Backed by its expertise in industrial processes and its knowledge of subsoil geology, Total turned its attention early on to the potential of CO2 capture and storage technology and has teamed up with various experts in a number of national and international R&D projects in this field.

The Group aims to contribute to the emergence and mastery of this technology, vital to the sustainable pursuit and growth of its own activities, but offering applications in many other industrial processes as well.
Total is currently devoting much of its effort to the oxyfuel combustion option, with a high-profile demonstration pilot in preparation in the Lacq basin in southwest France, without neglecting the possibilities of post-combustion and chemical-looping technologies.

Research programs

The various studies that Total has undertaken jointly with French and international research partners focus on aspects including capture technologies; the physical-chemical properties of CO2 in the storage formation; the long-term integrity of reservoirs and boreholes; and methods of risk analysis. In addition to its involvement in numerous research projects being pursued under the programs of the French National Research Agency (ANR) – including the Géocarbone-Picoref project aimed at identifying potential geological storage sites in France, Total is participating in projects at the European level, such as ENCAP (Enhanced CAPture of CO2) and CO2 ReMove. The Group is involved in CO2NET, a network of industries and research bodies dedicated to promoting the deployment of geological CO2 storage applications in Europe and neighboring countries.

Furthermore, in February 2007, Total announced the launch of France’s first demonstration pilot spanning the entire capture and storage process for the CO2 emissions associated with steam generation in the Lacq basin.

	The Geocarbone-Picoref project in focus Picoref (the French acronym for &ldquotrapping of CO2 in reservoirs in France&rdquo) is a research project aimed at paving the way for industrial pilots to demonstrate the injection of carbon dioxide into the French subsoil (namely in hydrocarbon reservoirs and saline aquifers). In this project, which is coordinated by the French petroleum institute IFP and involves fourteen partners, Total contributes to improved knowledge of the subsoil by providing seismic data and taking part in simulations and methodology studies on topics such as EOR and long-term CO2 storage. The project scope also encompasses regulatory aspects and preparations for seeking the authorizations that will be required for future demonstration projects.

Industrial Projects

Even as it pursues the Lacq pilot development, Total is a partner in a number of other industrial demonstration projects.

In addition to being a partner since 1996 in the injection of CO2 from the Sleipner field into an aquifer (with Statoil as operator), Total is involved in the CO2 injection project on the Snøhvit gas field in the Norwegian Sea, also operated by Statoil. The CO2 will be separated onshore in an LNG (liquefied natural gas) plant, then conveyed offshore by pipeline and injected via subsea wells into the saline aquifers of the Tubäen sandstone, at a depth of 2,600 meters.

                                            
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