The Longyearbyen CO2 laboratory

Project Manager: Jan Tveranger

Keywords

Reservoir modelling, CO2 sequestration, Triassic, Svalbard

Description

The Longyearbyen CO2 laboratory [http://co2-ccs.unis.no/] headed by the University centre in Svalbard is a collaborative effort to turn the arctic community of Longyearbyen on Svalbard into a show case demonstrating the CO2 value chain.   The settlement is an ideal location for testing technologies related to carbon capture and storage (CCS). Longyearbyen is a closed energy system, it has a coal fuelled power plant, and its geological structures are suited for storing CO2. The first step of the CO2 lab has been to identify saline aquifers where CO2 can be stored. Three wells were drilled in 2007 and 2008 which cored the cap rock and upper reservoir and verified the seal of the reservoir. A fourth well was drilled in the fall of 2009 to verify the storage capabilities of the sandstones. These were confirmed in November 2009. Injectivity was verified during extensive testing in 2010.

Present partners in Longyearbyen CO2 Lab are ConocoPhillips, Statoil, Store Norske, Gassnova (Norwegian government), Statkraft, Lundin Norway and Leonhard Nilsen. Present research and operational partners are Univ. of Bergen, Uni CIPR, Univ. of Oslo, NTNU, SINTEF, NORSAR, IFE, NGI, NGU, Add Energy and BJ Services. Longyearbyen CO2 Lab is part of the SUCCESS Centre for environmental friendly technologies, co- funded by industry and the Norwegian Research Council.

Uni CIPR handles the reservoir modelling and simulation aspects of the Longyearbyen CO2 laboratory, including compilation and analysis of data from outcrops, seismic surveys and wells.

Deliverables

Geological models and simulation models of the CO2 storage site.