Scotland will fill oil wells with carbon waste

An alternative to releasing CO2 into the air is being discussed in Scotland, according to a study recently released by Minister Alex Salmond that CCS (carbon capture and storage) methods are being considered for placing around 50 billion tons of greenhouse emissions under the seas, over the next 20 years.

The CO2 would be placed under the sea in Scottish waters and the oil would be taken from the North Sea utilising the new CCS techniques, which coincidently would reduce greenhouse gases while creating approximately 10,000 more jobs for Scottish people.

The study was released by Press and Journal and states that oil fields that have been closed under the seabed, or those soon to close, could be used over the next twenty years for extra oil and CO2 storage.

There are 29 sites in consideration currently, with undisclosed locations that could potentially produce around 3 billion more barrels of oil, including Brent and Forties fields which are due to close soon.

CO2 will be placed in saline aquifers, which are pockets in the seabed that have a high concentration of salt water which will seal in the CO2, and the gas will be collected and converted to liquid that can be sold as oil.

The study results from the Scottish Government and the Scottish Centre for Carbon Storage speculate that over 46 billion tones of CO2 could be stored under the North Sea.

Salmond stated that Scotland is glad to take the first step in an initiative placed by the government for more CCS testing and hopes to display how environmentally sound and economically productive CCS can be for the country.

If CCS works as the Scottish government hopes, it could play a large role in reducing greenhouse emissions across the UK and prevent an increase in global warming effects.