A review and evaluation of geologic CO2 storage potential in major South African Sedimentary Basins, with emphasis on opportunities, challenges, and future perspectives for climate change mitigation

Abstract Carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emissions from fossil fuels and industry in South Africa amounted to 401.89 million tonnes in 2023, with implications for climate change and global warming. South Africa has committed to achieving net-zero carbon emissions by the year 2050. However, the transition to a low-carbon economy must be pursued sustainably and equitably, given South Africa’s reliance on coal and its status as a leading global coal producer. This highlights the potential of CCUS (carbon capture, utilisation, and storage) as a reliable solution for achieving a low-carbon economy. This study adopts a comprehensive and systematic review approach to identify potential opportunities, constraints, and future directions for geologic carbon capture and storage. This requires reviewing and evaluating relevant prior work conducted in various sedimentary basins across South Africa. These findings indicate that South Africa has significant potential for the sequestration of CO 2 in geologic formations, with a theoretical storage capacity of 150 gigatons, almost entirely offshore. However, there are impediments to putting a geologic carbon storage project into action. This includes but is not limited to infrastructure, financial issues, a lack of stakeholder support, regulatory restrictions, and technical difficulties. Significant work will be needed to evaluate realistic CO 2 storage potential, which will include detailed geological characterization: geophysics, petrophysics, geomechanics, geochemistry, sedimentology, and dynamic modelling of CO 2 sequestration. Furthermore, the engagement of policymakers, societal opinion shapers, and oil industry professionals, among many others, may help build stakeholder support.