Directive 2009/31/EC on the geological storage of carbon dioxide
Introduction
The EU Directive on the geological storage of carbon dioxide ('The Directive') was adopted by the Council of Ministers on 6 April 2009 and entered into force on 25 June 2009. Member States have until 25 June 2011 to transpose it into their respective national laws.
The Directive applies to both offshore and onshore geological storage of CO2. It establishes a comprehensive regulatory framework for geological storage and associated capture and transport activities. This section provides a summary of the specific offshore aspects of the regulatory framework. For an overview of the entire applicable framework see Onshore CO2 Storage.
EU Member States planning to pursue offshore CCS activities include the United Kingdom and the Netherlands.
Scope of application
For the purposes of the Directive, an offshore area of a Member State is the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and the continental shelf within the meaning of the United Nations Convention of the Law of the Sea, 1982 (UNCLOS). Under UNCLOS, the EEZ extends from the limit of the territorial sea (at 12 nautical miles from the coast) to a distance of 200 nautical miles from the coast. It must be declared by a State to enjoy specific rights. The continental shelf comprises of the seabed and subsoil of the submarine areas beyond the territorial sea. It extends up to 200 nautical miles from the coast even if the submerged promulgation does not extend that far. It is limited to 350 nautical miles from the coast or 100 nautical miles from the 2,500m isobath (a line connecting a depth of 2,500m). (Further detail on UNCLOS can be found in the International Marine Legislation pages.)
As with onshore storage, Member States retain the right to determine which offshore areas may be selected for storage sites. This includes the right not to allow for any offshore storage of CO2 streams.
Offshore provisions
The Directive provides that the storage of CO2 within a storage formation extending beyond the continental shelf is not permitted. Furthermore, the storage of CO2 in the water column is not permitted. A water column is defined as "the vertically continuous mass of water from the surface to the bottom sediments of a water body." This is consistent with requirements under the London Protocol and OSPAR Convention that injection of CO2 in offshore areas must be into a sub-soil geological formation.
For further details on the requirements for approvals, operational requirements and closure responsibilities for of CO2 storage projects in general, see Onshore CO2 Storage.
Guidance Documents
The European Commission has published a set of four guidance documents to assist stakeholders in the implementation of the CCS Directive in order to promote a consistent approach throughout the European Union. These documents cover: (1) the CO2 storage life cycle risk management framework; (2) characterisation of the storage complex, CO2 stream composition, monitoring and corrective measures; (3) criteria for transfer of responsibility to the competent authority; and (4) financial security and financial mechanisms.