TC-265: Development of the First Internationally Accepted Standard for Geologic Storage of Carbon Dioxide Under Organization of International Standardization (ISO)

The Carbon Capture Utilization & Sequestration (Storage) (CCUS) marketplace is lacking standardization and therefore the ability to allow CCUS projects to be advance as Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) projects. The international effort between the United States and Canada, funded by and the International Performance Assessment Centre for Geologic Storage of Carbon Dioxide (IPAC-CO2 Research Inc.), and managed by CSA Standards, have developed the first internationally recognized Standard for the geologic storage of carbon dioxide Z-741.

The Z-741 Standard has been adopted by the Standards Council of Canada (SCC) and is available to the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). As a direct result of Z-741, the International Standards Organization (ISO) has created a technical committee to advance the development of comprehensive standards that address carbon capture, utilization, and storage. ISO established the Technical Committee TC-265 and the first meeting was held in Paris in June 2012. The objective of the technical committee is to develop and secure a global consensus on a uniform set of rules and criteria that can appropriately, dependably and efficiently applied to CCS projects.

TC-265 has only three short years to develop this framework. Since the kick-off meeting in Paris last summer, participating countries have submitted proposal to lead working groups within the TC-265 committee. The countries reconvened February 4-5, 2013 in Madrid and five working groups were established, scopes of work and individual Secretariats or “conveners” of the working groups were determined.  The capture working group is led by Japan, the transportation working group is led by Germany, the storage working group is jointly led by Canada and Japan, the quantification working group is led by China, and the cross-cutting issues working group is led by France.

The presentation will address key issues experienced in the CSA and ISO processes, drawing from experts with full GSC project life cycle knowledge and experience – general interest, operators/industry, regulatory, and consultant/service providers, which represent a balance of stakeholder needs. A progress report of the ISO TC-265 committee as well as implications of the process and participation will be discussed.