The Plains CO2 Reduction (PCOR) Partnership: CO2 Sequestration Demonstration Projects Adding Value to the Oil and Gas Industry

Abstract

Abstract Carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) in geologic media have been identified as an important means for reducing anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere (Bradshaw et al., 2006). Several geologic settings are appropriate for geologic storage of carbon dioxide (CO2), including depleted oil and gas reservoirs, deep brine-saturated formations, CO2 flood enhanced oil recovery (EOR) operations, and enhanced coalbed methane recovery. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is pursuing a vigorous program for demonstration of CCUS technology through its Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnership (RCSP) Program, which entered its third phase (Phase III) in October 2007. This phase is planned for a duration of ten U.S. federal fiscal years (October 2007 to September 2017), and its main focus is the characterization and monitoring of large-scale CO2 injection into geologic formations at CCUS sites. The Plains CO2 Reduction (PCOR) Partnership, led by the Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC), is one of seven regional partnerships established under the RCSP Program. The PCOR Partnership region includes all or part of nine U.S. states and four Canadian provinces (Figure 1) and is made up of numerous private and public sector groups (Figure 2) working to identify the most suitable CO2 storage strategies and technologies, aid in regulatory development, educate the general public, and investigate appropriate infrastructure for CCUS commercialization within its region. The Phase III program undertaken by the PCOR Partnership includes two commercial-scale projects that are of immediate interest to the oil and gas industry, namely the Fort Nelson carbon capture and storage (CCS) feasibility project and the Bell Creek combined CO2 EOR and storage project.