Shell leads the way on Global CO2 Capture and Storage Institute

Under the MoU, Shell will become a Founding Member of the Institute and will use Shell expertise to help establish the Institute’s framework, as well as actively participating in its programs and services.

Attending the Australian Government’s preparatory meeting for the Institute in London today, Dr. Graeme Sweeney, Shell’s Executive Vice President of Future Fuels and CO2, said Shell was excited about participating in an Institute that aims to fast track the commercialisation of carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology.

Dr. Sweeney said: “We recognise that climate change is a defining challenge of our generation, and that CCS technology will play a critical role in addressing it. A safe and cost effective way to capture and store CO2 from coal, oil and natural gas is imperative if we are going to meet the challenge of increased energy demand and the need to tackle climate change.”

“CCS is an expensive technology to deploy. Government leadership and support is needed, especially in the crucial period between now and 2020 when the first CCS projects will be developed. During this time lessons will be learned and costs reduced to make the technology commercially viable. For this reason we strongly support the Australian Government’s leadership in this area.”

Shell’s own internal think tank, which this year published Shell Energy Scenarios to 2050, shows that under a ‘Blueprints’ scenario, the commercial deployment of CCS technology could cut global CO2 emissions by more than a third by 2050.

“This compares with wiping out more than 30 years’ worth of global emissions from today’s stock of planes, trains, buses, boats, lorries and hundreds of million of cars,” Dr. Sweeney said.

Notes to Editors

Shell’s participation in the Global Carbon Capture and Storage Institute is the latest in a string of initiatives in which Shell is involved to progress CCS technology.  Some of the current projects include:

• the International Performance Assessment Centre for Geologic Storage of CO2 (IPAC-CO2) in Canada, with the University of Regina and the Government of the province of Saskatchewan;
• the Australian Otway project, lead by the CO2 Cooperative Research Centre, which has started injecting 100,000 tonnes of CO2 into a depleted natural gas reservoir 2km beneath the surface (www.co2crc.com.au/otway/ - opens in new window);
• the proposed “Quest” project in Canada to capture and store up to 1.2 mio tonnes of CO2 per annum from the Shell Scotford Upgrader and the Scotford Upgrader Expansion ( www.shell.com.ca/quest - opens in new window);
• the research collaboration with Imperial College London, together with Qatar  Petroleum, to provide the foundation for new CO2 technologies that can be applied in Qatar and beyond (http://www.shell.com/home/content/qatar/news_and_library/press_releases/2008/carbonate_reservoirs.html);
• the International Energy Agency Greenhouse Gas Weyburn-Midale CO2 Monitoring and Storage Project that is currently in its final phase in Regina, Canada (www.ptrc.ca/weyburn_overview.php);
• the West Coast Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnership and CO2 Capture Project in the US (www.CO2captureproject.org); and,
• the CO2SINK pilot project in Germany ( www.CO2sink.org - opens in new window).

Shell is a global, integrated energy company with operations in more than 110 countries and territories, with businesses including: oil and gas exploration; production and marketing of liquefied natural gas and gas to liquids; marketing and shipping of oil products and chemicals; and renewable energy projects including wind, solar and biofuels.

Shell is committed to a responsible energy future and the needs of its customers for cleaner, affordable, and convenient supplies of energy.

- End -

For further information, please contact:
Claire Wilkinson, Claire.Wilkinson@shell.com, +61 (0)416 924822