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Department of Energy and Climate Change
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UK - Norway to study role of North Sea in CO2 storage
A study of the role of the North Sea in providing storage space under the sea-bed for carbon dioxide from European countries was commissioned today jointly by the UK and Norway. Lord Hunt and the Norwegian Minister Terje Riis-Johansen, met to agree on a clear vision for the potential role of the North Sea in the future deployment of CCS in Europe, at the conference on Climate Change and Technology in Bergen, Norway.
The study will look at how quickly the base of the North Sea could be needed for carbon dioxide storage and what the UK, Norway and other countries have to do to get it ready in time.
Lord Hunt, Minister of State for Energy and Climate Change, in the UK, said,
"Today's agreement reaffirms the UK's leadership in tackling the emissions from fossil fuel power generation. Carbon capture and storage has the potential to reduce emissions from coal-fired power stations by around 90%. The strength of the UK's offshore industries means we are well-placed to store that carbon dioxide under the North Sea.
"The benefits of CCS are not only environmental. There are clear business and job opportunities to be found in green energy technology.
"This study will help assist the governments in Europe to work together to store carbon dioxide safely under the North Sea and to plan the implementation of CCS."
The aim of the study will be to build a profile for the whole of
the North Sea, assessing each countries' storage potential
and projections of likely volumes and locations of CO2 flows,
against a rising price of carbon.
This will involve
identifying network issues and proposing methods for managing CO2
flows across borders.
The study will also consider how the offshore storage business might develop.
Notes to Editors
1. The UK and Norway have also agreed to campaign for international recognition of the important role that CCS can play and exchange information on national CCS demonstration plants and to encourage other countries to explore the potential role of CCS within their own energy generation programmes.
2. This will feed in to the work of the North Sea Basin Task Force.
3. The North Sea Basin Task Force members as of January 2009 are Germany, Netherlands, Norway and UK.
4. Norway and the UK will be seeking to include as many North Sea Basin countries in the new study as possible, in order to build on previous studies that focussed solely on Norwegian and UK data.
5. Initial studies in 2007 and 2008 by the (then UK-Norway) North Sea Basin Task Force found that there was great potential to provide carbon dioxide storage under the North Sea. This study is the next step and will provide further evidence as to how important the sub-seabed of the North Sea is in the deployment of CCS in Europe and its fight against climate change.
6. The North Sea Basin Task Force will further refine the outcomes of the study and data will be gathered from all countries that wish to take part.
7. The UK's Department of Energy and Climate Change has already outlined proposals for CCS demonstration in the UK. This study will assess what further steps UK, Norway and other North Sea Basin countries might need to take to enable carbon dioxide from across Europe to be stored under the North Sea.
8. One North Sea
Joint Ministerial Statement on Climate Change and Energy Security
As neighbours linked by a common sea, Norway and the United Kingdom have long enjoyed exceptionally warm relations underpinned by close economic ties. In recent years, the development of oil and gas on the UK and Norwegian Continental shelves has added a new dimension to the benefits we both gain from our co-operation. Norway is now by far the UK's largest single supplier of gas outside of the UKCS. UK and Norwegian energy and supply companies are active within and across each other's sectors. Both our countries are also seeking solutions to the issues of climate change and have worked very closely, through the North Sea Basin Task Force, to identify the potential contribution of Carbon Capture and Storage to mitigate the impact of CO2 emissions. The UK has therefore especially welcomed the initiative of the Norwegian Government in hosting the important international conference in Bergen.
The two Ministers agreed today to intensify their co-operation, in particular to:
CCS
- Commission a joint study, as an input to the North Sea Basin Task Force, with the aim of establishing a clear vision of the potential role of the North Sea in the future deployment of CCS in Europe by the end of the year;
- Follow up the Bergen Conference by campaigning for international recognition of the role that CCS can play, including through their joint hosting of the Carbon Sequestration Leadership Forum (meeting in London on 12-14 October);
- Exchange information on national CCS demonstration plants and to engage other countries as appropriate in developing the necessary technologies and in the North Sea deployment study;
Energy
- Further develop the valuable relationship between Norway as gas supplier and the United Kingdom as an important gas consumer;
- Seek further enhancement of the amount of oil recovered from existing and future fields;
- Encourage energy companies in both countries to exploit new opportunities.
Renewables
- Strengthen the collaboration on areas of joint interest related to the development of offshore wind and marine energy. In this context, they warmly welcomed the recent decision by Statkraft and StatoilHydro to construct a new offshore windfarm at Sheringham Shoal;
- Encourage the Transmission System Operators to explore the potential commercial viability of a new interconnector between the UK and Norway, facilitating the future export of renewable electricity;
- Strengthen cooperation on environmentally friendly energy research.
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