MRCSP Annual Meeting, Columbus, Ohio

October 21, 2015

DOE/NETL Cooperative Agreement # DE-FC26-0NT42589

Neeraj Gupta, Ph.D. Senior Research Leader Battelle

MRCSP and Regional CCS Updates

The MRCSP is Assessing Viability of Geologic Carbon Sequestration

Objectives are to advance operational,

monitoring, and modeling techniques

needed to:

Develop and validate reservoir models

useful for commercial scale applications

Address public concerns such as

leakage and long-term storage security

Address other topics such as cost

effectiveness and CCUS practicability

Primary goal: To execute a large-scale scale CO2 injection test to evaluate

best practices and technologies required to implement carbon sequestration

2

Historical Snapshot of MRCSP

3

One of seven DOE-funded regional partnerships to develop infrastructure for

wide-scale CO2 sequestration deployment.

Late-stage EOR reef

Operational EOR reef

Newly targeted reef

4

MRCSP Region – Economic Drivers • Population: 80.4 million (26% of the U.S. population) • Gross Regional Product: $3.1 trillion (27% of the U.S. economy) • 26.3% of all electricity generated in the US • 75% of electricity generated in the region is generated by coal

MI

OH

NY

KY

IN

PA

MD

NJ

WV

MRCSP Area and Field Sites

MRCSP Scope of Work Structured Around Six Tasks

5

Task 1 Regional Characterization: Develop a picture of the region’s geologic

sequestration resource base

Task 2 Outreach: Raise awareness of regional sequestration opportunities and

provide stakeholders with information about CO2 storage

Task 3 Field Laboratory Using Late-Stage EOR Field: Pressurize a depleted oil

field with CO2 injection to test monitoring technologies and demonstrate

storage potential

Task 4 CO2 Storage Potential in Active EOR Fields: Monitor CO2 Injection and

recycling in active EOR operations with different scenarios

Task 5 CO2 Injection in New EOR Field(s): Monitor CO2 injection into an oil field

that has not undergone any CO2 EOR to test monitoring technologies and

demonstrate storage potential

Task 6 Program Management

Late-Stage Reef is the Main Test Bed for MRCSP Large-Scale Injection

Gas

Producing

Zone

Oil

Producing

Zone

6

Monitoring and Accounting for CO2 in a Closed Loop CO2 EOR Cycle

Fluid production

Fluid Injection

Pure CO2

compressed at

Chester 10

Produced and

Recycled CO2

Compositional Analysis

All produced CO2 is recycled back into system.

Regional Characterization – An Integrated Geologic Storage Potential Mapping Collaboration

State geological surveys are:

• Compiling/interpreting data

• Developing common

terminology for formations

across state boundaries

MRCSP's

geology team

• Creating maps

and other tools

MRCSP has Four Overarching Goals for its Outreach Program:

1. Continue to be a neutral and

credible source of scientific

information on CCUS

2. Improve public understanding of

CCUS

3. Support the large-volume CO2

injection test

4. Support other MRCSP research

activities, including regional

geologic characterization projects

Communicating the Results of the Large-Scale Project to a Broad Audience is a Key Focus

Share technical information

and convey key findings

(e.g., CCS works, it’s safe)

Site Visits, Fact Sheets

Conferences and

Meetings

Website

MRCSP also Convenes and Participates in the Outreach Working Group

A group of outreach coordinators working to better understand

and respond to questions about CCS

Message Mapping (Media, Outreach Materials)

Digital Communications

Best Practices Manual

Beyond MRCSP: Recent and Ongoing Projects in the Region

Learning from Subsurface Brine Disposal Framework in the

Northern Appalachian Basin

Geomechanical Framework for Secure CO2 Storage

Evaluating CO2 Storage and EOR Potential in Ohio

Simplified modeling for CO2 geologic sequestration

Assessment of wellbore integrity in CCUS operations

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1.0E-10 1.0E-08 1.0E-06 1.0E-04 1.0E-02 1.0E+00 1.0E+02

pre

ssu

re b

uil

du

p (p

si)

r^2/t (m^2/s)

M2Φ,w - Eq. 21

M2Φ, eff - Eq. 25

STOMP

MBL - Eq. 9

Post-Injection Monitoring at AEP Mountaineer

The Monitoring Program at the AEP PVF Site was a Comprehensive, Integrated Program

The PVF project at the AEP Mountaineer Power Plant

consisted of a 20 MW CO2 Capture and Storage System

CO2 Capture and Injection took place from

October 2009 - May 2011

Injection into two reservoirs, the Rose Run Sandstone

and the Copper Ridge Dolomite

Well network of 2 injection wells and 3 reservoir

monitoring wells

Protection and monitoring

of the USDW

Differential reservoir

pressure monitoring

CO2 plume assessment

through modeling

Well network mechanical

integrity and well condition

maintenance

Monitoring Goals & Requirements

Program Approach Local groundwater

sampling and analysis

Downhole pressure /

temp. data collection

Reservoir pressure

data analysis

Frequent well

observation/ surface &

well maintenance

The AEP PVF Project is Approaching Site Closure based on the Success of the Post-Injection Program

The two CO2 plumes are stable and modeling shows that

they extend approximately 990 to 1050 ft. for the Copper

Ridge formation and approximately 510 to 600 ft. for the

Rose Run formation.

The program at AEP during the post-injection monitoring phase has been successful.

Differential pressure has return to pre-injection or

near pre-injection levels.

Injected CO2 poses no threat to the USDW.

All regulatory and operational program

requirements and goals have been met.

Due to the success of the site care and monitoring

program, three of the wells were plugged in 2014.

Ohio Coal Development Office Support to Evaluate CO2 Storage and EOR Potential in Ohio

20 20

• Detailed geologic exploration and

analysis

• Using well and seismic data from

shale gas activity

3D Geologic Visualization of Oil & Gas Wells in Ohio

Porosity map of the sandy facies showing high porosity

(yellow) in the center

Learning from Subsurface Brine Disposal Framework in the Northern Appalachian Basin

• 2-year project supported by RPSEA, DOE-NETL

• Class 2 brine disposal injection zones in the N. Appalachian

Basin were analyzed based on character, distribution, and

injection potential

• 300+ operational brine disposal wells-historical data

analysis provides useful information on safe operating

ranges (monthly injection rates, pressures)

• Class II brine disposal in the Appalachian Basin increased

from ~5 million barrels/year in early 2000s to ~18 million

barrels/year in 2012

Data from 2008-2012 indicates ~10,000 barrels brine injected per BCF

equivalent gas production. Ultimate lifespan demand may be 700-2,300

million barrels for Marcellus/Utica fields

Catalog of aspects of disposal based on demand, storage capacity, and

well costs

Guidance for developers, gas producers, regulatory agencies, and public

stakeholders

Systematic Assessment of Wellbore Integrity for Geologic Carbon Storage Projects Using Regulatory and Industry Information • 3-year project with DOE-NETL and Ohio Dev. Serv. Agency

• Well status, condition, cement bond logs, and plugging

records used to portray actual well conditions

• Test areas had ~20 to ~1,200 wells in various stages of

activity, plugging & abandonment, and records

• Several practical products developed under this project to

support CO2 storage in the region:

•Sustained casing pressure testing methods,

•Systematic cement bond log analysis procedure,

•Regional database on well integrity indicators for MI and OH,

•Statistical analysis of well integrity indicators,

•Assessment of practical methods and costs to remediate

typical wells in the region based on 6 study areas

Simplified Predictive Models for CO2 Sequestration Performance Assessment

Developed reduced physics based predictive models for injectivity,

average reservoir pressure buildup and CO2 plume extent

Improved proxy modeling workflow using experimental design (Box-

Behnken) and sampling design (Latin Hypercube sampling) schemes

Demonstrated applicability of POD-TPWL (reduced order based

modeling) for CO2 injection into saline aquifers

Reduced physics and statistical models validated

using uncertainty and sensitivity analysis

Successful development of various predictive models for layered saline reservoir-caprock systems that are:

o Simple, work with limited data Site developers, regulators

o Computationally efficient Modelers, risk assessors

Successful publications (2013-2015): 2 journal publications and 9 conference

papers

Methodology applications identified in ongoing and proposed Battelle projects

Geomechanical Framework for Secure CO2 Storage in Fractured Reservoirs and Caprocks for Sedimentary Basins in the Midwest United States Objectives

• Characterize the paleo-stress/strain setting

• Evaluate the potential and effects of

subsurface deformation

• Assess CO2 storage processes based on

rock core tests and geophysical logging in

the regions being considered for large-scale

CO2 storage

Offshore Carbon Storage Resource Assessments Complement Storage Infrastructure Evaluation

Develop preliminary CO2 storage resources in the offshore:

Subsurface depleted oil and gas fields and saline formations in State and Federal waters on the East Coast and Gulf of Mexico

Utilize existing geologic and geophysical data (well logs, records and sample descriptions) from existing or plugged/abandoned wells, seismic data, and existing core samples

The University of Texas at Austin – Offshore CO2 Storage Resource Assessment

of the Northern Gulf of Mexico (Upper Texas –

Western Louisiana Coastal Areas)

Southern States Energy Board – Southeast Offshore Storage Resource

Assessment

Battelle Memorial Institute – Mid-Atlantic U.S. Offshore

Carbon Storage Resource Assessment Project

GeoMechanics Technologies – Assessment of

CO2 Storage Resources in Depleted Oil and Gas

Fields in the Ship Shoal Area, Gulf of Mexico

NITEC, LLC.– Offshore Storage Resource

Assessment (Federal offshore – Gulf of Mexico)

Summary of Recent Progress

• Large-scale Test in Michigan

Completed baseline monitoring and site preparation for multiple reefs

~244,000 tonnes injected in late stage reef

>175,000 tonnes net CO2 in active EOR reefs

Operational and subsurface monitoring underway

Reservoir analysis shows closed reservoir conditions

Phase changes and compressibility affect pressure

Initial geologic and reservoir models prepared

Injection in a second new EOR reef likely to start in late 2015

• Local, regional, national, and global outreach

• Regional mapping/characterization across ten states

• Geologic storage and EOR assessment in Ohio

Synergistic Opportunities

• Knowledge share with Plains CO2 Partnership on

closed reservoirs modeling and monitoring

• Knowledge share with other RCSPs on

monitoring technologies

• Potential for support for DOE SubTER initiatives

• Collaboration with international projects on

modeling and CO2 EOR to Storage transitions

• IEAGHG monitoring network presentations

• Input to DOE Best Practices Manuals

Many CCS Challenges Remain to be Addressed

• Matching global storage capacity with commercial scale injectivity –

balancing large-scale testing with broader geologic exploration

• Effect of seismicity, pressure constraints, and stakeholder issues on

deployment – will we need to discount total capacity

• Validation of monitoring technology across geologic settings –

confidence in current technologies; technology evolution

• Regulatory, financial, stakeholder issues for saline storage field tests

• Re-engaging industrial stakeholders for CCS in saline storage and

EOR settings – low oil/gas prices, policy uncertainties, capture cost

• Sufficient representation in mitigation portfolio

• Development and retention of human capital

Acknowledgements

Battelle’s MRCSP team members from 2003 to present

DOE/NETL for their continued trust in Battelle’s work under MRCSP and other

R&D Projects since 1996

Core Energy, LLC our host site and CO2 supplier for 10 years of collaboration

under MRCSP Phase II and Phase III

The Ohio Coal Development Office has provided critical cofunding for the

regional characterization efforts

MRCSP’s industrial partners and sponsors

The ten State Geology Surveys and Universities have been essential in

expanding the results into regional implementation plans.

Contributions From Partners Have Helped Make MRCSP Successful

Questions?

Please visit www.mrcsp.org