Africa & MENA: Karoo Basin & North African Aquifers

From South Africa’s Karoo formations to the Sahara’s deep-brine aquifers, these rocks can permanently lock away gigatons of CO₂—critical if we’re to avoid irreversible climate tipping points.

Why We Need 100+ Storage Sites by 2030

To keep global warming under 1.5 °C, we must remove or store at least 10 Gt CO₂/yr by 2030. Africa & MENA’s fair share is about 5 Gt this decade:

Today we have fewer than 10 operational or pilot sites. We must rapidly scale to every major basin, aquifer and formation—in collaboration with local communities and governments, while accelerating technology to improve efficiencies and reduce costs.

Karoo Basin Sedimentary Sequences

Permian sandstones to 2,800 m depth with thick shale caprocks. High injectivity, strong containment. Pilot injections are underway.

Capacity: 2.5 Gt CO₂
Readiness: Medium

North African Deep-Brine Aquifers

Sandstone/carbonate formations at 1,000–3,500 m in Libya, Algeria, Egypt & Tunisia. Basin-scale studies show multi-gigaton potential.

Capacity: 3.0 Gt CO₂
Readiness: Emerging

Zululand Basin (South Africa)

Carboniferous–Permian reservoirs with excellent injectivity; currently in the assessment phase.

Capacity: 1.2 Gt CO₂
Readiness: Assessment

In Salah Field (Algeria)

World’s first commercial CO₂ injection at 1.5 Mt/yr since 2004—proof of concept.

Capacity: 0.003 Gt stored
Readiness: Operational

Rovuma Basin (Mozambique/Tanzania)

Offshore sandstone reservoirs with 1 Gt+ potential; early-stage evaluation.

Capacity: 1.0 Gt CO₂
Readiness: Emerging

Blue Nile Volcanic Reservoirs (Ethiopia)

Basalt flows at ~1 km depth; reactive trapping shows promise in pilot tests.

Capacity: 0.5 Gt CO₂
Readiness: Early-stage

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