China’s first undersea Carbon dioxide (CO2) re-injection well, developed by the China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), has begun drilling in the Pearl River mouth basin.

The new well fills a void in the country’s offshore CO2 storage technology.

CO2 re-injection refers to the technology that injects the captured CO2 into the land at a depth of 800m to 3,500m underground or the sea salt water layer.

Carbon reinjection is an internationally-recognised technology to promote carbon emission reduction.

A recent survey by China’s Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) showed that the stratigraphy of offshore China has the potential to store up to 25trn tonnes of CO2.