IEA Greenhouse Gas (IEA-GHG) The IEA Greenhouse Gas R&D Programme (IEA GHG) is an international funded organisation supported by 16 member countries, the European Commission and seven industrial sponsors. The IEA GHG is a major international collaboration activity investigating the technology for reducing the emissions of greenhouse gases.
The IEA Greenhouse Gas R&D Programme has three main activities:
• Evaluating technologies
• Publicising the results
• Facilitating practical research, development and demonstration.
Most attention has been given to the option of capturing CO2 from the combustion of fossil fuels, with subsequent storage or utilisation.
The Programme was founded in 1981 and now in its third phase of operation. Phase 5 of the Programme will commence in December 2004 and run until November 2009.
IEA GHG has undertaken a sustained programme to study the options for CO2 storage during its lifetime. Technical studies completed or underway on geological storage include:
• World-wide potential for enhancing the extraction of coal bed methane combined with CO2 storage
• Assessment of the economics of enhanced coal bed methane extraction with CO2 storage
• Potential for storage of CO2 as mineral carbonates
• Barriers to the implementation of CO2 capture and storage in disused oil and gas fields
• Potential for CO2 storage combined with extraction of methane hydrates.
The IEA GHG has also been actively involved in the establishment and operation of a number of practical R&D Projects. These projects include the following European Commission activities: SACS, GESTCO, RECOPOL, NASCENT, NGCAS, CO2STORE and CASTOR. Other projects include: the Weyburn monitoring project and Enchanced Gas Recovery projects in Canada and the GEO-SEQ and COAL-SEQ projects in the USA.
IEA GHG was also a founder member of the European thematic network CO2NET along with Statoil, GEUS and Technology Initiatives. IEA GHG has also participated as a partner in CO2NET2.
