The MRCSP is a multi-year research program led by Battelle with a mission to identify, test and further develop the most effective approaches to carbon dioxide (CO2) utilization and storage in nine states within the Midwest and Northeast.
“This project will explore what CO2 is doing in the deep underground, its migration and reactions,” said Neeraj Gupta, senior research leader in Battelle’s Energy & Environment business unit. “We’re not only looking at storage, but we’re also figuring out how to utilize CO2 before it’s stored.”
Established 10 years ago by the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), the MRCSP is one of seven Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnerships in the U.S. This project will build on the work completed by MRCSP’s industry and research members during earlier phases of the program, which included smaller-scale testing and mapping of geologic formation across the region.
The current project in Michigan is designed to inject and monitor at least 1 million metric tons of CO2 into a series of oil fields in different stages of their production life-cycles. The first test in the series will inject up to 500,000 metric tons of CO2 into a depressurized, late-stage oil field that has undergone primary production and enhanced oil recovery for several years and is now near the end of its productive life.
The MRCSP team instrumented the wells and pipelines to obtain geological and operational data that will be used to evaluate monitoring technologies, validate reservoir simulation models, and provide material balances on the enhanced oil recovery (EOR) operations to determine how much CO2 is retained in the formations.
The MRCSP team will use special techniques to track the CO2 and quantify the amount that is retained in the formation after the oil is removed, both during and after the active injection phase (Figure 3). The CO2 will be injected into the Niagaran pinnacle reef trend, an oil field comprising highly compartmentalized ancient coral reefs buried about 6,000 feet below the ground surface.
As shown in Figure 3, multiple monitoring technologies are being deployed to assess the fate of the CO2, including pressure monitoring, wireline logging (e.g. pulsed neutron capture), vertical seismic profiling, microseismic monitoring, microgravity monitoring, and surface deformation monitoring using satellites. Results of the research are being used to improve understanding of CO2 migration and oil production in reservoirs, interaction with surrounding media, geochemical and geomechanical impacts, and storage capacity.
“The EPA is drafting CO2 regulations based on President Barack Obama’s renewed emphasis on climate change, which leads Battelle into a new business area,” said Gupta. “There is a lot of potential for this type of technology in the Midwest. We’re testing, proving and scaling it up to commercial sizes.”
Gupta said that carbon capture, utilization and storage represent means for a secure energy future, and the knowledge gained from this research will be valuable to the regional economy.
“The idea of storage and injection is not new, but this specific type of application is unique,” said Gupta. “It’s just a matter of developing it further and ensuring its safety.”
During the last year, Battelle’s MRCSP team has worked with Core Energy, LLC, the owner and operator of the oil fields, to conduct baseline geologic characterization and advanced monitoring and to prepare the wells for the injection phase. These fields already are permitted for injection as part of the routine EOR operations. In this first leg of the field test, MRCSP expects injection rates of approximately 1,000 metric tons of CO2 per day.
One way to combat global climate change is to limit greenhouse gas (such as CO2) emissions from large-scale emitters such as coal burning power plants. Carbon capture, utilization and storage seeks to capture CO2 as it goes up smokestacks, pressurize and dry it, then inject it deep beneath the ground (in this case, 6,000 feet), in formations known to hold hydrocarbons for millions of years. Carbon capture, utilization and storage is an important class of technologies and represent means for a secure energy future. The knowledge gained from this research will be of broad value to the regional economy and its industrial base.
The project is largely funded by DOE-NETL under the MRCSP program, with contributions by industry and research team members. A complete list of team members can be found on the MRCSP website.