A Critical Review on the Opportunities and Challenges of Offshore Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage

Offshore Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS) is emerging as a critical strategy for achieving net-zero emissions, offering significant storage potential in depleted hydrocarbon reservoirs and deep saline aquifers while leveraging existing offshore infrastructure. This review summarizes recent advances in capture, transport, utilization, and storage technologies in the offshore industry. Case studies including Sleipner, Gorgon, and Northern Lights illustrate both the technical feasibility and the operational, economic, and regulatory challenges associated with large-scale deployment. While post-combustion capture and pipeline transport remain the most technologically mature approaches, significant uncertainties continue to exist regarding the logistics of marine transportation, reservoir integrity, and the robustness of monitoring frameworks. Policy and regulatory complexity, coupled with high capital costs and public acceptance issues, continue to constrain commercial viability. This review highlights that offshore CCUS holds significant promise but requires advances in monitoring technologies, cost reduction strategies, and harmonized international governance. Future research should focus on integrating CCUS with hydrogen production and renewable energy systems to accelerate large-scale deployment.