CO2 storage monitoring ensures project safety through proven technologies

Commercial-scale carbon capture projects deploy extensive risk-based monitoring systems across atmosphere, biosphere and subsurface zones to verify permanent geological storage integrity

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EFFECTIVE monitoring is a cornerstone for scaling carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects, building regulatory and public trust, and supporting global climate goals by ensuring the safe and permanent storage of CO2, according to a report from the Global CCS Institute.

Monitoring plans are site-specific and tailored to address the unique risks and requirements of each CO2 storage project, with four objectives guiding operations: Quantifying CO2 stored, ensuring containment, ensuring conformance and ensuring environmental safety.

ADAPTIVE MONITORING

Shell's Quest project exemplifies the evolution of monitoring strategies based on accumulated operational data.

After injecting 8.8 million tonnes of CO2 over nearly a decade, the project demonstrated that injected CO2 behaved precisely as predicted within the storage complex, enabling strategic optimisation of monitoring activities in 2023.