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Peer Review of US RCSP Phase III Projects

1 September 2017
Storage

The 2017 international independent expert review of the RCSP had the following aims: <ol> <li>To follow up progress in addressing the recommendations of the third review in 2013, both in terms of the overall RCSP and individual regional partnerships and their Phase III projects;</li> <li>To assess the progress on the individual Phase III projects (7) and consider whether the proposed technical work program for each project has achieved its goals and those of the overall RCSP. Each project was expected to respond to the recommendations made in the previous review in 2013 and whether any subsequent modifications to project plans had achieved their desired effect;</li> <li>To assess results and key findings from the Phase III tests across the RCSP;</li> <li>To assess the overall technical program of the RCSP, address the synergies between the 7 Phase III projects and how they complement each other and how collectively they can provide a technical basis for future commercial scale projects in the USA;</li> <li>To assess how the RCSP compares, complements and contrasts with similar projects underway worldwide and how the information from these projects can help build an international knowledge base on CO2 capture and storage.</li> </ol>

Technical Report

CO₂ Migration in the Overburden

1 August 2017
Storage

This report documents the subsurface processes that may enable CO₂ to potentially migrate from the storage reservoir to within the overburden sequence. The potential rates of migration for each migration pathway and the implications for leakage are discussed. Secondary trapping mechanisms within the overburden are also discussed within the report. The conclusions are focused on tying overburden characteristics to their impact on developing risk assessments. As well as specific pathway structures, five CO₂ storage projects were selected for this review and the characteristics of the overburden sequence that promote trapping and hinder migration at each site are a summarised. The projects chosen were the offshore Sleipner and Snøhvit CO₂ storage projects, the planned storage site in the Goldeneye Field, the onshore Ketzin pilot CO₂ injection project in Germany and the Field Research Station in Canada.

Technical Report

Monitoring & Modelling Meeting

1 February 2017
Event Proceedings
Storage

The combined meeting of the IEAGHG Monitoring and Modelling Networks took place at the Edinburgh Centre for Carbon Innovation from the 6-8th July 2016. The meeting brought together leading experts from research and industry to discuss the latest work and developments, with around 60 participants from 11 countries participating.The theme for this meeting was ‘using the modelling-monitoring loop to demonstrate storage performance more effectively’. Sessions on monitoring included induced seismicity, novel monitoring techniques, monitoring costs, near-surface natural variability, monitoring CO2-EOR, wellbore integrity issues, modelling environmental conditions, updates from ongoing and closed projects, lessons from other industries, modelling reservoirs and overburden, pressure measurements and conformance in the monitoring modelling loop.

Technical Report

Case Studies of CO₂ Storage in Depleted Oil and Gas Fields

1 January 2017
Storage

CO₂ storage has now been tested at a number of demonstration sites around the world, including some depleted oil and gas reservoirs. The use of depleted reservoirs can offer some advantages because the geological characteristics that are pertinent to CO₂ storage, such as the distribution of porosity and permeability, have been pre-determined. Although depleted hydrocarbon fields can show strong evidence of fluid retention, there are risks associated with existing wellbores and the possibility of caprock deterioration. The aim of this study is to highlight key factors that influence CO2 storage in depleted oil and gas fields based on four detailed examples. Comparisons were made between storage operations in depleted fields (with or without enhanced hydrocarbon recovery) and storage in saline aquifers with the approaches required in modelling, monitoring, reporting, economics, and operational strategies. Fundamental differences in the reservoir pressure and risk profiles between the different storage sites have been explored. These studies have also allowed a comparative assessment to be made of the requirements for CO₂ storage projects from different geographic and regulatory regimes. The work was led by the British Geological Survey with support from the Gulf Coast Carbon Center based at the University of Texas at Austin.

Technical Review

Review of CO₂ Storage Basalts

1 January 2017
Storage

This technical review has been undertaken with the aim of providing a high level overview of the current status of basalts as an option for the geological storage of CO₂. The review also includes a short section on the storage potential of ultramafic rocks. Two high profile sites, CarbFix in Iceland and the Wallula project in Washington State have both injected and monitored CO₂ storage in basalts since 2012 and research has recently been published for both sites. Basalts are important storage sites to consider for CCS as they comprise approximately 10% of the Earth’s surface and are often located in areas where no other storage options exist. Basalts have a high weight percentage of Ca, Mg and Fe rich minerals which react with CO₂ to form carbonates. At the pilot projects Wallula and CarbFix, in-situ carbonisation has been proven to occur and within much shorter timescales than initially predicted. In conventional deep sandstone aquifer storage sites, CO₂ remains buoyant for 1,000s to 100,000s of years and consequently this form of storage relies predominately on structural and solution trapping within the reservoirs to prevent CO₂ leakage.

Technical Report

RESERVED CO₂EOR Accounting JK

1 October 2016
Policy & Regulation
Storage

The report attempts to review issues associated with greenhouse gas emissions accounting where anthropogenic carbon dioxide is captured and used for enhanced oil recovery (CO₂-EOR) in conjunction with long-term geological storage of CO₂. Whilst this suggests a fairly narrow scope of research, it in fact opens up several lines of complex enquiry, requiring a strong understanding of global oil production, trade, supply and demand. This is a topic to which countless hours of debate and consideration are made on an ongoing basis, generally without any clear consensus in respect of matters such as ‘peak oil’, ‘carbon lock-in’ and fossil fuel ‘demand destruction’. It is also a topic that is highly political, with oil being at the heart of economic activity and life-style behaviour. As such, the analysis presented herein has required some simplifying assumptions in order to provide limits to the discussions presented. This has been carried out to the best of the authors’ capacity, commensurate with the time and resources available for the study. The report does not claim to provide a definitive view on how to resolve issues of greenhouse gas emissions accounting for CO₂- EOR, but rather provides a source of ideas on how to establish a framework for considering the issues at hand, and food for thought in respect of further discussion and debate.

Technical Report

Regional assessment of the economic barriers to carbon dioxide enhanced oil recovery in the North Sea, Russia and GCC States

1 October 2016
Storage

The objective of this study is to explore the economic conditions that would be necessary for a CO2 EOR project in the North Sea and in the Middle East. Traditional oil production can recover up to 20-40% of the original oil in place (OOIP). The application of an EOR technique, typically performed towards what is normally perceived to be the end of the life of an oilfield, can increase the cumulative recovery by an additional 5-15%. The investment decision for a CO2 EOR project hinges on key factors relating to geological site suitability, capital and operational costs. A number of identified success factors for the well-established CO2 EOR industry in the U.S. are listed below:   <ul> <li>Depth and oil composition can enable CO2 to form miscibility lowering viscosity</li> <li>There is sufficient unrecovered oil after primary and secondary recovery (usually water flooding)</li> <li>There is sufficient access to a reliable supply of CO2</li> <li>Operator knowledge and experience can be applied</li> <li>Tax incentives to promote profitable implementation</li> </ul>

Technical Report

Fault Permeability

1 October 2016
Storage

The present review adds to an earlier report (IEAGHG, 2015a) by using the published literature to examine how fault permeability is modified by fault zone and host rock properties and in situ stresses of anthropogenic or geological origins. The primary goal of the report is to use publically available literature to examine when, where and how faults may negatively or positively impact the storage and migration of injected CO2. In particular, four key tasks have been undertaken and are outlined below. TASK 1 - Provide a brief summary of the key parameters that influence the mechanical and hydraulic properties of fault zones including a summary of CO2 flow data along faults at natural seeps. TASK 2 - Review current oil industry practices that are used to assess and control the unwanted migration of hydrocarbons along faults. Use the experience of different industry/academic teams to assess and model fault leakage from potential CO2 storage sites. TASK 3 - Review the approaches used by other industries (e.g. waste disposal, hydrocarbons, civil engineering) to assess the properties, permeabilities, and leakage thresholds of faults and examine how these approaches might be useful for CO2 storage sites. TASK 4 - Identify the knowledge gaps in current understanding of fluid migration along faults. Identify the challenges in modelling fault permeability, and monitoring fluid migration (including CO2), along and across faults. Recommend the direction of future research and development that is directly related to a better understanding of fault permeability. The principal objective of this report is to provide a review and synthesis of international research and current understanding of fault permeability, with emphasis on how it could influence (positively or negatively) CO2 storage. To address this principal aim and the four key tasks outlined above, the report contains 10 main sections. These main sections are summarized below.

Technical Review

National Storage CO₂ Assessment Guidance

1 October 2016
Storage

This guide provides information on where to find the material required to undertake initial national scale storage assessments. It is designed to help government bodies and policy makers with limited prior carbon capture and storage (CCS) experience find information regarding the methodology of conducting an assessment. A nationwide storage estimate is fundamental to progress CCS as a climate mitigation technology as it will determine how suitable the regional geology is for CO₂ storage and provide an initial indication of capacity.

Technical Report

RMNER Network Meeting

1 June 2016
Event Proceedings
Storage

The three day meeting included themes on risk assessment methodologies, risk communication and mitigation strategies as well as environmental research. There was an emphasis on potential impacts of CO2 in marine environments, natural variability and the unscheduled release of CO2 from pipelines. Coverage also included formation fluid release, overburden features, international initiatives and environmental impact assessments notably the Peterhead – Goldeneye project.

Technical Report

Can CO₂ Capture and Storage Unlock 'Unburnable Carbon'?

1 May 2016
Capture
Storage

This study has undertaken an initial assessment on the relevance of CCS in terms of the unburnable carbon issues. This consisted of the following tasks: <ol> <li>Undertake a comprehensive literature review to identify and assess those studies done to date which are relevant to, include or comment upon the role of CCS in the issues of unburnable carbon.</li> <li>Assess the assumptions, methodologies, any contentious subjects, and understand differences in these studies.</li> <li>Identify and assess sources of information on the global potential for CCS deployment, including storage potential.</li> <li>Potential issues that would contribute to better understanding and assessment of this topic (which are of a technical nature and thus IEAGHG could address), will be identified and recommendations made for further work, including whether any work is necessary relating to global storage capacity and CCS global potential.</li> </ol>

Technical Review

International Workshop on Offshore Geological CO₂ Storage

1 May 2016
Event Proceedings
Storage

The aims of the workshop were to undertake a global needs assessment for offshore geological CO₂ storage, to initiate a discussion about the various aspects of offshore transport and storage, and to build an international community of parties interested in offshore storage. This was achieved by bringing together those who are doing offshore CCS to share knowledge with those who are interested in doing, and by facilitating countries to identify their specific issues, challenges, opportunities, and then to identify synergies, common gaps and goals, and define common action items.

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