ISO TC 265 Establishes Working Group on Carbon Dioxide Storage through Enhanced Oil Recovery

International Organization for Standardization (ISO) Technical Committee (TC) 265, Carbon dioxide capture, transportation, and geological storage, recently announced the creation of a new working group (WG) focused on standardization in connection with enhanced oil recovery (EOR)-related carbon dioxide (CO2) storage. The new group, WG 6, CO2 EOR, was created at the TC's third meeting, held at the China University of Petroleum-Beijing on September 23-25, 2013.

During the meeting, the U.S. and Norway proposed the creation of WG 6 following a presentation on CO2 EOR. The U.S. Technical Advisory Group (TAG) to ISO TC 265, which is administered by CSA Group, an American National Standards Institute (ANSI) organizational member and accredited standards developer, named Kipp Coddington, an expert on carbon capture and storage (CCS) and a partner at Kazmarek Mowrey Cloud Laseter LLP, to serve as the co-convener of WG 6 and Julie Weis, CSA Group's project manager - alternative energy, as the working group's project manager. ANSI has delegated the convenership of WG 6 to CSA Group.

The new working group will focus on standardization efforts associated with low-pressure subsurface oil field operating environments and related CO2 recovery operations, as well as the harmonization of CO2 supplies with EOR operations both on a daily basis and over multi-year operational horizons, among other topics. WG 6 plans to issue an international call for expert participation in its development of standards and other documents related to CO2 EOR. In addition, the working group is currently making preparations for the next ISO TC 265 meeting, scheduled for April 2014 in Berlin.

ISO TC 265 was first established in 2011 with a focus on advancing standardization in connection with CCS worldwide, including the development of related standards, technical specifications, and technical reports. Since its creation, the following WGs have been established to support the development of these documents:

• WG 1, Capture - Carries out standardization work in connection with pre-combustion, post-combustion, and oxyfuel combustion capture, as well as the separation, purification, compression, pumping, and liquefaction of CO2 streams, among other related topics.
• WG 2, Transportation - Develops documents related to the transportation of captured CO2 by rail, truck, or ship, as well as relevant health, safety, and environmental issues related to its transportation.
• WG 3, Storage - Focuses on standardization work associated with the storage of captured CO2 in saline aquifers and depleted hydrocarbon reservoirs, including site selection, construction, risk assessment, storage monitoring and storage leaking avoidance.
• WG 4, Quantification & verification - Develops standards and other related documents associated with the monitoring and verification of CO2 capture and storage, including subjects such as CO2 quantification procedure, third-party verification, and relevant detection limits.
• WG 5, Crosscutting issues - Focuses on standardization in connection with CCS-related risk management, reporting, terminology, and public engagement, along with other related topics.

For more information about ISO TC 265 and WG 6, contact Steven Carpenter, vice president, Advanced Resources International, and the head of the U.S. delegation to ISO TC 265, by phone at 513-460-0360, or by email at [email protected].