AndreaBozzo/ceres-open-data-index huggingface dataset:
Mobility and Conformance Control for Carbon Dioxide Enhanced Oil Recovery

Mobility and Conformance Control for Carbon Dioxide Enhanced Oil Recovery (CO2-EOR) via Thickeners, Foams, and Gels – A Detailed Literature Review of 40 Years of Research
R.M. Enick and D.K. Olsen
Final Report, DOE/NETL-2012/1540. Contract DE-FE0004003 Activity 4003.200.01

Carbon dioxide (CO2) has been used commercially to recover oil from geologic formations by
enhanced oil recovery (EOR) technologies for over 40 years. The U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Fossil Energy and its predecessor organizations have supported a large number of
laboratory and field projects over the past decades in an effort to improve the oil recovery
process including investments to advanced reservoir characterization, mobility control, and
conformance of CO2 flooding.

Currently, CO2 EOR provides about 280,000 barrels of oil per day, just over 5 percent of the
total U.S. crude oil production. Recently CO2 flooding has become so technically and
economically attractive that CO2 supply, rather than CO2 price, has been the constraining
developmental factor. Carbon dioxide EOR is likely to expand in the United States in upcoming
years due to “high” crude oil prices, natural CO2 source availability, and possible large
anthropogenic CO2 sources through carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology advances.

This literature review concentrates on the history and development of CO2 mobility control and
profile modification technologies in the hope that stimulating renewed interest in these chemical
techniques will help to catalyze new efforts to overcome the geologic and process limitations
such as poor sweep efficiency, unfavorable injectivity profiles, gravity override, high ratios of
CO2 to oil produced, early breakthrough, and viscous fingering. Carbon dioxide mobility control
technologies are in-depth, long-term processes that cause CO2 to exhibit mobility comparable to
oil. Profile modification and conformance control are achieved by a near-wellbore, short-term
process primarily intended to greatly reduce the permeability of a thief zone.

The premise of this report is that a thorough review of the literature related to the past successes
and failures of lab- and field-scale efforts to reduce CO2 mobility using CO2 thickeners, foams,
and gels will provide a baseline understanding of the remaining challenges and the research
needed to advance this technology. Solving these challenging CO2 flooding problems will
ultimately increase domestic oil production via CO2 EOR. This review has highlighted a number
of successes.

Tags: CO2-EOR, Surfactant
Phase II Hydrolic Report Addendum

The simulations presented in section 3.2 of a previous report (McGrail et al. 2009) have been updated
to include the effect of geochemical reactions between the injected C02 and formation minerals, and
extended to longer simulation times. A description of the additional model assumptions follows, and the details of the simulation results are presented.

Tags: BSCSP, Basalt, Big Sky Carbon Sequestration Partnership, Carbon Sequestration, Hydrogeology
Phase II Hydrolic Report

In 2009, the U.S. Department of Energy’s Big Sky Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnership completed drilling the first carbon dioxide (CO2) sequestration pilot borehole well with continental flood basalts, to a total depth of 4110 ft at the Boise Inc. mill property at Wallula, Washington. As part of the characterization program, hydrologic tests were conducted on selected basalt interflow reservoir zones and flow-interior/caprock intervals during, and at the completion of the borehole drilling activities, to support selection of a candidate injection reservoir for subsequent CO2 sequestration studies. Based on the results obtained during the active borehole characterization program, an injection reservoir was identified between the depth interval of 2716 and 2910 ft that contained three individual Grande Ronde Basalt breccia interflow zones. The Wallula pilot well injection reservoir lies stratigraphically below the massive Umtanum Member of the Grande Ronde Basalt, whose flow-interior section possesses regionally recognized low-permeability characteristics.

Following well completion activities that occurred during May 2009, Wallula pilot well injection reservoir zone pressure was monitored for an extended period (i.e., between June 2009 and December 2010) for the purpose of evaluating seasonal and temporal reservoir pressure dynamics in response to natural and manmade-related stresses. Following completion of the baseline pressure monitoring phase, a series of hydrologic well tests were conducted to assess possible impacts to the injection reservoir due to previous well completion activities, and for determining large-scale hydraulic property and hydrologic boundary detection. Results for the characterization program conducted during the initial, active borehole drilling campaign were previously published in McGrail et al. (2009).1 This report presents the hydrologic test results obtained following well completion, during the subsequent baseline monitoring period, and recent well testing phase of the characterization program. Recommendations are also provided to reduce the uncertainty concerning operative conceptual conditions within the candidate CO2 injection horizon.

Tags: BSCSP, Basalt, Carbon Sequestration, Geologic Sequestration, Hydroligic Report, Hydrology
Reactive Carbonate Reservoirs Final Report

The Madison Formation has been proposed as a major target for carbon sequestration.  This extensive carbonate formation is present in several western states.  In southwestern Wyoming, the formation contains natural CO2 deposits, suggesting that it has all the necessary properties to serve as a long-term sequestration repository.  

Researchers at the Big Sky Carbon Sequestration Partnership (BSCSP) at Montana State University (MSU) evaluated the injection of CO2 into the Madison carbonate formation. The formation was carefully characterized in locations with and without natural CO2 accumulations.  Geological, geochemical, stratigraphic and petrophysical properties determined during the characterization were then used to constrain reactive-transport models of CO2 injection.  The initial evaluation consisted of geochemical models to confirm current methodologies, which correctly predicted the outcome of the reaction of supercritical carbon dioxide with carbonate rocks.  This prediction agrees well with the observations of the natural repository that showed little effect on the rock properties from much longer-term CO2 storage. 

The reactive-transport multiphase flow models simulated the injection of approximately one million tons of CO2 per year in a single well for 30 years and followed the fate and transport for 10,000 years to evaluate the long-term storage.  The model boundaries assumed constant pressure was maintained throughout the simulation, in effect an open boundary.  Over the 10,000 years, the lateral extent of the plume grows, reaching about 5 km in diameter.  The model predicts that the CO2 can be safely stored with minimal leakage and minimal effect to the rock over the 10,000 year period, providing the caprock has sufficiently low permeability.  The model was used to monitor the sandstone overlying the caprock to determine the sensitivity of CO2 leakage to caprock permeability.  Again assuming a reasonable permeability value for the caprock, there is little or no leakage even after 10,000 years.  While there are limitations to the current data dealing with the movement and trapping of carbon dioxide in porous media, this result also suggests that the current models can accurately predict the general outcome of future storage efforts.  


Tags: BSCSP, Carbon Sequestration, Carbonate Reservoirs, Geologic
Quantifying Forest Aboveground Carbon Pools and Fluxes Using Multi-temporal LIDAR

Sound policy recommendations relating to the role of forest management in mitigating atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) depend upon establishing accurate methodologies for quantifying forest carbon pools for large tracts of land that can be dynamically updated over time. Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) remote sensing is a promising technology for achieving accurate estimates of aboveground biomass and thereby carbon pools; however, not much is known about the accuracy of estimating biomass change and carbon flux from repeat LiDAR acquisitions containing different data sampling characteristics.
In this study, discrete return airborne LiDAR data was collected in 2003 and 2009 across ~20,000 hectares (ha) of an actively managed, mixed conifer forest landscape in northern Idaho, USA. Forest inventory plots, established via a random stratified sampling design, were established and sampled in 2003 and 2009. The Random Forest machine learning algorithm was used to establish statistical relationships between inventory data and forest structural metrics derived from the LiDAR acquisitions. Aboveground biomass maps were created for the study area based on statistical relationships developed at the plot level.

Tags: BSCSP, Carbon Sequestration, Terrestrial
National Mafic Rock Atlas Report

Regionally extensive mafic rock formations, or flood basalts, are a distinguishing feature of the
geology of the Pacific Northwest and the Big Sky Carbon Sequestration Partnership. The
region’s Columbia River Basalt Group (CRBG) covers approximately 164,000 km2 and is
probably the most well studied igneous province in the world. The Snake River Plain basalts
stretching across Idaho and High Lava Plains of Oregon add to the potential storage resource
area. There are over 300 lava flows that comprise CRBG alone and each flow is from a few tens
of meters to 100 meters thick. All combined, the BSCSP basalt formations offer significant longterm
storage potential, with conservative estimates of CO2 storage capacity in the range of 50 -
100 billion metric tons. Basaltic provinces, however, are not limited to the Pacific Northwest.
They are found throughout North America and may provide local carbon storage sites for areas
lacking more traditional storage opportunities in saline formations or oil and gas fields.

In the Big Sky Region, the Columbia River Basalt formations were formed millions of years ago
as lava flows cooled on the earth’s surface. As successive flows cooled over time, layers of
basalt were formed, each tens to hundreds of feet thick. The exterior portions of each layer
cooled quickly forming cracks and bubbles, while the slow-cooling interiors cooled slowly
creating dense and impermeable layers. The dense interior sections serve as cap rocks while the
porous exterior sections serve as potential injection zones for CO2 storage.

Laboratory tests have shown that basalts are very geochemically reactive and have the ability to
chemically trap CO2 in a short period of time by forming solid minerals. When basalts have been
exposed to supercritical CO2 and water in the lab setting, minerals in the basalt react with the
CO2 and water to form limestone or calcium carbonate. This geochemical process traps the CO2
in a solid form and permanently isolates it from the atmosphere. Similar mineralization processes
happen in other rock types but at much slower rates.

Tags: BSCSP, Basalt, Carbon Sequestration, Mafic
Montana Cropland Enrolled Farm Fields Carbon Sequestration Measurement Monitoring and Verification

There is growing need for rapid, accurate, and inexpensive methods to measure, and verify soil organic carbon (SOC) change for national greenhouse gas accounting and the development of a soil carbon trading market. Laboratory based soil characterization typically requires significant soil processing, which is time and resource intensive. This severely limits application for large-region soil characterization. Thus, development of rapid and accurate methods for characterizing soils are needed to map soil properties for precision agriculture applications, improve regional and global soil carbon (C) stock and flux estimates and efficiently map sub-surface metal contamination, among others. The greatest gains for efficient soil characterization will come from collecting soil data in situ, thus minimizing soil sample transportation, processing, and lab-based measurement costs. Visible and near-infrared diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (VisNIR) and laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) are two complementary, yet fundamentally different spectroscopic techniques that have the potential to meet this need. These sensors have the potential to be mounted on a soil penetrometer and deployed for rapid soil profile characterization at field and landscape scales. Details of sensor interaction, efficient data management, and appropriate statistical analysis techniques for model calibrations are first needed.

Tags: BSCSP, Big Sky Carbon Sequestration, Carbon Sequestration, Cropland, Terrestrial
Hydrogeologic Characterization Results from the Wallula Basalt Pilot Study

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Big Sky Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnership has completed
drilling the first continental flood basalt sequestration pilot borehole to a total depth of 4110 ft at the
Boise White Paper Mill property at Wallula, Washington. Site suitability was assessed before drilling by
the 2007 to 2008 acquisition, processing, and analysis of a 4-mi, five-line three component seismic swath,
which was processed as a single data-dense line. Analysis of the seismic survey data indicated a
composite basalt formation thickness of ~8000 ft and absence of major geologic structures (i.e., faults)
along the line imaged by the seismic swath. Drilling of Wallula pilot borehole was initiated on
January 13, 2009, and reached total depth on April 6, 2009. Based on characterization results obtained
during drilling, three basalt breccia zones were identified between the depth interval of 2716 and 2,910 ft
as being a suitable injection reservoir for a subsequent CO2 injection pilot study. The targeted injection
reservoir lies stratigraphically below the massive Umtanum Member of the Grande Ronde Basalt, whose
flow-interior section possesses regionally recognized low-permeability characteristics. The identified
composite injection zone reservoir provides a unique and attractive opportunity to scientifically study the
reservoir behavior of three interconnected reservoir intervals below primary and secondary caprock
confining zones.

Tags: BSCSP, Basalt, Hydrogeology
yawkey98

CT and core logger data of the Yawkey #98 core described in the technical report:
Crandall, D.; Mackey, P.; Paronish, T.; Brown, S.; Moore, J.; Workman, S.; Warden, L.; Computed Tomography Scanning and Geophysical Measurements of the Rhinestreet and Marcellus Shale from the Yawkey #98 Well; NETL-TRS-X-2018; NETL Technical Report Series; U.S. Department of Energy, National Energy Technology Laboratory: Morgantown, WV, 2018; p 45.  

Tags: CT Scanning, Marcellus Shale, Rhinestreet Shale
Cropland Remote Sensing Models Final Report

A Big Sky Carbon Sequestration Partnership (BSCSP) research team examined the utility and developed methods for monitoring cropping practices in north central Montana that are currently subject to potential carbon credit trading. The advantage of developing remote sensing methods for this purpose is to provide monitoring and validation over large areas to support carbon trading markets.

The research team used an object-oriented approach in conjunction with the Random Forest algorithm to classify agricultural practices, including tillage (till or no-till (NT)), crop intensity, and grassland-based conservation reserve (CR). This study hypothesized that the inclusion of high temporal data into the classification process would increase conservation tillage accuracy due to the added likelihood of capturing spectral changes in Montana fields following a tillage disturbance. Classification accuracies were evaluated for Random Forest models based on 250-m and 500-m MODIS, 30-m Landsat, and 30-m synthetic reflectance values.

These remote sensing methods enabled the team to establish regional percentage estimates of cropland under no-till as influenced by prior tillage management, various degrees of crop intensity, and conservation reserve within north central Montana. Literature-based carbon sequestration estimates were used to generate carbon gain data associated with the conversion to no-till and to conservation reserve. These estimates were then applied to the area-based cropland statistics to estimate potential regional carbon sequestration associated with these management changes.

Results for this study indicated that an estimated 26% of the evaluated research region was under a grassland-based CR management in 2007, yet only 2% of this area was documented as being under current CRP contract. For cropland management, findings estimated that 56% of the region used NT in 2007, while 44% remained under a tillage-based management. Correspondingly, potential regional sequestration estimates for north-central Montana were calculated at 18,855 t C year−1 (69,198 t CO2 year−1). For tillage and minimal-tillage (MT) lands, estimates showed that 46,555–60,522 t C year−1 (170,857–222,116 t CO2 year−1) might be sequestered within the 0–20 cm soil depth. The predicted regional SOC sequestration was found to be more moderate for the MT-to-NT assumptions (37,244 t C year−1), and was expectedly higher under an intensive tillage-to-NT adjustment (55,866–81,472 t C year−1). Values for sequestration potential are additionally influenced by specific environmental inputs, such as vegetation type, soil nitrogen levels, crop type, livestock management, and other variables that should be considered in potential sequestration analyses.

Tags: BSCSP, Big Sky Carbon Sequestration, Carbon Sequestration, Cropland, Terrestrial
Cropland Controlled Site Experiments Final Report

The Big Sky Carbon Sequestration project sponsored terrestrial carbon sequestration field studies at “farm-managed sites” in northern Montana near Fife, Chester, Power, Dutton, and Conrad during Phase III. The overall objective of these studies was to determine whether adoption of tillage reduction (i.e. no-till) and annual cropping practices would result in soil C sequestration, and if so, at what rate. A 10 year study (2002-2012) was conducted at five farm-managed sites in northern Montana and on the property of the MSU-Post Farm near Bozeman. The MSU-Post farm trial was conducted with funds from the Montana Agricultural Experiment Station. Soil cores were collected in 2012, processed, and then analyzed for organic C. Estimates of SOC mass for different profile depths were calculated for the farm-managed sites (i.e. 0-20 cm and 0-50 cm) and MSU-Post Farm (0-30 cm). Estimates of SOC mass were contrasted with baseline numbers in 2002 (or 2004) where comparison could be reliably made. This study found that terrestrial C sequestration was possible in Montana’s dryland cropland soils by replacing fallow-wheat with more intensive cropping practices such as annual, pulse-wheat rotations. The impact of a reduction in tillage on C sequestration was somewhat unclear but it appeared to be considerably less important than cropping intensity. Estimated SOC sequestration response averaged 0.32 MT C ha-1 yr-1, or 1.17 MT CO2 equivalent ha-1 yr-1 over five sites where responses to increasing cropping intensity were observed. As anticipated there was considerable variance (0.18 to 0.60 MT C ha-1 yr-1) in soil C sequestration rates among the responsive sites. The largest C sequestration was response to cropping intensity was observed at Fife which was characterized by high soil clay content (60%). Current, Montana ag-statistics indicate that approximately 1.29 million hectares of farm land (3.19 million acres) are in fallow on an annual basis. Approximately, 72% of the fallow-wheat acreage (or 925,000 hectares) is found in Montana’s Golden Triangle plus three other neighboring counties. If we apply our mean soil C sequestration rate to this acreage, then the potential of terrestrial C sequestration in Montana following conversion of fallow-wheat to annual cropping equates to approximately 1.0 million MT of CO2 per year.

Tags: BSCSP, Big Sky Carbon Sequestration, Carbon Sequestration, Cropland, Terrestrial
Capture and Sequestration of CO2 at the Boise White Paper Mill

This report documents the efforts taken to develop a preliminary design for the first commercial-scale CO2 capture and sequestration (CCS) project associated with biomass power integrated into a pulp and paper operation. The Boise Wallula paper mill is located near the township of Wallula in Southeastern Washington State. Infrastructure at the paper mill will be upgraded such that current steam needs and a significant portion of the current mill electric power are supplied from a 100% biomass power source. A new biomass power system will be constructed with an integrated amine-based CO2 capture plant to capture approximately 550,000 tons of CO2 per year for geologic sequestration. A customized version of Fluor Corporation’s Econamine Plus™ carbon capture technology will be designed to accommodate the specific chemical composition of exhaust gases from the biomass boiler.

Due to the use of biomass for fuel, employing CCS technology represents a unique opportunity to generate a net negative carbon emissions footprint, which on an equivalent emissions reduction basis is 1.8X greater than from equivalent fossil fuel sources (SPATH and MANN, 2004). Furthermore, the proposed project will offset a significant amount of current natural gas use at the mill, equating to an additional 200,000 tons of avoided CO2 emissions. Hence, the total net emissions avoided through this project equates to 1,100,000 tons of CO2 per year. Successful execution of this project will provide a clear path forward for similar kinds of emissions reduction that can be replicated at other energy-intensive industrial facilities where the geology is suitable for sequestration.

This project also represents a first opportunity for commercial development of geologic storage of CO2 in deep flood basalt formations. The Boise paper mill site is host to a Phase II pilot study being carried out under DOE’s Regional Carbon Partnership Program. Lessons learned from this pilot study and other separately funded projects studying CO2 sequestration in basalts will be heavily leveraged in developing a suitable site characterization program and system design for permanent sequestration of captured CO2. The areal extent, very large thickness, high permeability in portions of the flows, and presence of multiple very low permeability flow interior seals combine to produce a robust sequestration target. Moreover, basalt formations are quite reactive with water-rich supercritical CO2 and formation water that contains dissolved CO2 to generate carbonate minerals, providing for long-term assurance of permanent sequestration. Sub-basalt sediments also exist at the site providing alternative or supplemental storage capacity.

Tags: BSCSP, Carbon Capture, Geologic Sequestration, carbon sequestration
Analysis of CO2 Separation from Flue Gas

This document assesses the costs associated with separating the CO2 from flue gas and
then injecting it into a coal seam. The technical challenges and costs associated with CO2 separation
from flue gas and transportation of the separated CO2 from the point source to an appropriate
sequestration target are analyzed as well in this report

Tags: BSCSP, Carbon Sequestration, Coal Bed Methane