CO2 source-sink matching in the lower 48 United States, with examples from the Texas Gulf Coast and Permian Basin

Abstract

Documenting geographic distribution and spatial linkages between CO2 sources and potential sinks in areas with significant levels of CO2 emissions is important when considering carbon-management strategies such as geologic sequestration or enhanced oil recovery (EOR). For example, the US Gulf Coast overlies a thick succession (>6,000 m [>20,000 ft]) of highly porous and permeable sandstone formations separated by thick, regionally extensive shale aquitards. The Gulf Coast and Permian Basin also have a large potential for EOR, in which CO2 injected into suitable oil reservoirs could be followed by long-term storage of CO2 in nonproductive formations below reservoir intervals. For example, >6 billion barrels (Bbbl) of oil from 182 large reservoirs is technically recoverable in the Permian Basin as a result of miscible-CO2 flooding. The Gulf Coast also contains an additional 4.5 Bbbl of oil that could be produced by using miscible CO2. Although the CO2 pipeline infrastructure is well-developed in the Permian Basin, east Texas and the Texas Gulf Coast may have a greater long-term potential for deep, permanent storage of CO2 because of thick brine-bearing formations near both major subsurface and point sources of CO2.