New report on enhanced oil recovery published

The Centre’s Carbon Capture and Legal Programme has published a new report analysing in depth for the first time environmental and energy legislation relating to enhanced oil recovery operations (EOR) in the United Kingdom using carbon dioxide. In the current depressed emissions trading market combined with a continuing squeeze on public finances, operations that combine enhanced oil recovery with carbon capture and storage (CCS) may proved vital for securing commercial investment in CCS.

The Report examines international conventions, the 2009 EU Directive, and the regulations implementing the Directive within the United Kingdom. It is clear that recent CCS legislation, especially the EU Directive, has not been drafted with the full implications of EOR taken on board, and the Report idenfities a number of signficiant legal issues where EOR operations are combined with long-term CO2 storage.

‘Legal Status of CO2 – Enhanced Oil Recovery’ written by Professor Richard Macrory with Chiara Armeni, Chris Clarke, Sarah Doherty, Eva Van Der Marel, Ben Milligan, and Ray Purdy was commissioned by the University of Edinburgh’s Scottish Carbon Capture and Storage (SCCS) and is available on their web-site.