SYDNEY, N.S. – A group in Nova Scotia is conducting geological research in the hope of one day storing carbon dioxide emissions more than a kilometre underground in the Sydney area.
The Carbon Capture and Storage Research Consortium of Nova Scotia is trying to determine if the Sydney sub-basin is capable of storing approximately two megatonnes of C02 a year.
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Consortium president and chief executive officer Carl Poirier says the emissions would be stored under pressure in a condensed state, which makes the C02 act like water.
The consortium is planning a seismic survey to determine the extent of Sydney’s onshore geological reservoir and will ask permission from about 90 landowners to carry out the research.
Bob Martin, project manager for LXL Consulting Ltd., which is conducting the seismic testing, says holes will be drilled up to nine metres deep, while blasters will be used to capture a picture of what layers of rock exist underground.
Poirier says similar C02 capturing projects exist internationally, as well as in Canada, including a $1-billion project in Alberta that collects approximately one megatonne of C02 per year.
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