30-month project to define how to re-purpose an oil field for permanent CO2 storage
Today (10 February 2025) marks the start of a highly innovative two-and-a-half-year KTP (Knowledge Transfer Partnership) research project that will explore and define how to re-purpose a small, depleted nearshore oil field into a permanent CO2 storage facility.
A dedicated KTP Research Associate will be supported by leading academics from SCCS partner The University of Edinburgh: Prof Stuart Haszeldine, Prof Mark Wilkinson and Dr Stuart Gilfillan. Together, they will work closely with commercial partner The Carbon Removers to appraise the field and nearby area with a view to developing it for the purpose of securely locking away bio-CO2 that will be captured from the processing of biological matter.
This groundbreaking project represents the first time that a Scottish nearshore oil field is to be assessed for CO2 storage. Unlike the existing UK Track-1 and Track-2 Clusters which are focused on large offshore storage projects, this will support bio-CO2 removal from smaller, dispersed sources such as distilleries and farms. This will enable the greenhouse gas removal required to meet Scotland’s net zero targets.
Project Director and SCCS Director, Prof Stuart Haszeldine, The University of Edinburgh, explained “We will support the Associate, providing technical expertise and guidance as necessary throughout the project. Through this collaboration with The Carbon Removers, we have the opportunity to do something really quite exciting in Scotland that could make a tangible contribution to meeting climate targets. This has been some time in the making and we look forward to getting started.”
Commercial lead and Chief Operations Officer at The Carbon Removers, Raphael Pfeltzer, said: “We are delighted to be working with our partners at The University of Edinburgh on this project. This is a unique opportunity for us and for Scotland. It is also an important one that has the potential to contribute significantly towards achieving net zero targets by permanently and securely sequestering large tonnages of bio-CO2.”
KTP Research Associate, Yasser Altaib said: “I am really excited to be working on this innovative project. Together with esteemed colleagues from The University of Edinburgh and The Carbon Removers, I look forward to applying my expertise to bring about the cleaner future that we so desperately need.”
This KTP project builds on recent work by SCCS which explored the potential total CO2 storage capacity of Scottish inshore areas and the availability of onshore bio-CO2 emissions to accelerate Scotland’s CCS and CDR potential: Onshore and inshore storage of carbon dioxide (SCCS, 2024).
