Carbon tracking

Researchers funded by the US Department of Energy (DOE) are teaming up with European scientists to track injected carbon dioxide (CO₂) in the world’s first and longest running carbon storage operation located at the Sleipner gas field in the North Sea.

The researchers - from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego, and the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory (LDEO) in New York - will conduct surveys on the seafloor to monitor injected CO₂ in the 1km-deep reservoir, where more than 10 million tonnes of CO₂ have been stored to date.

An ocean vessel will position sensitive gravity meters on the seafloor using a ship-tethered remotely operated vehicle that will carry them. Data from the instruments on the seafloor will then be transmitted to operators aboard the ship.

Academic researchers from Scripps and LDEO will collaborate with their Norwegian colleagues from StatoilHydro in the analysis of the results. The project will create approximately eight full-time jobs per year, which will be supported throughout the two-year project.