OFFSHORE CARBON STORAGE DATA COLLECTION AND INTERNATIONAL OFFSHORE CARBON STORAGE PROJECT INVENTORY

Research and development are accelerating geologic carbon storage (GCS) efforts as decarbonization strategies are being implemented worldwide. Offshore GCS presents differing advantages to onshore GCS, such as distance from population centers, the overlying water column, lower community impact of CO₂ leakage, some existing infrastructure, simplified leasing processes and pore space claims, with vast potential CO₂ storage resources within sedimentary basins and igneous deposits. However, challenges arise due to distance from major point sources, CO₂ transportation infrastructure, immature regulation and procedures, and extreme met-ocean (meteorological-oceanographic) environments, that vary depending on the location and setting of the GCS project. We present an interactive data collection to aggregate, understand, and disseminate the data that are publicly available to support offshore GCS which can be leveraged by stakeholders to understand where GCS may be viable offshore, create GCS project analogs, and address challenges to GCS in offshore environments. The Offshore Geologic Carbon Storage Data Collection is an Experience Builder web application of multiple web mapping applications, aggregated into a single tool for each data type for access, visualization, and exploration.

We also present a spatial inventory of global offshore GCS efforts to visualize the scale and locations of actualized and potential offshore GCS. It includes project location, project type and stage, CO₂ storage resource potential, injection rate, reservoir and seal geology, and key literature references. Quantitative and qualitative comparisons of the distribution and magnitude of projects by their attributes lends spatial insight into the status of global GCS operations and storage resource potential, thereby enabling comparative assessments and cross-cutting knowledge transfer for projects in development. These datasets illuminate trends in ongoing offshore projects and can be leveraged by stakeholders to estimate storage resources, identify subsurface analogs, review regulations, and address challenges to offshore GCS. Additionally, opportunities for concurrent decarbonization strategies can be identified.