 Environmental and Operational Performance of CO 2 -EOR as a CCUS Technology: A Cranfield Example with Dynamic LCA ConsiderationsVanessa Núñez-López,
Ramón Gil-Egui and
Seyyed A. Hosseini
Energies, 2019, vol. 12, issue 3, 1-15 Abstract: This study evaluates the potential of carbon dioxide-enhanced oil recovery (CO 2 -EOR) to reduce greenhouse gas emissions without compromising oil production goals. A novel, dynamic carbon lifecycle analysis (d-LCA) was developed and used to understand the evolution of the environmental impact (CO 2 emissions) and mitigation (geologic CO 2 storage) associated with an expanded carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) system, from start to closure of operations. EOR operational performance was assessed through CO 2 utilization rates, which relate usage of CO 2 to oil production. Because field operational strategies have a significant impact on reservoir engineering parameters that affect both CO 2 storage and oil production (e.g., sweep efficiency, flood conformance, fluid saturation distribution), we conducted a scenario analysis that assessed the operational and environmental performance of four common and novel CO 2 -EOR field development strategies. Each scenario was evaluated with and without stacked saline carbon storage, an EOR/storage combination strategy where excess CO 2 from the recycling facility is injected into an underlying saline aquifer for long-term carbon storage. The dynamic interplay between operational and environmental performance formed the basis of our CCUS technology analysis. The results showed that all CO 2 -EOR evaluated scenarios start operating with a negative carbon footprint and, years into the project, transitioned into operating with a positive carbon footprint. The transition points were significantly different in each scenario. Water-alternating-gas (WAG) was identified as the CO 2 injection strategy with the highest potential to co-optimize EOR and carbon storage goals. The results provide an understanding of the evolution of the system’s net carbon balance in all four field development strategies studied. The environmental performance can be significantly improved with stacked storage, where a negative carbon footprint can be maintained throughout the life of the operation in most of the injection scenarios modelled. This information will be useful to CO 2 -EOR operators seeking value in storing more CO 2 through a carbon credit program (e.g., the 45Q carbon credit program in the USA). Most importantly, this study serves as confirmation that CO 2 -EOR can be operationally designed to both enhance oil production and reduce greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere. Keywords: CO 2 -EOR; geologic carbon sequestration; CCUS; co-optimization; carbon balance; LCA (search for similar items in EconPapers) Downloads: (external link) Related works: Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jeners:v:12:y:2019:i:3:p:448-:d:202328 Access Statistics for this article Energies is currently edited by Ms. Agatha Cao More articles in Energies from MDPI |
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