Project Selections for FOA 3015: Enabling a Reduced Carbon Footprint for CO2-EOR/Storage Field Test Sites in Unconventional Reservoirs

Midland Underground Laboratory for Testing Improved Production in Unconventional Reservoirs Plus Organic-rock Storage Efficiency of CO₂ (MULTIPURPOSE CO₂) — GTI Energy (Des Plaines, Illinois) intends to develop an integrated field laboratory study in Texas’s Midland Basin that is supported by laboratory experiments and computer simulations. The project will address knowledge gaps; explore the feasibility of the techniques; and develop optimal strategies for injection, conformance control, and monitoring. The company plans to reduce the carbon footprint of incremental oil recovery and test the feasibility of carbon dioxide (CO₂) storage in depleted unconventional reservoirs. Testing and results will provide data to assess the viability and economics of secondary recovery in horizontal wells that are in decline or are at sub-economic production levels. The impact of this project could be substantial due to the number of existing proved and developed producing wells located in Glasscock and Howard counties and in the Permian basin. The project could provide a viable and economic option for long-term storage in low-permeability reservoirs that have been depleted by primary recovery or are no longer economic for additional drilling. Achieving this goal could extend the life of existing infrastructure and provide alternate income potential for wells that are un-economic or delay the need for plugging. This path would support retaining quality job opportunities in the region and provide additional community and economic benefits. The associated CO₂ storage component of the project could also provide an opportunity to minimize atmospheric CO₂ emissions for a potential positive climate impact.

DOE Funding: $11,599,495
Non-DOE Funding: $3,251,717
Total Value: $14,851,212

Bakken CO₂ EOR and Storage Field Laboratory — University of North Dakota Energy & Environmental Research Center (Grand Forks, North Dakota) plans to investigate the concept that CO₂ injected into an unconventional reservoir in the Bakken Formation will result in incremental oil recovery while simultaneously storing CO₂. Success in this endeavor could result in lower-carbon-intensity oil production. The teams intend to meet this objective by conducting laboratory-, modeling- and field-based activities, including a cumulative 18 months of CO₂ injection into a Bakken reservoir. These efforts will generate a wealth of data regarding the viability and effectiveness of injecting CO₂ into hydraulically fractured horizontal wells in an unconventional reservoir for enhanced oil recovery (EOR) while accounting for associated geological storage of CO₂. The project will analyze samples of rocks and fluids taken from the Bakken Formation to support laboratory experiments designed to better understand the mechanisms controlling CO₂-EOR and storage. The project will conduct geologic modeling and numerical simulations to support design, permitting and execution of field tests. The effects of CO₂ injection on the reservoir will be closely monitored, including the collection of data to support life-cycle analysis for future CO₂-EOR and storage in the Bakken Formation. Successful completion of the project will provide stakeholders with new critical data and scientifically validated insights regarding the potential to broadly deploy CO₂-EOR and storage to unconventional oil reservoirs throughout the United States, thereby supporting the energy needs of the nation while simultaneously reducing atmospheric emissions of CO₂.

DOE Funding: $11,600,000
Non-DOE Funding: $2,900,000
Total Value: $14,500,000