Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) Is it safe ? Will it Work ?

Dorset Geologist’s Association Group (DGAG) will host a talk on the Thursday 16 February 2023.

Title: Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) Is it safe ? Will it Work ?

Speaker: Giles Watts (a member of DGAG) and with a topic relevant for the geological time we live in! He is a consultant geophysicist and an expert in time-lapse seismic, ocean bottom seismic surveys and monitoring CCS operations. He has worked for BP managing oil and gas reservoirs and more recently for the Oil and Gas Authority (OGA). Giles has spent many years living in Dorset. He adores the Jurassic coast and now spends most of his time working for the Dorset Climate Action Network where he heads up the “Dorset Deserves Better” Campaign.

Time: Talk will start at 7pm; finish approximately 8pm

Venue: John Whites Rectory at the Dorset County Museum, High West St, Dorchester DT11XA

Lecture Entry Cost: £6 (£5 for DGAG members) collected on room entry

Booking a seat: Contact DGAG events at email: cwebb48578@aol.com

Booking will be on first request basis

Talk Description: A very pertinent topic for our climate times and we should learn something about it for everyone’s benefit. A timely review of the science, techniques, what is “carbon storage” and possible engineering solutions to the increasing CO₂ content we are seeing in Earths atmosphere. Will just an engineering solution work?

Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) is a somewhat controversial means of storing Carbon Dioxide (CO₂) in underlying geological reservoirs. Many international organizations and governments say that this is an essential technology for reaching Net Zero targets by 2050 and the only way of decarbonizing certain industrial processes (such as cement manufacture and steel making). Furthermore, it is one of few scalable technologies that can be used, in combination with bioenergy, to extract CO₂ from the atmosphere. Other groups suggest that CCS does not reduce emissions as much as is claimed.

The presentation will set the context for CCS worldwide and discuss the pros and cons of CO₂ Storage. A number of past and present CCS projects will be described including two currently in development in the UK. The presentation will finish with a short discussion of how areas in and around Dorset may be suitable as world-class CO₂ storage sites.

Some recent headlines:

The British Geological Survey (BGS): Has a database of geological storage potential of over 70 billion tonnes of CO₂ deep under the UK seabed. The UK is one of the first countries in the world to provide this information free online.

9 Dec 2022- The Keadby 3 plant in north Lincolnshire is the first carbon capture and storage (CCS) project to be granted planning permission by the UK government.