Hurum possible site for new CO2 lab

Norwegian, French and British scientists, along with Scandinavian independent research organization SINTEF as project manager, are launching a geological pilot study that will determine whether the Hurum site in the Svelvik Ridge of southern Norway is a suitable location for a field laboratory for the study of carbon storage.

SINTEF hopes to establish a field laboratory that can test current methods for monitoring how CO2 behaves deep below the surface at different storage sites, and thereby contribute to the development of regulations and procedures for CO2 storage. The study will determine whether the Hurum site is suitable for such experiments.

The Hurum project is part of the efforts of scientists, industry and the authorities in several countries to develop technology capable of capturing and storing the greenhouse gas CO2 emitted by coal and gas-fueled power stations and by other industrial plants. If the Hurum site is found to be suitable, the scientists will allow the CO2 to move up and seep through the surface of the unpopulated top of the Svelvik Ridge. According to SINTEF, the Hurum site would offer scientists to simultaneously test many monitoring methods at great depths.

'Our objective is to contribute to monitoring procedures that ensure that undesirable migrations of CO2 will be discovered at an early stage at all storage sites, and that countermeasures can be rapidly implemented,' said SINTEF project manager Menno Dillen in a release.

Earlier this week Norway's Minister of Petroleum and Energy Terje Riis-Johansen (pictured, at left) visited the site to watch seismic investigations that are now being done as part of the pilot study. The project has a total budget of € 11 million, or approximately $15 million, and is backed and sponsored by various government bodies including the French Ministry of Finance, Economy, and Industry, the University of Oslo, and the British Geological Survey

by: Trevor Demara,
tdemara@oilonline.com