PNNL

Abstract

The Ohio River Valley region of the United States is an area with large CO2 emissions associated with hydrocarbon-based electrical power generation facilities. Underlying this region is a thick sedimentary sequence that contains saline aquifer formations, deep-unminable coal seams, and oil and gas reservoirs. Under favorable conditions, these reservoirs could be used for sequestering large volumes of CO2. Validation and eventual utilization of a potentially very-large geologic sequestration capacity, however, requires detailed site-specific geologic characterization as well as injection and monitoring demonstrations at realistic scales. The Ohio River Valley CO2 Storage Project is a collaborative effort (supported by U.S. Department of Energy’s National Energy Technology Laboratory, American Electric Power (AEP), BP, The Ohio Coal Development Office, Schlumberger, Battelle, and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory) to investigate the potential of reservoirs at both site-specific and a regional basis. If favorable reservoir sites can be located in areas in proximity to carbon-emission sites, an integrated program that demonstrates CO2 capture, injection and monitoring may be implemented. As part of this effort, a ~2800 m deep reconnaissance test well was drilled at AEP’s 1300 MW Mountaineer Power Plant located in the Appalachian Basin region along Ohio River. A systematic reservoir characterization program involving: collection and analysis of core and formation brine samples, wireline geophysical logging, and reservoir hydraulic testing was implemented to identify and test potential injection and containment zones. A surface seismic survey was also conducted to evaluate lateral continuity and structural features at depth of the key formations. The results of the investigations were used to evaluate and quantify injection potential and are being used to assess feasibility of several options for a possible future CO2 injection field-demonstration phase. The current findings emphasize the need for expanded characterization investigations of deep formations in the region, with a specific focus on acquisition of permeability, storage capacity, and reservoir thickness data. The overall objective of these expanded investigations is for developing a regional geologic framework to understand distribution and relevant properties of potential sequestration/storage reservoirs.