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Robert C. Burruss
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703.648.6144

Leslie Ruppert
Project Manager
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Geologic CO2 Sequestration Research at the USGS

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NEW Geologic Carbon Sequestration Assessment Methodology
Press Release (03/16/09)

The USGS has developed a methodology to assess the nation's resources for geologic carbon sequestration in oil and gas reservoirs and saline formations. The methodology estimates storage resource potential that can be applied uniformly to geologic formations across the United States. The assessed resource is the volume of pore space into which CO2 can be injected and retained for tens of thousands of years. The methodology builds geologic models of the areas to be assessed and then uses probabilistic methods to account for the uncertainties associated with natural variations in geologic storage formations. In addition, the range of numbers of likely storage sites and their potential sizes are statistically evaluated to estimate the distribution of the storage resource. The estimated mass of storage resource is further evaluated with parameters that describe the probability of successful containment of CO2 above a minimum size. This assessment methodology for CO2 storage resources focuses on what will be called the technically accessible resource, not a total in-place resource volume. This is a resource that may be available using present day geological and engineering knowledge and technology for CO2 injection into geologic formations. No economic factors are used in the estimation of the volume of storage resource.

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Overview

Assessment of Geologic Reservoirs for Carbon Dioxide Sequestration

USGS Activities:

Based on current projections, the United States faces the need to increase its electrical power generating capacity by 40% over the next 20 years and its total energy consumption by 24% by the year 2030. Fossil fuel usage, a major source of carbon dioxide emissions to the atmosphere, will continue to provide the dominant portion of total energy in both industrialized and developing countries. Overall reduction of carbon dioxide emissions will likely involve some combination of techniques, but for the immediate future, sequestration of carbon dioxide in geological reservoirs seems especially promising, as existing knowledge derived from the oil and gas production industries has already helped to solve some of the technological obstacles. The USGS has been studying geologic options for storing CO2 in depleted oil and gas reservoirs, deep coal seams, and brine formations.

USGS research has focused on these themes:

1. Characterization of geological and geochemical factors controlling the capacity to store CO2 in geologic formations
2. Identification of potential reservoirs for geologic CO2 sequestration
3. Characterization of the geological processes that operate in natural and man-made analogs of CO2 storage reservoirs, including high-CO2 content natural gas accumulations, oil reservoirs undergoing long-term enhanced oil recovery with carbon dioxide, and natural gas storage reservoirs

USGS research has produced:

1. A geographic information system (GIS) map comparing the location of major CO2 sources with the size, location, and type of potential storage reservoirs Maps
2. New measurements of the solubility of CO2 in brines (Rosenbauer and others, 2005)
3. New methods of assessing the CO2 sequestration capacity of geologic formations (Brennan and Burruss, 2003; 2006)

Potential USGS Products:

1. New tools/approaches that can be used to study CO2 sequestration in sedimentary basins
2. Storage capacity assessments for major U.S. sedimentary basins

The methodology for quantitative assessment of total geological reservoir capacity may prove applicable worldwide, allowing international assessment of carbon sequestration capacity.

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