CO2 injection simulations. The data used were made available by oil and gas operators based on a provision issued by ANRM following the signing of “Action Plan for the Implementation of a Demonstration Project on Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) in Romania” memorandum, approved in the Government meeting of February 17, 2010. After the feasibility study was completed, the project competed for NER 300 funding. GeoEcoMar was responsible for developing the storage part of the application. Unfortunately, the project lost government support (with the change of government) and, unable to secure the full funding scheme (with the reduction of program funds), it was indefinitely blocked.

The Core Program

Under the Core Programme, geological storage of CO2 has been an important component from the outset. In recent years, the core projects related to geological storage have been:

 

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