Geologic Carbon Sequestration Options in the Illinois Basin

Description:

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The Midwest Geological Sequestration Consortium (MGSC) - Illinois Basin Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnership - is led by the Illinois State Geological Survey and contains Illinois, Indiana, and Kentucky. The MGSC will determine the ability, safety, and capacity of geological reservoirs to store carbon dioxide (CO2) in deep coal seams, mature oil fields, deep saline reservoir formations, and, to a lesser extent, organic-rich shales of the Illinois Basin. A series of six small-scale field tests are proposed. The projects include the testing of deep, unminable coal seams to adsorb gaseous CO2, the ability to coax more oil from old fields by CO2 flooding, and the injection of CO2 into salt-water filled rock units some 7,000 to 9,000 feet below the surface. Injection into deep coal seams may help produce methane to augment natural gas supplies. Injection into old oil fields will help recover some of the approximately 10 billion barrels of oil remaining in Illinois Basin reservoirs. These activities will accomplish sequestration while also helping to meet the