Oil and gas: carbon storage public register
The Carbon Storage Public Register
On 1st April 2015 certain functions passed from the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) to the Oil and Gas Authority (OGA) a newly created Executive Agency of DECC
Requirement for a Public Register
Article 25 of the Directive on Geological Storage requires that the competent authority shall establish and maintain a register of the storage permits granted; and a permanent register of all closed storage sites and surrounding storage complexes, including maps and sections of their spatial extent and available information relevant for assessing that the stored CO2 will be completely and permanently contained. The register shall be taken into consideration by the competent national authorities in relevant planning procedures and when permitting any activity that could affect or be affected by the geological storage of CO2 in the registered storage sites
Section 29 of the Energy Act provides that the Secretary of State must maintain a register containing prescribed information relating to licences. The Act sets out a number of exemptions to information being provided such as iformation that would be contrary to the interests of national security.
The OGA wishes the register to provide as much information as possible on a storage development. To this end the register should contain all the items listed below.
A: A copy of the licence, which will show: Name and address of the licence holders and the operator; The appraisal term (during which the storage permit must be applied for); Licence assignments if any; Whether the licence has been revoked or relinquished; The TCE lease number.
B: A copy of the storage permit, which will show: The injection period (the operational term); The committed volume of CO2 to be stored over the operational term; The permitted composition of the CO2 to be injected; Maps showing the extent of the storage site and the storage complex; The approved monitoring plan (including updated monitoring plans); The approved corrective measures plan; The approved provisional post closure plan; The composition of the financial security
C: Copies of any written opinions received from the European Commission on the draft permit, and the reasons stated by the competent authority in the event that it has departed from those opinions.
D: Estimates of the total volume of storage capacity for carbon dioxide available in the storage site.
E: Notices served by the competent authority.
F: Details of significant irregularities or leakage events and remedial actions.
G: Copies of all other reports to the competent authority.
