Prospects of CCS Projects Implementation in Russia: Environmental Protection and Economic Opportunities

The urgency of environmental protection is determined by its intensive change because of human impact, which, among other things, accompanied by an increasing of carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions. One of the ways to reduce the emission is Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) technologies. To date, developed countries have successfully implemented a number of CCS demonstration projects. Their main purpose is to study the effectiveness of CO₂ storage. Russia is one of the world’s largest producers of CO₂ emissions. However, CO₂ capture and storage issues are not studied by Russian enterprises due to the absence of environmental taxes. The experience of developed countries shows that CO₂ storage projects, in addition to the reduction of anthropogenic impact, can be commercially effective not only by reducing the tax burden. This review presents the analysis of international experience in the field of CO₂ capture and storage. Given the immaturity of technology and lack of the necessary volume of statistical data, it was an attempt to determine the minimum conditions, which permit the implementation of CCS projects in Russian oil fields. On the basis of the Russian development forecast and the fuel balance structure the volumes of CO₂ emissions in the 2016–2030 years were calculated. According to significant difference in opinions about the feasibility of CCS implementation in Russia, this review presents the main arguments for and against such projects. Evaluation of the potential effectiveness of CCS projects to enhance oil recovery factor showed that in spite of the absence of CO₂ emissions taxes, such projects could be commercially effective in Russia due to the increase in oil recovery.