Monitoring 3.2 Million Tonnes of CO2 at the Bell Creek Oil Field

Abstract

A research-monitoring program is being conducted at the Bell Creek oil field by the Plains CO2 Reduction Partnership, led by the Energy & Environmental Research Center, to evaluate and demonstrate the cost-effectiveness of strategies for monitoring CO2 storage associated with a commercial enhanced oil recovery (EOR) project. The Bell Creek oil field, operated by Denbury Onshore LLC as a commercial EOR project, is an oil-bearing, Lower Cretaceous sandstone reservoir located in southeastern Montana, USA. CO2 injection for commercial EOR began in May 2013 and has resulted in over 3.2 million tonnes of associated CO2 storage as of July 2016.