Preliminary Assessment of CO2 Storage Potential in the Rovuma Sedimentary Basin, Mozambique

Abstract

Vast natural gas discoveries have been reported in recent years in the offshore sector of the Rovuma sedimentary basin, Mozambique. Subsequently the Mozambique Government approved a natural gas development plan contemplating, amongst other scenarios, the construction of natural gas processing plants in the Municipalities of Palma and Pemba.

The work presented in this article is a preliminary assessment of the CO2 storage potential in the onshore Rovuma Basin, which for that purpose was subdivided into four sectors. Only the Palma - Mocímboa da Praia and Macomia - North Pemba sectors are conditions suitable for safe CO2 storage. In the Palma - Mocímboa da Praia sector, situated in the NE part of the Rovuma basin, where the potential reservoirs are the Alto Jingone/Quissanga Formation and the Mikindani Formation, the prospective storage capacity is estimated to range from 150 Mt to 300 Mt. In the Macomia - North Pemba sector, the reservoir consists of the lower units of the Pemba Formation, dating from the Upper Jurassic/Lower Cretaceous, with an estimated storage capacity varying from 85 Mt to 170 Mt.

Mozambique seems to present an interesting case in favour of developing CCS projects under in the Clean Development Mechanism. This article aims to raise awareness between national authorities and research institutions about the relevance of initiating a detailed assessment of the CO2 storage in Mozambique, namely in the Rovuma basin.