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Thursday, March 5, 2009
Article Type: Reprinted
StatoilHydro ASA, Norway’s largest oil and gas company, said carbon dioxide pumped into the Utsira formation in the Norwegian North Sea is spreading as expected.
Seismic data, which is collected every other year, shows that the gas isn’t leaking to the surface, the Stavanger-based company said in an e-mailed statement today.
"In addition to seismic surveys, we monitor wellhead pressure," Edvin Ytredal, vice president of operations for the Sleipner area, said in the statement. “These measurements show stable results, which again demonstrate that the reservoir is well suited for storage.”
Power utilities and energy companies are seeking ways to store carbon dioxide instead of releasing it into the air. StatoilHydro and its partners at the Sleipner gas field, Exxon Mobil Corp. and Total SA, have injected more than 10 million metric tons of carbon dioxide into the Utsira sandstone formation since 1996. The gas is stored 1,000 meters beneath the seabed.
Carbon capture and storage is one way to reach the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
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