National Grid has completed appraisal drilling of a carbon dioxide storage site underneath the North Sea.
It says the site, 65km off the Yorkshire coast, appeared viable for carbon dioxide storage and would be able to hold about 200 million tonnes, permanently.
Drilling was carried out using the Energy Endveavor jack-up rig, operated by Northern ƶijϻ, in 61m deep water to a total depth of 15,218m, between the end of May, and July 26.
The aim was assess the volume of carbon dioxide the reservoir could hold and potential injection rates. Core samples were taken from the reservoir, of Bunting sandstone, and the red brown clay cap rock.
The site, 42/25d-3, was previously drilled for gas, but none was found, said National Grid, which owns and manages power grids.
The work is part of a project to develop carbon capture and storage (CCS) solutions as part of National Grid’s Don Valley storage work program, funded by an EU grant to advance CCS in Europe.
Image: The Energy Endeavor jack-up.
