Shell CO2 storage plans under fire

Shell CO2 storage plans under fire

A plan by oil giant Shell to store 300,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide a year in a depleted gas reservoir beneath the Dutch city of Barendrecht has drawn the ire of residents and local officials who have vowed to thwart it.

"We are going to do everything to oppose this project," declared Barendrecht deputy mayor Simon Zuubrier, who voiced fears for the safety of the city's 50,000 inhabitants.

"We are taking legal action to get it cancelled and we'll approve none of the required permits."

Anglo-Dutch Shell in November was authorised by the Dutch government to undertake a project to capture and store a portion of the 5.0 megatonnes of carbon dioxide emitted each year by the company's refinery in Pernis, Europe's largest. Pernis is located 15 kilometers (9.4 miles) from here.

Under the scheme, set to get under way in 2012, the CO2 will be carried by a pipeline and, after being compressed, will be injected into a depleted gas reservoir 1,800 meters (5,900 feet) under ground. The reservoir has a capacity of 800,000 tonnes.

Shell has said that over time the CO2 will dissolve or form minerals.

With a positive evaluation of the initiative by government-mandated experts, the project will be extended in a few years to another nearby gas reservoir, with a 9.0 megatonne capacity and part of which lies under Barendrecht city center.

"It's ridiculous to carry out such an experiment in a densely populated area," insisted Zuubrier.

Dutch Shell to capture & store CO2 underground

Shell plans to capture and store at Barendrecht CO2 emitted from its refinery at the Port of Rotterdam.

The project, the total cost of which was not revealed, will be subsidised by the Dutch state to the tune of 30 million euros.

The Dutch government said Wednesday it had approved the experimental below-ground storage of excess CO2 to curb damaging emissions, dismissing concerns of residents who live on top of the project.

The test project would kick off from 2012 with CO2 stored in a spent natural gas field with a capacity of 0.8 megatonnes underneath the eastern town of Barendrecht, a government statement said.

"After the CO2 has been stored there for several years, an evaluation will be done," it said.

"Only if no problems have arisen by then will authorisation be given for storage at a second, larger field... with a capacity of nine megatonnes."

Shell plans to capture and store at Barendrecht CO2 emitted from its refinery at the Port of Rotterdam. The project, the total cost of which was not revealed, will be subsidised by the Dutch state to the tune of 30 million euros.

The municipality of Barendrecht, provincial authorities and inhabitants, concerned about the risk of explosion and earth movement, are opposed to the project and vowed Wednesday to resist it.

"The municipality does not accept the decision," said a statement from Barendrecht, saying it hoped the move would be overturned by parliament, failing which the town would go to court.

"We will not cooperate with the issuing of plans and permits," said the statement, accusing the government of "being blind to the concerns of inhabitants of Barendrecht", thousands of whom live on top of the gas fields.

The government said "the capture and storage of CO2 is essential as a transitional technology to limit climate damage."

The Netherlands, it said, had a storage capacity of some 800 megatonnes under land and another 800 megatonnes under sea.

"This will allow us to store 40 megatonnes per year for 40 years, the equivalent of 20 percent of our current annual CO2 emissions."