Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnerships

1. West Coast Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnership (WESTCARB) Larry R. Myer, WESTCARB Technical Director Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnerships Site Characterization and Risk Assessment at a Site in theSan Joaquin Valley, California • WESTCARB is one of seven Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnerships initiated by the Department of Energy’s Office of Fossil Energy, and the tasked with developing guidelines for the most suitable technologies, regulations, and infrastructure needs for carbon capture and storage in different regions of the United States and Canada. • WESTCARB has identified over 800 gigatonnes of CO2 storage capacity in geologic formations located in the its western region, which includes the states of Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington and the Canadian province of British Columbia. • WESTCARB is currently focusing on small- and larger-scale CO2 injection tests. • Existing wells provide data for an initial geologic model for the site near Bakersfield, California • Initial simulation results show the importance of secondary trapping mechanisms in plume immobilization after the conclusion of a 1,000,000-ton CO2 injection Source: Jeff Wagoner, LLNL WESTCARB’s goal: identify and validate the best regional oppor-tunities for keeping CO2 out of the atmosphere Arizona Utilities CO2 Storage Pilot • Project objective is to evaluate and characterize the significant storage capacity in Colorado Plateau of northeastern Arizona, an area of large CO2 sources • Industrial partners for the test at the Cholla Power Plant are Arizona Electric Power Cooperative, Arizona Public Service Company, Peabody Energy, Salt River Project, and Tucson Electric Power Company Source: C. Doughty, LBNL • Exploratory Well Provided Detailed Characterization Information • Data collected during drilling validated geologic model and provided detailed information on overburden, seal, and reservoir • Cuttings confirmed lithologies • Sidewall cores taken for measurement of hydrologic properties • Salinity of formation waters confirmed • Geophysical well logs and initial injectivity assessment made in open hole • Comprehensive set of well logs provided data on formation mineralogy, porosity, permeability, fluid properties, and in-situ stresses (see below) • Geologic characterization continuing in Arizona at an additional site • Comparison of Two Risk Assessment Approaches • Schlumberger Approach • Identifies and prioritizes site-specific risks based on project values: health and safety; financial; environment; research; industry viability • Workgroups score features, events, processes (FEPs) according to severity and likelihood • Results are used to construct scenarios and identify specific risk-reduction actions, including monitoring needs and methods • Certification Framework • Four compartments vulnerable to impacts: • ECA: emission credits and atmosphere • HSE: health, safety, and environment • USDW: underground sources of drinking water • HMR: hydrocarbon and mineral resources • Two conduits with potential for leakage: • Wells • Faults and fractures • CO2 leakage risk is the probability that negative impacts will occur to HMR, USDW, HSE, or ECA due to CO2 migration Well drilling at Arizona pilot site Risk assessment matrix Source: Schlumberger “Mud Log” Stress Analysis – Comparison of Dipole Sonic, Caliper and FMI. Perpendicular relation suggests borehole enlargement is in the direction of minimum horizontal stress. FSA – N119°E Max. Stress Breakout – Min. Stress Source: C. Oldenburg, LBNL References Doughty, C., Investigation of CO2 plume behavior for a large-scale pilot test of geologic carbon storage in a saline formation, Transport in Porous Media, special issue on geologic carbon storage, doi:10.1007/S112423-009-9396-z, 2009. Hnottevange-Telleen, K., Finley, R., Myer, L., Greenberg, S., Marsteller, S., Rowe, W., 2009, “How Risk Management Guides Decision Making in Two Large Scale CCS Pilots”, Eight Annual Conference on Carbon Capture and Sequestration, May 4 -7, Pittsburgh, PA. Oldenburg, C.M., S.L. Bryant, and J.P. Nicot, Certification Framework Based on Effective Trapping for Geologic Carbon Sequestration, Int. J. of Greenhouse Gas Control 3, 444–457, 2009, LBNL-1549E. Wagoner, J., 2009, “3D Geologic Modeling of the Southern San Joaquin Basin for the WESTCARB Kimberlina Demonstration Project – a Status Report”, WESTCARB Project report. Rose diagram fast shear (FSA) direction Rose diagram borehole enlargement Northern California CO2 Reduction Project • Project objectives are to: • Demonstrate the safety and feasibility of CO2 storage in saline formations in the vast northern regions of California’s Central Valley • Demonstrate and test methods for monitoring geologic CO2 storage • Gain experience with regulatory permitting, landowner issues, and public outreach associated with geologic storage of CO2 in California • Industrial partner: Shell International Exploration and Production • Plan is to drill two wells, one for injection and one for observation, to approximately 11,000 feet, and inject up to 6,000 tons of CO2 Acknowledgements • This work was supported by the Assistant Secretary for Fossil Energy, Office of Sequestration, Hydrogen, and Clean Coal Fuels, through the National Energy Technology Laboratory of the U.S. Department of Energy, under Contract No. DE-AC02-05CH11231, and through Cooperative Agreement DE-FC26-05NT42593 with the California Energy Commission. Model showing general thickening along the axis of the syncline at the northern California site Source: Shell