Marine underground storage of Carbon dioxide (CO2) is now recognized as one of the techniques which could significantly reduce CO2 emissions. It has not always been the case. Five years ago it was uncertain whether a consensus could be reached or not on a realistic regulatory framework for offshore application.

Carbon capture and storage slowly emerged from other alternatives. Opponents moved from refusal to acceptance on conditions: having failed to have the proposal rejected on the grounds that marine underground storage of waste material was illegal, some opponents still use safety and environmental arguments against the concept, and require exorbitant characteristics and guarantees with a view to make that technique uneconomical or impracticable. Industry managed so far to pass the message to the regulators to ensure a favourable outcome, but there is still a long path to go.

In its second part, the paper describes current international legal status: it includes the London Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter (LC72) and its 1996 Protocol thereto (both instruments are valid, but in different countries), OSPAR, the regulating body for the North-East Atlantic (which includes the North Sea), and the European Union which is supporting several projects on this issue but has not yet taken a formal definitive position on it.

Keywords:
Upstream Oil & Gas, CO2 capture, subsoil, assessment, climate change, Convention, amendment, Carbon Dioxide Capture, subsurface storage, Ospar
Subjects:
Unconventional Production Facilities, Improved and Enhanced Recovery, Storage Reservoir Engineering, Environment, Sustainability/Social Responsibility, CO2 capture and management, CO2 capture and sequestration, Air emissions, Climate change, Sustainable development
Copyright 2007, Society of Petroleum Engineers
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