Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnership Program Research Articles

Key Findings from the Midwestern Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnership’s (MRCSP) Large-Scale CO2-EOR/Storage Test in Michigan Basin

The Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnership program in the United States, funded by the Department of Energy’s National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), is a widely recognized program for advancing Carbon Dioxide Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS) technologies. The Midwestern Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnership (MRCSP) is one such Partnership covering 10 states across midwestern and northeast coastal USA. Since its inception in 2003, MRCSP has completed Phase I (2003-2005) involving assessment of regional emission sources and sequestration sinks and Phase II (2005-2011) involving multiple small-scale pilot tests to evaluate the feasibility of CCUS across the region. Under Phase III, which started in 2009, the MRCSP team has focused on detailed evaluation of a large-scale demonstration project of CO2 Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) and associated storage. Work has also continued on the assessment of storage potential across the region by the MRCSP team. This paper provides the overarching final conclusions of the large-scale test and implications for commercial deployment. The test was conducted in the CO2-EOR fields in northern Michigan, in the Silurian age carbonate reef complex, operated by Core Energy, LLC. The CO2 supply for the EOR is from processing of the natural gas from overlying Antrim Shale formation. The CO2 is pipelined about 16 km to the injection wells and a central processing facility. The overall reef complex consists of more than 800 fields, but EOR started in a single field in the mid-1990s and has currently expanded to ten fields. In 2012, MRCSP started a comprehensive program of characterization, measurement, accounting, modeling, and monitoring to research all aspects relevant to CO2 utilization and storage in the complex with a goal of injecting at least 1 million metric tons of CO2. The reef complex includes fields which have undergone EOR (late-stage life cycle), those undergoing EOR (operational), and those where injection is underway sans production (new fields). This allowed MRCSP to deploy an evolving portfolio of characterization, monitoring, and modeling approaches, which could be customized based on individual field settings (geologic, size, production history, well configurations, and EOR plans) and incorporate lessons learned from initial reefs. The large-scale test and the MRCSP Phase II were concluded in 2020 and an extensive set of final technical and topical reports are available for future researchers and commercial CCUs developers. With the conclusion of the MRCSP Program, Battelle has started a new program to enable and accelerate CCUS deployment, called the Midwest Regional Carbon Initiative (MRCI, midwestccus.org), which covers 20 states across midwestern and northeastern US.

CO2-Sequestration Projects Adding Value

This article, written by Senior Technology Editor Dennis Denney, contains highlights of paper IPTC 17089, ’The Plains CO2-Reduction Partnership: CO2-Sequestration Demonstration Projects Adding Value to the Oil and Gas Industry,’ by Charles D. Gorecki, Edward N. Steadman, John A. Harju, James A. Sorensen, John A. Hamling, SPE, Lisa S. Botnen, Scott C. Ayash, and Katherine K. Anagnost, Energy & Environmental Research Center, prepared for the 2013 International Petroleum Technology Conference, Beijing, 26-28 March. The paper has not been peer reviewed. Carbon capture, use, and storage (CCUS) in geological media can be an important means for reducing anthropogenic greenhouse-gas emissions. Several geological settings are appropriate for geological 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 US Department of Energy is pursuing a program to demonstrate CCUS technology through its Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnership (RCSP) program. Introduction The Plains CO2 Reduction (PCOR) partnership, led by the Energy & Environmental Research Center, is one of seven regional partnerships established under the RCSP program. The PCOR partnership region includes all or part of nine US states and four Canadian provinces (Fig. 1) and is made up of many private- and public-sector groups working to identify the most-suitable CO2-storage strategies and technologies, aid regulatory development, educate the general public, and investigate appropriate infrastructure for CCUS commercialization within its region. The Phase-III program includes two commercial-scale projects—the Fort Nelson carbon- capture and -storage (CCS) feasibility project and the Bell Creek CO2-EOR/CO2-storage project. Fort Nelson. The PCOR partnership and Spectra Energy Transmission are investigating CCUS to mitigate CO2 emissions produced by the Fort Nelson Gas Plant (FNGP) as a waste stream from natural-gas processing. FNGP is near the town of Fort Nelson in northeastern British Columbia, Canada (Fig. 2). The gas stream will include up to 5% hydrogen sulfide (H2S) and a small amount of methane (a sour-CO2 stream). The goal is to capture the stream of sour CO2 that is separated by the current gas-processing operations and store it long term in a deep saline formation. Currently, this sour CO2 is processed in an existing sulfur plant to recover elemental sulfur, and the residual CO2 and sulfur dioxide (SO2) are passed through an incinerator before venting to the atmosphere.

Message Mapping for CCUS Outreach: Testing Communications Through Focus Group Discussion

As part of ongoing efforts to improve public outreach related to carbon capture, utilization, and storage, the Outreach Working Group of the U.S. Department of Energy's Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnership Program explored the use of message mapping to facilitate effective communication. This paper describes the process undertaken to develop the message maps, the method for testing, and lessons learned thus far. The process of testing was found to be very helpful in developing a response that can be easily delivered by a project representative, shared among project communicators, and presented in language that is accessible to stakeholders.

Monitoring a large volume CO2 injection: Year two results from SECARB project at Denbury’s Cranfield, Mississippi, USA

The Southeast Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnership (SECARB) early project in western Mississippi has been testing monitoring tools and approaches to document storage efficiency and storage permanence under conditions of CO2 EOR as well as downdip injection into brine. Denbury Onshore LLC is host for the study and has brought a depleted oil and gas reservoir, Cranfield Field, under CO2 flood. Injection was started in July 2008 and has now achieved injection rates greater than 1.2 million tons/year though 23 wells, with cumulative mass injected as of August, 2010 of 2.2 million metric tons. Injection is into coarse grained fluvial deposits of the Cretaceous lower Tuscaloosa Formation in a gentle anticline at depths of 3300 m. A team of researchers from 10 institutions has collected data from five study areas, each with a different goal and different spatial and temporal scale. The Phase 2 study began at the start of injection and has been using pressure and temperature as a tool for assessing permanence mostly in the oil productive interval. Real-time read-out shows high sensitivity to distant changes in injection rate and confirms the geologic model of reservoir compartmentalization. Above-zone pressure monitoring ∼120 m above the injection interval is used to test the sensitivity of this approach for documentation of integrity of the confining system in an area of numerous well completions as pressure increase is induced in the reservoir by more than 70 bar. Monitoring of the High Volume Injection Test (HiVIT) area includes repeat measurements of aqueous geochemistry in the injection zone. Rock-water- CO2 interactions in the reservoir as CO2 dissolves are minimized by mineral “armoring” by abundant chlorite cement in high permeability reservoir sandstone. Geochemical monitoring of confined freshwater aquifers at depths of 70–100 m is underway. Groundwater analysis focuses on assessment of the sensitivity of this method to detect leakage above background variability. A repeat seismic survey of the HiVIT is planned for late 2010 to assess saturation change especially in downdip brine-only areas. A study focused on feasibility of monitoring the shallow subsurface to separate leakage from normal complex surface fluxes is underway at an monitoring array installed in October 2009 to assess the interactions of recharge, soil gas, and shallow groundwater aquifers. Recent well re-entry and tracer injection will provide further information to interpret observed elevated deep-sourced methane. The Detailed Area Study (DAS) is collecting dense time-lapse data from closely-spaced three well array of an injector and two observation wells. The observation wells were completed with fiberglass casing to facilitate electrical resistance tomography (ERT) measurements, and a diverse array of instrumentation was both cemented behind casing and suspended on tubing. Injection started at the DAS December 1, 2009. We have measured pulsed neutron and resistivity via wireline, downhole and above-zone pressure, distributed temperature, and fluid chemistry including introduced pulses of perfluorocarbons, noble gases, and SF6 as tracers. Between wells, time-lapse crosswell seismic and electrical resistance tomography (ERT) are used to measure saturation change. The goals are to measure changes as fluids evolve from single phase (brine) to two phase (CO2–brine) in order to document linkages between pressure and sweep efficiency. A time-lapse VSP survey bridges the vertical resolution and areal coverage between cross-well and surface seismic. The repeat surveys for many tools are scheduled for September, 2010. Reservoir characterization based on cores, historic and new wireline log data, production history, hydrologic tests, fluid analysis, and a three-D seismic survey have been used in multiple numerical models to predict reservoir response in order to design effective monitoring strategies and optimize deployment. History matching of observed response to predicted response is used to interpret results and improve confidence in conceptual models and numerical approaches. Probabilistic methods have been used to assess the significant uncertainties resulting from reservoir heterogeneity. This study is funded by the US Department of Energy, National Energy Technology Laboratory as part of the Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnerships program. SECARB is led by Southern States Energy Board.

Northwest McGregor field CO2 Huff ‘n’ Puff: A case study of the application of field monitoring and modeling techniques for CO2 prediction and accounting

Northwest McGregor field CO2 Huff ‘n’ Puff: A case study of the application of field monitoring and modeling techniques for CO2 prediction and accounting

Road-testing the outreach best practices manual: Applicability for implementation of the development phase projects by the regional carbon sequestration partnerships

Abstract Geologic carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) storage verification tests by the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) seven Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnerships (RCSPs) provided the experience base for the Public Outreach and Education for Carbon Storage Projects, a best practices manual, published in December 2009. This paper summarizes these outreach best practices; discusses their application in Aquistore, a greenfield CO 2 storage project under way in western Canada; and reviews the implications for applying the best practices to new projects during the Development Phase of the DOE’s RCSP Program.

U.S. Department of Energy’s Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnership Program: Overview

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has formed a nationwide network of seven regional partnerships to help determine the best approaches for capturing and permanently storing gases that can contribute to global climate change. The Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnerships (RCSPs) are tasked with determining the most suitable technologies, regulations, and infrastructure for carbon capture, transport, and storage in their areas of the country and parts of Canada. The seven partnerships include more than 350 state agencies, universities, national laboratories, private companies, and environmental organizations, spanning 42 states, two Indian nations, and four Canadian provinces. The Regional Partnerships initiative is being implemented in three phases: • Characterization Phase (2003–2005): The objective was to collect data on CO2 sources and sinks and develop the human capital to support and enable future carbon sequestration field tests and deployments. The completion of this Phase was marked by release of the Carbon Sequestration Atlas of the United States and Canada-Version 1 which included a common methodology for capacity assessment and reported over 3,000GT of storage capacity in saline formations, depleted oil and gas fields, and coal seams. • Validation Phase (2005–2009): The objective is to plan and implement small-scale (<1 million tons CO2) field testing of storage technologies in areas determined to be favorable for carbon storage. The partnerships are currently conducting over 20 small-scale geologic field tests and 11 terrestrial field tests. • Development Phase (2008–2018): The primary objective is the development of large-scale (>1 million tons of CO2) Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) projects, which will demonstrate that large volumes of CO2 can be injected safely, permanently, and economically into geologic formations representative of large storage capacity. Even though the RCSP Program is being implemented in three phases, it should be viewed as an integrated whole, with many of the goals and objectives transitioning from one phase to the next. Accomplishments and results from the Characterization Phase have helped to refine goals and activities in the Validation and Deployment Phases. The RCSP Program encourages and requires open information sharing among its members by sponsoring both general workshops and meetings to facilitate information exchange. Although each RCSP has its own objectives and field tests, mutual cooperation has been an important part of the Program thus far. The primary goal of the RCSP initiative is to promote the development of a regional framework and the infrastructure necessary to validate and deploy carbon sequestration technologies within each Partnership’s region.

Afraid to Start Because the Outcome is Uncertain?: Social Site Characterization as a Tool for Informing Public Engagement Efforts

This paper introduces the concept of social site characterization as a parallel effort to technical site characterization to be used in evaluating and planning carbon dioxides capture and storage (CCS) projects. Social site characterization, much like technical site characterization, relies on a series of iterative investigations into public attitudes towards a CCS project and the factors that will shape those views. This paper also suggests ways it can be used to design approaches for actively engaging stakeholders and communities in the deployment of CCS projects. This work is informed by observing the site selection process for FutureGen and the implementation of research projects under the Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnership Program.