Revised dataset can facilitate CO2 storage planning

This revision is beneficial for planning of CO2 storage in the Utsira Group and Skade Formation in the North Sea.

There are high volumes of sand in the young part of the stratigraphic sequence in the North Sea, in the area between Sleipner in the south and the Møre Basin at 62 degrees north. Most of this sand was deposited in Miocene time. Small volumes of gas are captured in these sands, but the industry has not conducted thorough studies of the occurrence due to poor commercial interest. The interest of these sands is now changing due to the new CCS industry, and the potential for storage of CO2.

In 2022, the Norwegian Offshore Directorate published a revised classification and naming protocol for these sands on its website.

The formation tops that have been listed on our FactPages were not consistent with the revised classification and naming, which made them difficult to use for mapping of storage potential.

We have now reviewed around 800 wells and revised top and bottom for the Utsira Group and the Skade Formation, so they are consistent.

The figure illustrates the youngest sediments deposited during the Tertiary period, which is important information for CO2 storage.

In areas where the sands are highly re-mobilised and forms injectites, we have attempted to use the term “No formal name”, so the formation names only occur once in each well. Tops have also been added for the Pleistocene sands in the Snotra Formation and Tampen Spur Member, as these tops were not previously published.