Preliminary Geologic Characterization of West Coast States for Geologic Sequestration
Characterization of geological sinks for sequestration of CO{sub 2} in California, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington was carried out as part of Phase I of the West Coast Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnership (WESTCARB) project. Results show that there are geologic storage opportunities in the region within each of the following major technology areas: saline formations, oil and gas reservoirs, and coal beds. The work focused on sedimentary basins as the initial most-promising targets for geologic sequestration. Geographical Information System (GIS) layers showing sedimentary basins and oil, gas, and coal fields in those basins were developed. The GIS layers were attributed with information on the subsurface, including sediment thickness, presence and depth of porous and permeable sandstones, and, where available, reservoir properties. California offers outstanding sequestration opportunities because of its large capacity and the potential of value-added benefits from enhanced oil recovery (EOR) and enhanced gas recovery (EGR). The estimate for storage capacity of saline formations in the ten largest basins in California ranges from about 150 to about 500 Gt of CO{sub 2}, depending on assumptions about the fraction of the formations used and the fraction of the pore volume filled with separate-phase CO{sub 2}. Potential CO{sub 2}-EOR storage was estimated to be 3.4 Gt, based on a screening of reservoirs using depth, an API gravity cutoff, and cumulative oil produced. The cumulative production from gas reservoirs (screened by depth) suggests a CO{sub 2} storage capacity of 1.7 Gt. In Oregon and Washington, sedimentary basins along the coast also offer sequestration opportunities. Of particular interest is the Puget Trough Basin, which contains up to 1,130 m (3,700 ft) of unconsolidated sediments overlying up to 3,050 m (10,000 ft) of Tertiary sedimentary rocks. The Puget Trough Basin also contains deep coal formations, which are sequestration targets and may have potential for enhanced coal bed methane recovery (ECBM).
- Research Organization:
- California Energy Commission
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- DOE Contract Number:
- FC26-03NT41984
- OSTI ID:
- 907916
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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