Researchers from Xiamen University's College of Ocean and Earth Sciences and the State Key Laboratory of Marine Environmental Science have mapped the prospective geological storage resources for carbon dioxide in the Taixi Basin, located in the Taiwan Strait.
Their findings, published in the International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control under the title "Assessment of prospective CO2 geological storage resources in the Taiwan Strait", provide a critical reference for future offshore carbon storage planning in Fujian province and Taiwan.
Geological storage of carbon dioxide is a key pathway for large-scale, cost-effective reduction of global emissions. The Taixi Basin, which connects Fujian and Taiwan, contains multiple sandstone reservoirs capped by mudstone layers and is divided into five principal sags: Taizhong Sag, Xinzhu Sag, Jiulongjiang Sag, Jinjiang Sag, and Chongwu Sag. These structural features create favorable conditions for offshore carbon dioxide storage, offering significant potential to accommodate industrial emissions.
Using a three-dimensional geological model, the team integrated seismic and drilling data across the basin's five sags and applied the US Department of Energy volumetric method, considering scenarios both with and without pressure constraints. Their analysis estimates the Taixi Basin's theoretical carbon dioxide storage capacity at 16.3 to 62.2 gigatons, with effective resources of 5.03 to 12.3 gigatons.
The researchers also highlight the importance of avoiding areas with dense fault networks during early site selection to ensure long-term storage stability. They recommend further drilling and high-resolution seismic surveys to refine fault mapping, assess shale detachment ratios, and model geomechanical risks under injection pressures.
