A new report, released this morning, suggests that by linking oil recovery in the North Sea to low-carbon electricity can bring significant benefits to the UK economy.
A comprehensive new analysis by a Joint Industry Project has been made of injecting carbon dioxide (CO2) derived from low-carbon electricity production and industry to enhance oil recovery from existing North Sea fields (CO2-EOR).
The report shows that a synergy between CO2-EOR and Capture and Storage (CCS) could be the driver for developing both technologies in the UK Continental Shelf. Part of the CO2 that would otherwise go directly to dedicated storage in CCS projects could be used to drive CO2-EOR, bringing significant benefits to the wider UK economy – including extending the producing life of the North Sea, reducing imports of oil, maintaining employment, developing new capability to drive exports, and additional direct and indirect taxation revenues.
This approach could also provide the most cost-effective way to accelerate an energy transition between 2018 and 2030 to meet UK Committee on Climate Change decarbonisation pathways, say the authors.
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