R&D OPPORTUNITIES IN GEOENERGY AND CCS

A presentation by:

EEF Lunch debateStrasbourg, March 2009

INDEX

• Research in geoenergy after the new EU strategy on 20-20-20

• Hydrocarbon systems and security of supply

• Clean coal as a valuable energy source

• Geothermal energy, a hot topic in many European countries

• Geological storage of CO2 is needed now

• Research and technological development to fight the crisis in sectors supporting tens of thousands of employees in Europe

RESEARCH IN GEOENERGY

• Research is needed to fully exploit potential of, and synergies between, primary energy sources

• Energy technology is one of Europe´s prime export sectors

• New developed technologies and highly trained professional workforce is needed for future exploitation

• There is a need for sustained research into renewing the resource base and transforming reserve supplies

HYDROCARBON SYSTEMS AND SECURITY OF SUPPLY

• North Sea is now a mature oil province, use of EOR through captured CO2 can highly increase reserves

• Europe can support sustainable development of resources in difficult settings

• Gas resources from unconventional deposits could provide valuable energy if exploited with skill

• Use of geological structures for oil and gas storages provides opportunities for strategic hydrocarbon supply

• Innovative recovery methods can sensibly increase available resources

• Heavy oil and tar sands, tight gas or oil shales can bring considerable resources to tap

• Environmentally acceptable exploitation is the real challenge

HYDROCARBON SYSTEMS AND SECURITY OF SUPPLY

CLEAN COAL

• Deeply buried coal resources remain to be developed in Europe

• Novel drilling techniques can support in-situ gasification and Coal Bed Methane (CBM) exploitation

• ECBM recovery is also available as a clean technology

• Synergies between traditional coal and innovative hydrocarbon industries should be promoted

• Available renewable energy source. Wider use needed

• R&D needed to make this source competitive in different oil price scenarios

• Combination with other heat storages can be made available in the proximity of urban areas

GEOTHERMAL ENERGY

• Large scale application of CCS is a promising solution for Europe to fulfill 20-20-20 strategy commitments related to GHG emissions

• Geological investigation is widely needed to find available storages

• Safety of these storages will be a great challenge in the near future

• Storage research will also be useful for other subsurface uses

CARBON CAPTURE AND STORAGE

(after T. Vangkilde-Pedersen,EU Geocapacity, eStrategies , 2008)

• Energy sources are all needed• Global compatible solutions have to be

found in crisis scenario• Complete transition to renewable

energies will, at least, take a few decades

• Use of geological energy resources is a part of these global solutions

• Research solutions can position European industries in the leading situation safeguarding employment and environment

RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT

THANKS FOR YOUR ATTENTION