Shell, BP May Reap `Serious Profit' by Using CO2 in Oil Fields

[dipsydoodle]

Source: Bloomberg

Royal Dutch Shell Plc and BP Plc stand to make “serious profit” by pumping carbon dioxide from European power plants into North Sea oil fields, according to Petroleum and Renewable Energy Co.

Putting carbon dioxide into old wells may yield profits of as much as $40 a metric ton of oil in the next decade, Stewart Whiteley, managing director at the consultant known as Petrenel, said yesterday at a seminar at London’s Geological Society.

“You can start making serious profits out of this,” Whiteley said. Energy companies should look to extract extra oil out of multiple fields in the North Sea, rather than work on individual fields, he said. “It’s a matter of whoever gets there first.”

Enhanced oil recovery involves pumping carbon dioxide or other gases into underground reservoirs to extract more crude than would be obtained through natural pressure. The process has the advantage of extending the lifespan of an oil field, while permanently burying the pollutant. Carbon capture and storage has been touted as a way of slashing emissions of CO2, a greenhouse gas blamed for climate change.

Read more: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-09-15/shell-bp-may-reap-serious-profit-by-using-co2-in-oil-fields.html

[truthisfreedom]

1. I can visualize this backfiring horribly.

Despite how cute it looks on paper.

[caraher]

2. Absolutely

It's more about turning global warming into a profit engine than anything else...

[AngryAmish]

6. What do you think cap and trade is?

The idea is to make people who want to pump out CO2 to pay for it via permits to do so. Then they get to trade these, pollute less and get the cash.

So the part of the game is to get as many permits as you can. Say that you have plans to emit 100 units in the future, only emit 40 then get cash on the 60. So if you own a bunch of trees then say you are planning to sell them for firewood. Then you get permits for five years. Sell the permits. Then after five years sell the firewood.

This is the plan. And the trading exchanges (Chicago Climate Exchange, for example) gets 1% off the top.

Only someone with bad intentions would game the system. Thankfully, no one would ever try to game the system because that gives Captain Planet a sad.

[Nihil]

3. Believe it.

Using the product of fossil fuel combustion to extract more fossil fuel
to combust ... way to accelerate the ongoing f***-up for the sake of a
short-term profit ...

:mad:

Also notice the greenwash from the company in the OP - like there's
anything "renewable" about fossil fuel extraction ...

[feslen]

4. and destroy more lives and ruin more lands in the process

hooray for them!

[dipsydoodle]

5. ruin more lands ?

How do you figure that ?