P. Zweigel¹, R. Arts², T. Bidstrup³, A. Chadwick⁴, O. Eiken⁵, U. Gregersen³, M. Hamborg¹, P. Johanessen³, G. Kirby⁴, L. Kristensen³, and E. Lindeberg¹

¹Sintef Petroleum Research, Trondheim, NO
²NITG-TNO, Utrecht, NL
³GEUS, Copenhagen, DK
⁴BGS, Keyworth, UK
⁵Statoil Research Centre, Trondheim, NO

ABSTRACT: Results and Experiences from the First Industrial-scale Underground CO₂ Sequestration Case (Sleipner Field, North Sea)

CO₂ separated from natural gas produced at the Sleipner field in the northern North Sea (Norwegian block 15/9) is currently being injected into a saline aquifer, some 800 to 1000 m beneath the northern North Sea. Injection started in 1996 and shall last for 20 years at annual rates of approx. 1 million metric tons CO₂ (for a description of the injection facilities and of basic reservoir data refer to Baklid et al. 1996). An international research project, the Saline Aquifer CO₂ Storage (SACS) project, accompanies the ongoing injection. Its aims are (a) to determine the local and regional storage properties of the reservoir (the Utsira Sand) and its overlying seal, and to assess their suitability for CO₂ injection elsewhere; (b) to monitor the injected CO₂ by geophysical methods; (c) to simulate and predict the present and future CO₂ distribution by reservoir modelling; and (d) to develop a ‘bestpractice’ handbook to guide future CO₂ injection projects. We report here results from areas (a) to (c).

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90906©2001 AAPG Annual Convention, Denver, Colorado