Repsol's CO2 plan to cut emissions, boost oil well 17/03/2008 00:00

A plan to inject half a million tonnes of carbon dioxide per year into shrinking oil wells underneath the Mediterranean Sea will help Spanish oil firm Repsol YPF pump more crude and protect the environment.

17 March 2008

MADRID - A plan to inject half a million tonnes of carbon dioxide per year into shrinking oil wells underneath the Mediterranean Sea will help Spanish oil firm Repsol YPF pump more crude and protect the environment, company sources have revealed.

The plan, the first of its kind in Europe, represents a novel use of carbon sequestration technology to increase the pressure in ageing oil wells the company drilled 27 years ago some 40 kilometres off the coast of Tarragona. Repsol hopes that by filling the wells with CO2 from its Tarragona refinery it will be able to extend their lifespan, while also offsetting some of the company's environmental costs.

The financial costs of carbon sequestering, meanwhile, are amply covered by the present sky-high price of crude oil, which exceeded USD 110 a barrel last week.

[Copyright El Pais / RAFAEL MÉNDEZ 2008]