Latest News on Greenhouse Gas Control Technologies: 14th GHGT conference and a visit to the world’s largest CCS demonstration project

I am conducting my PhD research in the FME SUCCESS Center (subsurface CO2 storage — critical elements and superior strategies) at the Department of Geosciences, University of Oslo. The SUCCESS research center was focused on research on different aspects of geological CO2 storage. My research primarily focuses on the CO2 containment and properties of mudstone caprock sequences. The outcomes of the research, however, are also partly applicable for injectivity assessments. I have used a multiscale approach (pore-, core-, and field-scale), multidisciplinary techniques, and a number of carefully selected experimental and analytical investigations. The research contributes to the existing knowledge of caprock sequences and reduces some of the uncertainties associated with the assessment of containment efficiency for CO2 storage sites. It also provides answers to some of the less-investigated questions regarding the CO2–brine–rock interactions, and geophysical monitoring during a potential upward leakage of the CO2 plume.

I participated in the 14th GHGT conference, which was held 21-26 October 2018 in Melbourne, Australia (Figure 1). We have presented two different research papers on CO2-brine-rock interactions and CO2-brine fracture flow in the conference. The Greenhouse Gas Control Technologies (GHGT) conferences are held every two years, and in the past decade became an arena for the world-leading researchers and scientists to present their latest scientific and technologic advancements in carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS). It is a wonderful place to receive feedback, put your research in an international context, and take the opportunity to build collaboration with other institutes in future research. Through the plenary sessions and technical program the participants came to the conclusion on which research and technologic directions should be pursued, what are the present critical technical issues, and how principal research directions can shed light on the safe, secure and economic realization of full-scale CCS projects around the world. In addition to the 14th GHGT conference, I had the chance to

visit the CO2CRC’s Otway National Research Facility, which is the world’s largest carbon capture and storage demonstration project and is located in the south-west Victoria (Figure 2). Moreover, the participants in the GHGT conference listened to the latest reports and evaluations from the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and International Energy Agency (IEA) on how we are losing time on taking actions for mitigating the consequences of global warming and climate change, and what are the solutions and scenarios in the years to come (Figure 3).

On the way back from the CO2CRC’s Otway National Research Facility, we had a short stop to enjoy the view of the Twelve Apostles by the Great Ocean Road in Victoria, Australia (Figure 4). It all became possible because of the travel grant and support that I’ve received from the Norwegian Research School for Dynamics and Evolution of Earth and Planets (DEEP). I would like to thank DEEP for funding this valuable scientific journey to GHGT-14.

- By Mohammad Nooraiepour