Good practices

SECURe has gathered unbiased, impartial scientific evidence for risk mitigation and monitoring for environmental protection to support subsurface geoenergy development. Our main research outputs underpin recommendations that we have collated in nine factsheets.

The risk framework developed by SECURe identified four principal hazards associated with geological carbon dioxide (CO2) storage (CCS), and five associated with unconventional hydrocarbons extraction (UHE). 

Our recommendations seek to provide a pragmatic and reasonable response to these concerns: they can be used to inform site development and management strategies from the perspective of multiple stakeholders (operators, regulators, legislators and the general public). Each headline recommendation is underpinned by project technical reports, available here.

The project employed the 'bowtie' risk assessment approach, which identifies a series of barriers that prevent a principal hazard ('top event') from occurring. Each factsheet addresses a single top event that can occur if control of a hazard is lost and provides recommendations to help mitigate them. 

The top events were identified through a literature review of hazards, threats, consequences and barriers associated with CO2 storage. The recommendations can be considered to inform preventative (such as a limit on operations) or mitigative (such as a technical measure that limits the chain of consequence arising from the top event) strategies for risk management.

Participatory monitoring formed a key part of SECURe’s research. The value of participatory monitoring approaches was captured and embedded within each bowtie risk assessment. Because participatory monitoring is relevant to the management of many aspects of the top events, we have created an overview participatory monitoring factsheet detailing our recommendations in this area. 

  • Detailed recognition of the storage reservoir and confinement needs to be established, including identification of all existing faults in the possible injection operations’ influenced zone (SECURe report D3.7 and SECURe report D3.8)
  • A cost-effective and timely environmental baseline should always be established prior to any CCS activities commencing, supported by early site appraisals, to define the environmental conditions prior to CCS activities and to account for natural and external anthropogenic temporal variation
  • Monitoring programmes demonstrate to stakeholders that sites are evolving as expected, or deviations in behaviour can identify anomalies.
  • Methodologies that can attribute the source of CO2 will also be needed and the use of continuous sampling methodologies for at least one year prior to the start of operations is recommended (SECURe report D3.6)
  • In onshore storage operations, the sampling network for environmental baseline monitoring, ongoing monitoring throughout operation and post-operation monitoring should ensure that sampling is undertaken in all major hydrogeological units at suitable depths to protect groundwater from potential contamination — existing relevant boreholes should be utilised and bespoke boreholes drilled where necessary
Factsheet 1 [CCS]
Release of CO2 at pressure from a well during injection
Factsheet 2 [CCS]
Release of CO2/formation waters from the storage complex through wells
Factsheet 3 [CCS]
Release of CO2/formation waters from primary storage reservoirs through geological formations/discontinuities
Factsheet 4 [CCS]
Induced/triggerred seismicity or aseismic earth movement associated with CO2 injection
Factsheet 5 [UHE]
Release of natural gas from well during exploration and production and after closure
Factsheet 6 [UHE]
Release of natural gas from shale production zone
Factsheet 7 [UHE]
Release of hydraulic fracturing fluid or flowback waters under pressure during, between and following hydraulic fracturing
Factsheet 8 [UHE]
Release of hydraulic fracturing/flowback or formation fluids from the shale production zone
Factsheet 9 [UHE]
Induced/triggerred seismicity or aseismic earth movement associated with hydraulic fracturing