Carbon dioxide storage resource assessment of Cretaceous- and Jurassic-age sandstones in the Atlantic offshore region of the northeastern United States

Abstract

Carbon capture and storage is a critical technology for ensuring a range of clean energy options are available to meet future energy demand in the United States and abroad. A total of 1079 industrial CO2 emission sources are located in the northeastern United States, where challenging surface and subsurface conditions limit onshore CO2 storage potential. A systematic resource assessment was conducted using industry-standard resource classification methods established by the Society of Petroleum Engineers’ Storage Resources Management System to characterize CO2 storage resources in the middle–northern Atlantic offshore region along the eastern United States. Storable CO2 quantities and storage efficiencies were estimated for Cretaceous- and Jurassic-age sandstone sequences. Regional data integration and analysis were conducted to estimate storable quantities and storage efficiencies using probabilistic methods with static volumetric calculations and dynamic simulations. Offshore storage efficiencies range from 1% to 13%, with regional-scale estimates of 37–403 billion t (Gt) of CO2 classified as prospective storage resources. Dynamic CO2 injection simulation in a middle Cretaceous sequence on the eastern flank of the Great Stone Dome suggests 30–51 million t of CO2 can be stored and contained within the time and pressure constraints assumed for a commercial storage project. The regional Cretaceous and Jurassic plays identified in the offshore study region have prospective storage resources sufficient for long-term storage of CO2 from nearby industrial sources onshore. Continued resource discovery efforts are recommended to assess the development and commerciality of the potential storage identified near the Great Stone Dome.