From 'surface to store' : an overview of the Cassem Project

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) brings new entrants to subsurface exploration and reservoir engineering who require very high levels of confidence in the technology, in the geological analysis and in understanding the risks before committing large sums of capital to high-cost drilling operations. Many of the subsurface techniques used for hydrocarbon exploration are capable of translation to CCS activities. Unfamiliarity may, however, lead new entrants to openly question their applicability in order to transform their current understanding to a level where large capital investment can be organisationally justified. For example, some may make the erroneous assumption that a good CO2 subsurface store should resemble the pressure vessel type of containment that is prevalent with surface installations. Basic concepts such as utilising the rock structure and mineralogy to control fluid flow and securing the CO2 by residual trapping (between the rock grains) or by dissolution, as a superior storage mechanism, are counter intuitive and challenging to communicate effectively.