Basic Research Needs for Geosciences - Energetics Meetings and ...

APPENDIX 1: TECHNICAL PERSPECTIVES RESOURCE DOCUMENTThe list of potential earth and atmospheric hazards that present substantial risk to carbon captureand storage operations is limited (Table 4). These hazards can be grouped by area ofconsequence—atmospheric release, groundwater contamination, and crustal deformation—andrelated to features, events and processes that present key elements of those hazards (e.g., wellbores,faults, chemical leaching, induced seismicity). Biogeochemical effects may also impactthe long-term stability of caprocks. These hazards present a concern only if CO 2 leaks insufficient flux and reaches sufficient concentrations to threaten health, safety, environment, oreconomics.CURRENT LARGE PROJECTSToday there are three well-established large-scale injection projects with an ambitious scientificprogram that includes monitoring and verification (Table 5): Sleipner in Norway (Arts et al.2004), Weyburn in Canada (Wilson and Monea 2004), and In Salah in Algeria (Riddiford et al.2004). Each project has injected CO 2 at the rate of ~1 MM tons/y (~280,000 t C/y). Each projecthas had a substantial supporting science program or anticipates one. Substantial information canbe found on each project in the literature, and summaries can be found in Benson and Cook(2005).These projects have sampled a wide array of geology (Table 5) with varying trappingmechanisms, injection depths, reservoir types, and injectivity. Each of these projects appears tohave ample injectivity and capacity for success, and none has detected CO 2 leakage of anysignificance.The monitoring and verification program at each site varies substantially. Weyburn hassupported the most comprehensive program, including multi-channel time-lapse seismic surveys,quarterly geochemical sampling, soil-gas surveys, and limited microseismic monitoring. Incontrast, Sleipner relies almost exclusively on time-lapse seismic surveys, and all other plannedmonitoring programs have not yet been implemented. While this presents an opportunity forscientific discovery, many technical issues remain unsettled due to the limited investigations todate.A significant number of large-scale injection projects are expected to begin within the next fiveyears, which will provide dynamic new opportunities to design and implement and test newmonitoring strategies (Table 5). These projects will sample a substantial range of geology and ona global basis will be able to provide the opportunity to learn about the scientific, technical, andoperational concerns.The injection tests proposed for Phase III of the Department of Energy’s Regional CarbonSequestration Partnership program have not yet been selected or sited. The program will supportup to seven large injection projects of between 100,000–1,000,000 tons CO 2 /y, with one beinginvestigated in each partnership region. Although the geology and project consideration are stillunder review, the program is likely to sample a wide range of geological configurations.In addition to these targeted sequestration projects, there are many industrial applications thathave injected large volumes of CO 2 into the subsurface. Enhanced oil recovery operations inWest Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, Oklahoma, Mississippi, Trinidad, Canada, andTurkey have individual injection programs as large as 3 MM t CO 2 /y (~820,000 t C/y) andcumulative anthropogenic emission injections of ~10 MM t CO 2 /y (2.7 MM t C/y) (Kuuskraa etBasic Research Needs for Geosciences: Facilitating 21 st Century Energy Systems Appendix 1 • 15