Rockwash initiate major UK cuttings project to investigate CO2 storage potential

Rockwash Geodata is pleased to announce a major new cuttings digitalisation project being undertaken at the UK National Geological Repository, part of the British Geological Survey (BGS) digitalising all available cuttings samples from 120 wells across the Southern North Sea to identify and characterise potential CO₂ storage sites.

In October 2021, a Rockwash sample processing facility was installed at the UKNGR in Keyworth, which will employ proprietary sample cleaning, preparation and analytical procedures. The project will make use of the archived legacy samples from the petroleum exploration industry (held on behalf of the Oil and Gas Authority – OGA) to build a comprehensive geological dataset and report that will support the emerging CCUS industry in the UK’s East Coast Cluster. The database will aim to mitigate geological risk associated with potential CO₂ storage sites by providing new data with implications for reservoir injectivity and seal effectiveness throughout the entire stratigraphic column.

Having recently been awarded ‘Track-1’ funding by the UK Government, the East Coast Cluster is now scheduled for deployment by the mid-2020s with an ambition of being the first net zero industrial cluster by 2040.

Doug Langton, Director of Rockwash Geodata said: “We are delighted to have initiated this project in a timely manner and to be in a strong position to actively support the Government’s ambition to develop CO₂ storage projects in the Southern North Sea, as part of its aim to meet its 2050 Net Zero target. This project will build on proven techniques developed by Rockwash to digitalise every cuttings sample from every well on the Norwegian Continental Shelf on behalf of industry body Norsk Olje & Gass (NOROG), where the data are already being utilised effectively by Norwegian CCUS groups.”

Mike Howe, BGS Chief Curator and Head of NGR Collections said: “This is an excellent example of using the NGR Collections to support net zero. The OGA legacy well samples are key to many gas storage projects, whilst other samples are critical to the safe storage of radioactive waste or the search for critical metals. We are delighted that Rockwash are making good use of a key national resource.”