Free access to the UK’s national CO2 storage database “CO2 Stored” through a new website

The Crown Estate and the British Geological Survey now offer free, licenced access to the CO₂ Stored database for subscribers via a more user-friendly website.

This web-enabled database, hosted and managed by The Crown Estate and the British Geological Survey (BGS) under licence from the Energy Technologies Institute, is now free to access to all subscribers, a saving on a typical licence of up to £4,000 per year on an individual basis. In addition, the website has been enhanced to help users navigate the wealth of complex data and to set out more clearly information on how key attributes such as storage capacity of geological units have been calculated.

The website and database is first of its kind anywhere in the world and adds substantial value to the nation’s data that has been collected over many decades of offshore oil and gas operations.  It contains geological data, storage estimates and risk assessments of nearly 600 potential CO₂ storage units of depleted oil and gas reservoirs, and saline aquifers around the UK.

The Crown Estate manages the CO₂ geological storage rights on the UK continental shelf and is committed to advancing the assessment and management of the offshore storage resource. The UK is potentially well served by offshore CO₂ storage and this database enables interested stakeholders to access information enabling more informed decisions related to the roll out of Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) infrastructure in the UK as well as to reduce the early stage cost of offshore storage site selection.

The ETI launched its £3.8 million UK CO₂ storage appraisal project in October 2009 with its outcomes creating the database which went live under the stewardship of The Crown Estate and British Geological Survey in early 2013.

Dr Ward Goldthorpe, Programme Manager CCS and Gas Storage said: “As an active manager of the UK seabed, we’re committed to unlocking value from this natural asset, including working with industry to develop the emerging carbon capture storage sector on the path to commercialisation.  As part of this, we’re investing alongside the British Geological Survey to ensure the CO2 stored website and database provides researchers, industry and other interested bodies with the best available knowledge and support the UK’s transition to a low carbon economy over the long term.”

Robert Gatliff, Director for Energy & Marine Geoscience at the British Geological Survey said: "The North Sea has the potential to develop into a major global hub for this new decarbonising technique. The release of this database is another step towards trials and commercial storage of CO2 as a contribution to tackling the effects of burning fossil fuels."

View the CO2 Stored website here.