Study of geological storage for a candidate CCS demonstration project in Tomakomai, Hokkaido, Japan

Abstract

The Prime Minister of Japan declared: Japan should positively commit itself to setting a long-term reduction target. For its mid-term goal, Japan will aim to reduce its emissions by 25% by 2020, if compared to the 1990 level, consistent with what the science calls for in order to halt global warming. In order to achieve this target, the government considers CCS (Carbon dioxide Capture and Storage) as an essential method and aims to improve CCS technology to practical levels. Japan CCS Co., Ltd. (JCCS) was established in May, 2008 in order to study the potential and feasibility of CCS demonstration projects in Japan. The company was commissioned by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) in Japan. Major shareholders of JCCS include electric power companies, upstream to downstream petroleum companies, material companies, engineering companies, etc.. In 2008, an investigation of candidate sites for the CCS demonstration was done over Japan and several promising offshore sites were selected. One of the selected candidate sites is the Tomakomai offshore site in Hokkaido prefecture, located in the northern part of Japan where there are petroleum refineries, paper mills and power plants close to the site. The Yufutsu oil and gas field is located in the eastern part of Tomakomai city where much geological data has been obtained through oil and gas exploration. Basic geological modes were constructed and CO2 reservoir simulation was performed to predict the movement of the stored CO2. Simulation results show us that a sufficient volume of CO2 could be safely stored in the saline aquifers at the Tomakomai site for a demonstration period and afterward. From October to November in 2009, a 3D seismic survey was implemented to confirm the geological potential of the site. Ocean bottom cables enabled us to survey in front of the Tomakomai Port. The survey area (full-stacked area) was 3.0 km (N-S) by 2.7 km (W-E) and about 2 km from the shoreline with several target formations at a depth of about 1,100–3,000 m. This survey was conducted in 4 patches using 2 to 3 sets of ocean bottom cables with the total number of receiver and shot lines being 10 and 26, respectively. Results of this survey were utilized in building the detailed 3D geological model for the CO2 reservoir simulation. Basic plant designing to capture CO2 at the hydrogen process in the petroleum refineries is currently ongoing. The captured CO2 will be injected at 250,000 ton/year for 4–5 years in the demonstration project. Many local organizations, such as the Tomakomai city government and the fisheries cooperative, cooperated to carry out the 3D seismic survey. The Tomakomai government has been strongly willing to invite the CCS demonstration project to the city. By their continuous cooperation is possible to carry forward the feasibility study in order to start the CO2 injection in 3–4 years.