The Geological and Environmental Systems Focus Area seeks to assess the capacity, suitability, and permanence of potential carbon sequestration reservoirs, to assess the ability of unconventional reservoirs to produce gas and oil and assist in that production, to improve environmental performance of existing power plants, and to be recognized for performing sound science, achieving excellence, and meeting goals.

The scope of the focus area includes geological sequestration; ensure permanent carbon sequestering; resources assessment; production modeling; development of unconventional gas and oil resources; fate of air toxics such as mercury; byproduct utilization; and water issues related to existing coal-fueled electric power plants. Sequestration simulation and field work expertise provides a valuable internal capability for NETL in assessing external activities. The focus area is working closely with current sequestration field-testing activities and plans to develop a range of collaborative activities with the regional sequestration partnerships being developed by DOE. The focus area directly supports the President’s Global Climate Change Initiative, carbon sequestration technologies, natural gas and oil technologies, and clean power generation. NETL researchers in this focus area have achieved significant R&D successes and are widely recognized for their expertise and quality research.

The long-range objective of the focus area is to conduct research in carbon sequestration, natural gas and oil, and environmental research. Specific objectives include:

• Develop underpinning science to ensure safe, essentially permanent carbon sequestration; develop reliable measurement, monitoring and verification technologies acceptable to permitting agencies; and develop sequestration site selection criteria acceptable to external organizations (e.g., regional partnerships).
• Develop and validate mathematical models that correctly predict field results for reservoir flows and leaks (e.g., coal seams), resulting in models that are “transparent,” and that represent significant improvement over current codes.
• Participate with regional partnerships in field activities to test and evaluate technologies; validate and couple geo-mechanical and flow reservoir models to provide accurate and reliable simulations in fractured reservoirs based on an explicit fracture simulator.
• Improve drilling rates in the field by 20 percent through a state-of-the-art advanced drilling research laboratory.
• Identify opportunities for the natural gas and oil program to expand gas resource base by better resource characterization.
• Develop technology to reduce cost of mercury control while achieving at least 90 percent capture; characterize potential environmental impacts of byproducts of advanced fossil energy coal technologies; improve management of produced waters from coal-bed methane production; and develop cost effective power plant water management technology.