Over the past two years, the number of carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) projects, mainly geological, has soared. The Global CCS Institute, which promotes this technology, lists more than 160 projects in various stages of development, in addition to the thirty that are already in operation. However, many of the projects undertaken in the early 2010s have since been abandoned, mainly because of costs and a lack of social acceptability. Will the same be true for current projects?
Transport and Storage Projects by CO2 Capture Capacity in Mtpa (Million Tonnes Per Annum)
Source: “Global Status of CCS”, in 2022 Status Report, Global CCS Institute, 2022.
The storage of CO2 has historically involved injecting this gas into natural gas and oil wells to enhance their recovery rate (EOR / Enhanced Oil Recovery). The CO2 remains stored in the emptied well, although this is not the main objective of the operation. One of the first installations, in 1972, recovered CO2 from natural gas processing plants in Val Verde, Texas, and transported it to oil fields in the area. This remains the foremost method of captured carbon
