An extensive new research program into the long-term potential for carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology to help reduce global greenhouse gas emissions was launched today by a consortium of leading energy industry companies, research organizations and the European Union.

Over five years, the CO2ReMoVe project will study injection of carbon dioxide (CO2) associated with hydrocarbon production operations in the Sleipner and Snohvit fields (both in Norway), and in the southern Saharan desert at In Salah (Algeria), and CO2 associated with power plant operations in the German locality of Ketzin. These processes involve separating the CO2 produced in these operations, compressing the CO2 and injecting it underground rather than releasing it to the atmosphere.

The European Commission Directorate General for Research is the lead sponsor and will provide 8m€ to the CO2ReMoVe project. ExxonMobil participates together with leading European energy companies including Statoil, BP, ConocoPhillips, Schlumberger, Total, Vattenfall and Wintershall, contributing a total of 7m€ to support the project. The project will be carried out by researchers from a number of European academic institutions, with technical guidance provided by the consortium partners and coordination by the Netherlands Organization for Applied Scientific Research (TNO). A total of 27 companies from 11 countries will participate in the CO2ReMoVe project.

The technology to implement CCS has been utilized at industrial scale for many years in the oil and gas industry as part of enhanced oil recovery processes and in the treatment of natural gas streams. As conditions pertaining to cost, technology, operations and security are improved, the CCS technology might result in substantially reduced atmospheric greenhouse gas emissions as the CO2 gas is captured and stored in the underground. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has estimated that large facilities, primarily electric power plants, account for nearly 60 percent of global man-made CO2 emissions.

The CO2ReMoVe project is expected to conclude by mid 2011.

If you want to know more about the project, click here.
Questions related to the project may be directed to the persons below:

Exxon Mobil Corporation
Dave Gardner, 972-444-1107
or
ExxonMobil UK
David Eglinton, +44 (0)1372 222261
or
ExxonMobil Brussels
Lisa Boch-Andersen, (00)32 2 722 2946