Publications
News Release
Release Date: June 26, 2006
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| Sequestration Test to Demonstrate Carbon Dioxide Storage While Increasing Oil Production |
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WASHINGTON, DC— The first geologic sequestration project to occur under the guidance of the
Department of Energy's Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnerships program
is taking place in Alberta, Canada.
Through funding from the Office of Fossil Energy's National Energy Technology
Laboratory, the test is being conducted by the Energy and Environmental Research
Center at the University of North Dakota Plains CO2 Reduction Partnership, in
collaboration with its industry partner Apache Canada Ltd., and the Alberta
Department of Energy and Natural Resources Canada. It will evaluate
the potential for geological sequestration of carbon dioxide as part of an acid
gas stream that also includes high concentrations of hydrogen sulfide.
The gas will be obtained from the Zama gas-processing plant, owned and operated
by Apache Canada Ltd., and will be injected 4,900 feet below the surface into
the Zama oil field, located about 10 miles from the plant. The Zama geology includes
steep, mound-like carbonate structures with an average size of 40 acres and 400
feet in height. Their structure makes them ideal traps for storing these
gases.
The gas will be injected into a well at a rate of 100 tons per day over the next
two years. With various types of verification equipment being used, the tests
will monitor such things as resistivity, changes in bulk fluid density, pH, pressure,
and temperature. This project has the ability to sequester 67,000 tons
of carbon dioxide annually.
The Zama test will help determine the impact that high concentrations of hydrogen
sulfide may have on carbon dioxide integrity, as well as enhanced oil recovery. Results
will provide valuable data on the accuracy of how well carbon dioxide storage
capacity can be predicted and also aid in validating geologic sequestration testing
under acid gas conditions.
The injection process will give an added economic benefit as well. Acid
gas injection allows for large volumes of carbon dioxide to be sequestered, eliminating
the need to use more expensive disposal methods for hydrogen sulfide in the gas
stream, and simultaneously producing oil from these formations that would otherwise
be unrecoverable.
This test is to be one of 25 tests performed by the Regional Carbon Sequestration
Partnerships designed to validate opportunities for geologic sequestration throughout
the United States showing that this technology is a safe and cost effective way
to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions. |
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| Contact: David Anna, DOE/NETL, 412-386-4646 |
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