The G8 commitment for 20 large scale CCS pilots by 2010

Dear Chairman, IEA, CSLF and IGCCSI representatives, speakers and Peer Review Delegates.

It is a great pleasure to introduce today’s Global Peer Review hosted by the IEA Working Party for Fossil Fuels as part of the G8-follow for the launch of the 20 CCS demonstration projects by 2010.

The climate change challenge is daunting, and is recognized by many as the biggest challenge facing the world society today.  Its likely effects on nature also suggest that we are facing a highly urgent situation, and that we therefore have to act now. 

The IPCC has concluded emissions must be reduced by 50 % to 85% by 2050 if global warming is to be confined between 2 - 2.4 degrees Celsius.  G8 leaders agreed at the Heiligendamm Summit in 2007 to seriously consider a global 50 % reduction target. 

Reducing CO2 emissions by 50 % represent a touch challenge. We need to accelerate all relevant technological options to the best of our efforts to sufficiently respond.   CCS offers a significant contribution we can not do without.  According to IEA, CCS may provide one fifth of the needed CO2 reductions.  Without CCS cost of climate stabilisation rises by 70 %.
 
Carbon capture and storage offers the potential to reduce CO2 emissions by as much as 85- 95% from fossil fuelled power plants.
A broad collaboration between all relevant parties in all countries, both developed and developing countries is needed to successfully realise this potential.   As a country with extensive experience with CCS, we stay highly committed to this key international task. 

As a major oil and gas producer and with our experience in CCS, Norway stands ready to bring CCS forward in the global energy context.
Together with the G8-focus on CCS, the CSLF (Carbon Sequestration Leadership Forum) Ministerial 12-14 October in London represent a key milestone in this context.  Norway is a co-host together with UK for this event.  We believe the CSLF Ministerial will provide an additional opportunity to promote CCS globally.
Norway has been pioneering in the field of CCS for quite some years.   The landmark example of this is, as you all know, the Sleipner Project.  At Sleipner 1 million tons of CO2 has been successfully stored in a saline aquifer more that 1000 meters below the seabed since 1996.
 
We hope Sleipner can serve as an important light house project and a blue print for others to follow.   As we speak, several High-level delegates visit Sleipner, and are just now witnessing how CCS is operated, at large scale, in real. 
As you saw from the video introduction, additional CCS light- house  projects have been implemented since then, also here in Norway, with the Snøhvit project.      
We are currently working with the next phase of CCS implement- tation in Norway.   At Mongstad, an industrial area located close to Bergen,  beside a gas-fired combined heat and power plant is currently under construction beside a refinery.  You will hear more about from the Mongstad project in just a short while, but let me say a few words about the overall scheme of the effort.

A Technology Centre Mongstad (TCM) is the first step in our plans to develop and implement CCS at Mongstad. Our goal is that TCM creates an arena for development, testing, and qualifying of CCS technology, and that knowledge and experience from TCM contributes to reduced costs and risks of carbon capture and storage.

The second step is a full-scale CCS facility at Mongstad. The implementation of full-scale CCS is both costly and technologically demanding. We have an extensive process of planning and preparations ahead of us, to establish full-scale CCS at Mongstad. The Norwegian Government is highly committed to this work.
CCS in Norway is more than industrial scale CCS.  Let me also mention our focus on research. 

CLIMIT, our cooperative program between Gassnova and the Research Council of Norway, relates to research, development and demonstration of technology associated with environmentally friendly power generation.
The project portfolio in the CLIMIT program will mainly focus on technology solutions for cost-effective CO2 capture. In addition, CLIMIT will prioritise development of knowledge and solutions for safe and reliable storage of CO2 in geological formations. The Climit-program manages approximately 150 mill. NOK for 2009 to support research and demonstration activities.

4th of February this year, the government established eight Centres for Environment-friendly Energy Research (CEER).  Two of these centres will have focus on CCS. The centres represent formalized collaborations between different research institutions in order to conduct concentrated, focused and long-term research of high international standard.  The industry is also part of the centres.
Government support of 10-20 mill. kroner is given to each centre every year for eight years, depending on the content of the centres – in total 125 mill. kroner a year to all the centres.

Recognizing the continued need for research, acceleration of CCS is clearly needed.  According to the IEA, as much as 55  500 MW power plants have to be equipped with CCS between 2010 and 2050 to reach IPCC’s ambition for climate emissions reductions.

I know how complicated the transition to industrial scale CCS projects really is. This is not plain sailing, and we do not have all the answers. We need to share our experiences and learn from each other. 
It is therefore with key interest I see that global activities within CCS are increasing.   Yet, except from a handful of early adopters plans and activities, power plants are still built without CCS.   The ongoing work for the G8 to support the launch of the first phase of large scale CCS demonstration projects globally is therefore very important.

I see from the programme there will be a tour around the world tacking stock on ongoing projects for CCS demonstrations.   I believe the CCS cases to be addressed during the Peer Review will shed valuable light over the key dimensions involved, and I trust discussions will be fruitful.

I wish you good luck on your Peer Review.

Thank you for your attention.