Carbon Dioxide Geological Storage Potential of the Baltic Sedimentary Basin

CO2 geological storage opportunities in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are studied within the framework of EU GEOCAPACITY and CO2NET EAST projects supported by EC FP6. The structure of the energy sector and geological conditions are different in these countries. CO2 emissions are the highest in Estonia owing to the use of the oil shale for energy production. The three Baltic States are located within the Baltic sedimentary basin, the thickness of which varies from 100 m in NE Estonia up to 1900 m in SW Latvia and 2300 m in western Lithuania. The most prospective formation for the geological storage of CO2 is the Cambrian reservoir, including 15 large structures in Latvia that can store more than 300 Mt of CO2. The tightness of structures is evidenced by 40 years of successful operation of the Inchukalins Underground Gas Storage (UGS). Geological conditions are unfavorable for CO2 storage in Estonia. An option of transporting CO2 from Estonia via pipelines to one of the Latvian storage structures could be considered. In Lithuania the capacity of CO2 storage in Cambrian and Devonian structures as well as in oil fields is negligible, but solubility and mineral CO2 trapping is a long-term option.