Research Jointly developed initiative begins next month

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JOHN SHMUEL
TELEGRAPH-JOURNAL

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A collaborative effort between UNB researchers, Irving Oil and the provincial government will explore whether storing carbon dioxide deep underground is a feasible solution to reduce the impact of greenhouse gases on the environment.

The project, which was jointly developed by the three parties in the last few months, will begin its initial research phase in July when nearly 100 years of data from oil and gas drilling sites in a corridor from Sussex to south Moncton will be analyzed.

"There's data there from those bore holes that we can go and have a look at, and assess to look for suitability for carbon storage," said Dr. David Keighley, a professor with the department of geology at the University of New Brunswick's Fredericton campus.

Keighley said that no actual drilling will take place during the analysis. Rather, data and core samples from previous projects will be examined to see if storing carbon in former oil and natural gas deposits is feasible.

"Consider that you have two balloons. One of them has got a small pinhole in it. If you try to inflate the one with a pinhole in it, the air will quickly escape," said Keighley. "When you pump up the other balloon, you're storing compressed air in it. So those are the type of reservoirs we're looking for."

The idea of Carbon capture and storage has been gaining momentum as a means of addressing greenhouse gas emissions recently. The process often involves capturing large amounts of such gases, produced from industrial facilities like oil refining plants, and storing them in places where they can't escape into the environment.

Lesley MacLeod, spokeswoman for Irving Oil, said the company is involved in the project to find a means to reduce its carbon footprint.

"It is a potential method of mitigating carbon dioxide emissions," said MacLeod. "Should it prove feasible in the general region, it would be a very positive outcome, not only for our operations, but for other industries as well."

The initial study will begin in July and last for roughly six months as data is shifted through and analyzed. Keighley will carry out the research with an associate from UNB, backed by a $71,000 investment from Irving Oil and the New Brunswick Climate Change Secretariat.

Earlier this year, experts in carbon storage met in Fredericton to determine whether New Brunswick could use former oil and natural gas drill sites as a method to store greenhouse gases.

"We're not looking at it as a solution, we're looking at it as an opportunity to further study this. We're far, far away from actually storing carbon," said Dean Mundee, director of New Brunswick's Climate Change Secretariat.

Although results about the feasibility of storing greenhouse gases in the ground won't be revealed until about January, Keighley said that if it does get the go-ahead that residents shouldn't be worried.

He said the reason the study was taking place was to examine not only the feasibility, but also potential problems. Dangers with storing gases like carbon dioxide underground include the gas seeping up to the surface again if the storage site is not secure. If it seeps into water for example, it can cause the water to become acidic.

"There's always some sort of risk with anything that's concentrated in one location, in that sense," said Keighley. "But it's no where near the same order of magnitude as leaking radioactive waste for example."