Standards Development

Scope

This standard will describe the requirements and provide recommendations for storage of CO2 in subsurface geologic formations along the lifecycle of a CCS-project to support safe and effective longterm containment of CO2. It will be based on the latest committee draft version of the updated ISO 27914 “Carbon dioxide capture, transportation and geological storage – Geological storage”. ISO 27914 represents an international standard which gives guideline on the aspects of geological storage of CO2. The available version of this standard has been published in 2017 and is currently undergoing an update process. The new version will take into account the technical developments of the last couple of years in this rapidly growing sector. Therefore, most recent version of the updated ISO 27914 (‘Committee Draft’) is an ideal document which should be considered a basis for a respective European standard.

The content of ISO 27914 shall be screened and adjustments shall be made where required to account for European needs around permanent storage of CO2. For example, one of potential topics to provide some guideline in the near future could be related to the impact of the increasing number of CO2 storage projects and their potential (pressure) interference, also cross -border. While CO2 storage in saline aquifers is prevalent, reusing depleted hydrocarbon fields for permanent stora ge of CO2, especially within the North Sea, is becoming of growing interest. The related challenges related to re - use of existing infrastructure from previous oil & gas activities could also be addressed in more detail in the European standard. The abovementioned topics shall be considered as suggestions (list is not exhaustive), while it is up to the working group to define the focus areas and level of detail of the standard. In any case, the European standard shall be clear and consistent in the use of definitions. 

In alignment with the latest committee draft of ISO27914, the standard will provide guidelines on the following subjects:

• Integrated Project Management (describing project phases and required plans)

• Site screening, feasibility and characterization (including site assessment and modelling)

• Risk management (describing criteria, plan, assessment, treatment and documentation)

• Well infrastructure (incl. materials, design, construction, (re)completions and abandonment)

• CO2 storage site operations (incl. design, plan, procedures, data acquisition etc.)

• Measurement, monitoring and verification (incl. objectives, timing, methodologies etc.)

• Project termination (describing criteria, plan, qualification process)

It should be noted that this standard will cover the CO2 storage activities, from pre-injection site screening to project termination, explicitly including the measurement, monitoring and verification (“MMV”) for integrity of the storage complex.

The primary objective of this working group is to produce precise, standardized technical guidelines and specifications that could be used to support the implementation of regulations, commercial contracts, and fiscal transactions and safety procedures in the realm of CCS. 

As ISO 27914, also this standard shall apply to injection of CO2 into subsurface geologic formations for the sole purpose of storage and does not apply to CO2 injection for the purpose of enhanced hydrocarbon recovery, or storage of CO2 that occurs in association with it (CO2-EOR). The standard shall focus on monitoring, reporting, validating and verifying the CO2 for CCS-projects.

Purpose

Standards establish criteria, methods, processes and practises, which enable technology to advance, assure consistent workflows and support efficient development of projects. They also provide individuals, businesses and all kinds of organisations with a common basis for mutual understanding. According to CEN, European (EN) Standards are a key component of the European Single Market. European standardization has also proven to be an effective tool to support European legislation and policy. The CEN/TC 474 ‘CO2 capture, transportation, utilization, storage and carbon accounting’ will fulfil this role in the field of CCUS.

Permanent storage of CO2 is an essential contribution to energy transition, especially for industry sectors with hard-to-abate emissions. The on February 6, 2024, published EU Industrial Carbon Management strategy outlines how carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies could help reduce emissions to achieve climate neutrality by 2050. While there is a clear need for CCS, there is also potential to increase the level of detail of technical standards for that sector, including CO2 storage activities. Such standards could support effective large-scale deployment of CCS by providing a guideline for all relevant stakeholders, e.g. operators and regulators . Therefore, the demand for technical standards is increasing, particularly because CCS is an emerging market and the technology is developing rapidly. Recognized standards could support the implementation of CCS as they are contributing fundamentally to an efficient development of projects where CO2 storage activities will being done safely, i.e. avoiding potential risks of loss of containment and/or induced seismicity.

Although it is acknowledged that CCUS is a global issue in which international standards are preferred, there are topics that serve a particular European need. ISO 27914 “Carbon dioxide capture, transportation and geological storage – Geological storage” represents an international standard which gives guideline on the aspects of geological storage of CO2. Therefore it is recommended to use the most recent version of the updated ISO 27914 (‘Committee Draft’) as the basis for the European standard. A screening of this Committee Draft of ISO 27914 shall be conducted to assess if, and more specifically, to what extent its content requires adjustments to satisfy the needs and expectations of European stakeholders.