Scoring, ranking, and technoeconomics of carbon capture and storage opportunities in the central valley of California

Abstract

Previous studies of geological carbon storage are reviewed, redefined, and evaluated to provide proper capturable emission amounts and candidate storage sites in the Southern San Joaquin Basin (California). The LCFS eligible capturable GHG emissions from thermal EOR facilities were 11.4 MtCO2/y. Also, the capturable emission amounts and location of other large emitters in both Kern County and southern California were identified. The estimated CO2 storage resource in the 7 qualified saline formations ranged from 16.6 to 52 GtCO2 whereas that in 35 qualified hydrocarbon fields ranged from 0.45 to 1.15 GtCO2. Among the 35 hydrocarbon fields, 15 CO2-EOR candidate fields with storage resources of 0.36 to 0.88 GtCO2 are located in Kern County. Altogether, 41 storage sites including 7 hydrocarbon fields, 32 saline storage sites, and 2 stacked storage sites were defined as CO2 storage locations. The 41 CO2 storage sites in and around Kern County were linked to selected large CO2 emitters in Imperial, Kern, Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, and Ventura Counties. Importantly, the technoeconomics of prospective storage sites and emitters were analyzed using SimCCS (Scalable infrastructure model for Carbon Capture and Storage). Regional GHG emissions from oil and gas facilities such as EOR steam generators and CHPs can be captured and stored economically as a result of LCFS and 45Q credits. The 45Q credit value and duration are critical factors to incentivize CCS deployment. The deployment scenarios evaluated teach that the Southern San Joaquin basin is an excellent potential regional carbon storage hub.