Plains CO₂ Reduction (PCOR) Partnership – Deployment Phase

Primary Performing Organization
University of North Dakota’s Energy &
Environmental Research Center

Plains CO₂ Reduction (PCOR) Partnership is one of seven Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnerships created by DOE in 2003 as part of a national plan to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions. 

The Deployment Phase will be the third of a three phase program.  Proceedings in the Deployment Phase (2008-2017) will be an extension of the characterization and validation phases and will demonstrate that carbon dioxide (CO₂) capture, storage, and transportation can be achieved safely, permanently and economically at a large scale in a region composed of Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin, Wyoming, and the Canadian Provinces of Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan. 

The map below shows the location of the PCOR Partnership’s test sites.

The PCOR Partnership is intent upon conducting in tandem two separate tests in different locations for (1) the use of CO₂ for enhanced oil recovery (EOR), and (2) sequestration through more ordinary injection and geological storage technology.  Referencing the site locations, the dual objectives of the Deployment Phase are expressed as follows:  (1) Conduct a successful Williston Basin demonstration to verify that using the region’s large number of oil fields for large scale CO₂ injection will result in incrementally greater oil production; and (2) Conduct a successful Fort Nelson demonstration to verify the economic feasibility of using the region’s carbonate saline formations for safe, long-term CO₂ storage.  The preceding Characterization and Validation Phases indicated that oil fields and saline formations in the region potentially have the capacity to sequester more than 50% of the anticipated regional CO₂ emissions over the next 100 years.  During the Deployment Phase, the PCOR Partnership will continue to refine capacity estimates and evaluate other factors relevant to  regional storage goals.

Contact:
Project Manager:  Darin Damiani, darin.damiani@netl.doe.gov.

Related Papers and Publications:

• PCOR Deployment Fact Sheet