Worldwide Selection of Early Opportunities for CO2-EOR and CO2-ECBM (2): Selection and analysis of promising cases

Abstract

CO2 sequestration is a technology that can contribute to a significant reduction in CO2 emissions. It involves capture of the emitted CO2 from the source process followed by dehydration/compression, transportation of the CO2 by pipeline to the storage site and injection and storage of the CO2 in the geological reservoir. One of the key barriers to the introduction of CO2 capture and storage technology has been identified as the high cost of capture. However, many industrial processes generate exhaust gas streams with high purity (>90%) CO2, which means that the capture costs will be significantly lower. Once CO2 is captured, there is a cost associated with the transport of CO2 from the source to the storage site. For most sequestration schemes involving CO2 capture, the cost of CO2 transport is small compared to the capture costs. Transportation costs can remain low if storage could be close to CO2 sources, thereby minimizing pipeline distances. Finally, there is a cost associated with the injection of CO2 into the geological storage reservoir. However, in certain CO2 sequestration cases, there are some opportunities for storage at small (or even negative) net cost. These opportunities exist where production of oil or gas is enhanced by the injection of CO2 into the reservoir, thereby generating revenues.