Fundamentals of CO2-Enhanced

Oil Recovery
Vanessa Nuez-Lopez
Gulf Coast Carbon Center, Bureau of Economic Geology
Jackson School of Geosciences, University of Texas at Austin

Research Experience in Carbon Sequestration (RECS)

Birmingham, Alabama
June 15, 2016

Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) is

Oil recovery by
injection of fluids not
commonly present in
the reservoir
Excludes pressure
maintenance or
waterflooding
Not necessarily
tertiary recovery.

Reservoir Development Stages

Primary
Recovery

Artificial Lift

Natural Flow

Pump - Gas Lift - Etc.

Secondary
Recovery

Conventional
Recovery

Pressure
Maintenance

Waterflood

Water - Gas Reinjection

Tertiary
Recovery

Thermal

EOR using CO2

Enhanced
Recovery

Chemical
Solvent

Other

Source: Adapted from the Oil & Gas Journal, Apr. 23, 1990

Typical Production: Weyburn Unit (Midale Sand)

CO2-EOR (The basics)

What is it?

CO2-EOR is a technology that targets the residual oil in depleted oil

reservoirs by the injection of carbon dioxide (CO2).
Where is it applied?

In depleted light-oil reservoirs that have gone through

primary recovery (natural flow) and, in most cases,
secondary recovery (mainly waterflooding).

How does it work?

CO2 is a solvent: it mixes with
the oil

Oil expands (swells)

Oil viscosity is reduced
Interfacial tension (IT) disappears*

What holds the fluids in a capillary?

air and water
interface
molecules
near
interface

air, water and oil

Different interfaces curve
differently!
To move, have to overcome
interfacial tension.

Some everyday effects of capillarity

The process
Recycling
Water Pump

U.S Department of Energy - NETL

Surface Infrastructure
Production well

Production manifold

Injection well
Separator

U.S Department of Energy - NETL

Surface Infrastructure
CO2 recycling facility

CO2 compressor

U.S Department of Energy - NETL

CO2-EOR Case Studies

Active World, U.S., and Permian Basin CO2 EOR Projects

Current CO2 Infrastructure in the US is EOR

Dominant
U.S. CO2-EOR Operations, CO2 Sources: 2014

Major US CO2 pipelines

ARI 2012

CO2-EOR Production: Historical

CO2 Supply Shortage

Recent Expansion of Natural CO2 Supplies for EOR

Denver Unit of the Wasson Field, West Texas

More than
120 million
incremental
barrels
through
2008

Specific CO2 Floods

Sundown Slaughter

14000

Actual Oil

18% HCPV
CO Injection
2

Began (Nov. '83)

CO2 Injection

16000

BOPD

1,000

Means San Andres Unit

18000

(From Folger and Guillot, 1996)

Began (Jull. 92)

CO2 Injection

Barrels/Day

10,000

12000
10000

Recovery, % OOIP
P+S
To Date 37.2

8000

Continued
Waterflood

1988

1989

1990

1991

1992

1993

6000

Continued Waterflood

2000
1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992

1994

Year

Year

EOR

45.2

6.7

Ultimate 47.2 17 (17)*

*Original EOR Estimate

40000
25% HCPV
CO Injection
2

30000
20000
10000

Continued Waterflood

0
1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992

Year

Recovery, % OOIP

Began (Feb. '81)

CO2 Injection

BOPD

50000

To Date

P+S

1500

BOPD

60000

Ford Geraldine Unit

2000

Recovery, % OOIP

CO2 Injection

70000

Seminole San Andres Unit

Began (Mar. '83)

80000

3.2

Ultimate 38.7 11 (7)*

*Original EOR Estimate

4000
100
1987

EOR

1000

P+S

EOR

To Date 21.8

Ultimate 21.8 15 (8)*

46% HCPV
CO2 Injection

*Original EOR Estimate

20 MCF/D CO2
Source Secured

500

End of
Water Injection

0
1978

1980

1982

Continued Waterflood
1984

1986

Year

1988

1990

1992

CO2 Injection volume matters!

NETL, 2008

CO2 Utilization Ratio

Gross

feet

md

feet

API

cp

%HCPV

%OOIP

Net

MCF/STB

MCF/STB

11.1
9.0
15.2
18.0
6.5
9.2
9.7
9.5

2.4
6.3
5.0
11.0
7.8
4.6
5.0
6.5
3.2

1985
1985
1981
1983
1972
1982
1986
1972
1981

15.6
13.0

8.0
10.0

1974
1986

6.0
12.6
10.7
6.1

1981
1975
1983
1983
1981
1981
1976
1978
1982

field scale projects

Dollarhide
East Vacuum
Ford Geraldine
Means
North Cross
Northeast Purdy
Rangely
SACROC (17 pattern)
SACROC (14 pattern)
South Welch
Twofreds
Wertz

TX
NM
TX
TX
TX
OK
CO
TX
TX
TX
TX
WY

Trip. Chert
Oolitic dolomite
Sandstone
Dolomite
Trip. Chert
Sandstone
Sandstone
Carbonate
Carbonate
Dolomite
Sandstone
Sandstone

7,800
4,400
2,680
4,400
5,400
8,200
6,500
6,400
6,400
4,850
4,820
6,200

120
101
83
100
106
148
160
130
130
92
104
165

17.0
11.7
23.0
9.0
22.0
13.0
15.0
9.4
9.4
12.8
20.3
10.7

9
11
64
20
5
44
5 to 50
3
3
13.9
33.4
16

48
71
23
54
60
40
110
139
139
132
18
185

40
38
40
29
44
35
32
41
41
34
36
35

0.4
1.0
1.4
6.0
0.4
1.5
1.6
0.4
0.4
2.3
1.4
1.3

30
30
30
55
40
30
30
30
30
25
40
60

14.0
8.0
17.0
7.1
22.0
7.5
7.5
7.5
9.8
7.6
15.6
10.0

OK
MS
NM
NM
CA
LA
TX
LA
WY

Sandstone
Sandstone
Anhydritic dolomite
Dolomitic sandstone
Sandstone
Sandstone
Dolomitic sandstone
Sandstone
Sandstone

1,950
10,400
4,050
3,700
9,200
8,180
4985
13,000
3,000

95
248
90
90
235
183
105
225
104

17.0
23.4
10.0
11.0
15.0
26.4
12.0
26.0
19.5

57
75
11.2
13.9
9
230
8
1200
28.5

21
30
49
23
136
15
75
186
22

47
39
36
36
36
32
32
33
39

2.1
0.4
0.8
0.8
0.5
0.9
2.0
0.3
1.4

35
160
30
30
63
19
26
24
30

14.0
21.0
8.2
17.7
15.0
20.0
20.0
8.7
12.9

producing pilots

Garber
Little Creek
Majamar
Majamar
North Coles Levee
Quarantine Bay
Slaughter Estate
Weeks Island
West Sussex

27.0
11.6
8.1
7.4
16.7
7.9
8.9

2.4
3.7
3.3

Field Projects ==>

11.7

6.3

Pilot Projects ==>

10.4
12.5
8.9

6.3
6.4
6.0

Gross

Net

AVERAGE
MEDIAN
AVERAGE
MEDIAN

US Domestic Oil Resource Base

ROIP Stranded - 400 Billion Barrels

(of 596 billion barrels OOIP)
Ferguson et al., 2009

CO2-EOR Potential in the U.S.

Carbon Sequestration Potential in Oil Reservoirs

DOE Regional Sequestration Partnerships

PCOR

BIG SKY

MRCSP
WESTCARB

MGSC

SWP

SECARB

Major CCUS Demonstration Projects

Project Locations & Cost Share

FutureGen 2.0

Large-Scale Testing of Oxy-Combustion w/ CO2

Capture & Sequestration in Saline Formation
~$1.3B Total; ~$1.0B DOE
SALINE 1.3M TPY 2016 start

CCPI
ICCS Area 1
FutureGen 2.0

Archer Daniels Midland

CO2 Capture from Ethanol Plant

CO2 Stored in Saline Reservoir
$208M Total; $141M DOE
SALINE ~1 M TPY 2013 start

Summit TX Clean Energy

Commercial Demo of Advanced

IGCC w/ Full Carbon Capture
~$1.7B Total; $450M DOE
EOR 3M TPY 2014 start

Southern Company

Kemper County IGCC Project

IGCC-Transport Gasifier
w/Carbon Capture
~$2.67B Total; $270M DOE
EOR 3 M TPY 2014 start

HECA

Commercial Demo of Advanced

IGCC w/ Full Carbon Capture
~$4B Totall; $408M DOE
EOR 3M TPY 2018 start

NRG

W.A. Parish Generating Station

Post Combustion CO2 Capture
$339M Total; $167M DOE
EOR 1.4M TPY 2014 start

Courtesy NETL 2014

Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.

CO2 Capture from Steam Methane Reformers

EOR in Eastern TX Oilfields
$431M Total, $284M DOE
EOR 1M TPY 2013 start

Leucadia Energy

CO2 Capture from Methanol Plant

EOR in Eastern TX Oilfields
$436M - Total, $261M DOE
EOR 4.5 M TPY 2015 start

Petra Nova Carbon Capture Project

Commercial-scale post-combustion carbon capture project at
NRG's WA Parish.
50/50 joint venture between NRG and JX Nippon Oil & Gas
Exploration
Received $167 million from DOE as part of the Clean Coal Power
Initiative Program (CCPI)
Capture 90 % of the carbon dioxide (CO2) from a 240 MW
slipstream of flue gas and use or sequester 1.6 million tons of
CO2 a year.
Captured CO2 will be used to enhance production at mature oil
fields in the Gulf Coast region

Denburys Hastings Carbon CCUS Project

(DOE Industrial Carbon Capture and Storage Initiative)

Air Products & Chemicals, Inc. (Port Arthur, TX)-Air Products is
capturing and injecting one million tons of CO2 per year from
existing steam-methane reformers in Port Arthur, Texas (DOE
share: $253 million)
Leucadia Energy, LLC (Lake Charles, LA)-Leucadia will capture
and sequester 4.5 million tons of CO2 per year from a new
methanol plant in Lake Charles, LA (DOE share: $260 million)

Denburys Hastings Carbon CCUS Project

Construction of 24, 325-mile Green Pipeline for transporting CO2 from
Donaldsonville, Louisiana, to oil fields in Texas finished in 2010.
Natural CO2 injection for enhancing oil production started in December 2010.
Air Products CO2 injection started in December 2012.

Questions?

Net Carbon Negative Oil

Vanessa Nuez-Lopez
Gulf Coast Carbon Center, Bureau of Economic Geology
Jackson School of Geosciences, University of Texas at Austin

Research Experience in Carbon Sequestration (RECS)

Birmingham, Alabama
June 15, 2016

Introduction
What is CO2-EOR?

CO2-EOR is a technology that targets the residual oil in depleted oil reservoirs
by the injection of carbon dioxide (CO2).

Where is it applied?
In depleted light-oil reservoirs that have gone through
primary recovery (natural flow) and, in most cases,
secondary recovery (mainly waterflooding).

How does it work?

CO2 is a solvent: it mixes
with the oil

Oil expands (swells)

Oil viscosity is reduced
Interfacial tension (IT) disappears*

Major CCUS Demonstration Projects

Project Locations & Cost Share

FutureGen 2.0

Large-Scale Testing of Oxy-Combustion w/ CO2

Capture & Sequestration in Saline Formation
~$1.3B Total; ~$1.0B DOE
SALINE 1.3M TPY 2016 start

CCPI
ICCS Area 1
FutureGen 2.0

Archer Daniels Midland

CO2 Capture from Ethanol Plant

CO2 Stored in Saline Reservoir
$208M Total; $141M DOE
SALINE ~1 M TPY 2013 start

Summit TX Clean Energy

Commercial Demo of Advanced

IGCC w/ Full Carbon Capture
~$1.7B Total; $450M DOE
EOR 3M TPY 2014 start

Southern Company

Kemper County IGCC Project

IGCC-Transport Gasifier
w/Carbon Capture
~$2.67B Total; $270M DOE
EOR 3 M TPY 2014 start

HECA

Commercial Demo of Advanced

IGCC w/ Full Carbon Capture
~$4B Totall; $408M DOE
EOR 3M TPY 2018 start

NRG Petra Nova

W.A. Parish Generating Station

Post Combustion CO2 Capture
$339M Total; $167M DOE
EOR 1.4M TPY 2014 start

Courtesy NETL 2014

Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.

CO2 Capture from Steam Methane Reformers

EOR in Eastern TX Oilfields
$431M Total, $284M DOE
EOR 1M TPY 2013 start

Leucadia Energy

CO2 Capture from Methanol Plant

EOR in Eastern TX Oilfields
$436M - Total, $261M DOE
EOR 4.5 M TPY 2015 start

Problem Statement
Is CO2-EOR a valid option for greenhouse gas emission reduction? Are geologically stored
carbon volumes larger that direct/indirect emissions resulting from CO2-EOR operations?

Carbon emitted

Carbon
captured

Carbon utilized
(CO2-EOR)

Oil produced, refined,

burned.

Carbon stored

DOE-NETL Sponsored Project

Goal: To develop a clear, universal, repeatable methodology for
making the determination of whether a CO2-EOR operation can be
classified as Net carbon Negative Oil (NCNO)
Objectives:

Identify and evaluate the critical

carbon balance components for the
accurate mass accounting of a
CO2-EOR operation.

Develop strategies that are

conducive to achieving a NCNO
classification.

Develop a comprehensive, yet

commercially applicable,
monitoring, verification, and
accounting (MVA) methodology.

34

Related Literature

System boundaries of previous studies

*Only combus,on of gasoline vehicle

*Total combus,on of products, medium oil
*Only average car gasoline combus,on

SACROC Life Carbon Balance

Mt= Million tonnes

MMBO= Million barrels of oil

Adapted from Charles Fox, Kinder Morgan

SACROC Life Carbon Balance

Mt= Million tonnes

MMBO= Million barrels of oil

Adapted from Charles Fox, Kinder Morgan

GHG Emissions per component in LCA System

[kg CO2e/MWh] (for coal
mining)
55
33
Extrac<on

[Kg CO2e/MWh]
Capture Emissions not accounted (a)
95.2 (Pulverized Coal-Fired Power
Plant)(b)
97.5 (IGCC) (*)
Power Plant
75 (b) (*)
(CO
2 capture)
111 SCPC and 43 NGCC (c)

[Kg CO2e/MWh]
939(Coal Plant)
790 (SaskPower Mix Grid)
952 (Ref. US Coal-Fired Power Plant)
712 (U.S grid, average) (*)
538 ERCOT, 299 CAMX & 604.5 SRSO (2007) (*)
410 (Power and CO2 supply from same PP) (*)
611 US Mix, 649 ERCOT & 746 NGSC (2013) (*)

Aycaguer et al. 2001

Cooney et al. 2015

Natural CO2
reservoir

Electricity
Grid
kg CO2e/MWh
4
18

CO2
transport to
eld

2.47 (KgCO2e/Bbl), 0.42gCO2e/

MJ

Published Literature
Aycaguer et al. 2001, 40 years
Suebsiri et al. 2006, 25 years
Khoo and Tan 2006, 40 years
Jaramillo et al. 2009, 8-21 years
DOE-NETL 2009 years: West Texas (WT)-30,
California (CA)-24 & Mississippi (MS)-21
FOX, 1 year (2007)
Hertwich et al. 2008, 30 years
Cooney et al. 2015, 25 years

50 KgCO2e/bbl or 9
gCO2e/MJ
25 KgCo2/Bbl or 5 gCO2e/
MJ
10 gCO2e/MJ
<1% of LCA (*)

Geological
carbon
sequestra<on

(KgCO2e/Bbl)
CO2-EOR
61
opera<ons
30
32
57
17-44 (44 WT, 24 CA, 36 MS)
100 (CO2, no CO2e) (*)
3.02-20.4
60-165 (*)

Crude oil
transport

Petroleum
rening

Product
transport

4.8 kg CO2/kg gasoline (only) (*)
395 KgCO2e/bbl or 67 gCO2e/MJ
469 kgCO2/Bbl or 80 gCO2e/MJ
97 Mton CO2 (*)
75 gCO2e/MJ

Product
combus<on

(a) Study boundaries within Canada. CO2 emissions data from U.S. side (capture), not included.
(b) Power Plant with CCS supplies both CO2 and electricity to EOR site
(c) Supercri<cal Pulverized Coal (SCPC) and Natural Gas Combined Cycle (NGCC) Power Plants, CO2 not CO2e
(based on net power).
(*) Data extracted from paper. Other data are es<mated for compara<ve purposes based on literature or public
data.

Selection of system boundaries for NCNO classification:

Cradle-to-Grave

Selected system boundary

Study focus

Identification of critical EOR Component

GHG Intensity

Injection/production wells

Production separation

CO2 separation

CO2 compression

41

GHG Intensity per EOR Component

60

GHG intensity of EOR components per gas processing method

50

GHG Intensity, %

40

30

20

10

0
Inje<on Wells

Produc<on
Wells

Fluid Phase
Separa<on

Gas Processing

CO2
Compression

Fract - Refrg

1.5

13.5

6.5

9.5

46

Ryan Holmes

9.5

4.5

37.5

32.5

Membrane

3.5

53.5

35

Study focus: CO2 utilization ratios

CO2 injection
[MMCF]

Produced oil [bbl]

CO2 Utilization
[MMCF/bbl]

43

Field Study
(Cranfield, Mississippi)
It provides the optimal mass accounting data set as it
was required by its comprehensive SECARB MVA
program
It is a desirable direct injection (no WAG), which is
favorable for achieving NCNO
Pattern geometry and operations repeated
systematically around field development
Provides a simpler environment than many CO2-EOR
floods
44

Field Setting
Cranfield overview:
Clastic Mississippi field
Apex of 4-way closed anticline
Main pay is ~10,000 ft deep
Pi = 4,600 psi, Ti = 150F
Original gas cap
Productive during 1940s and 50s
CO2 injection started in 2007
Available mass accounting data
as required by SECARBs
monitoring program.

Hosseini et al., 2013

Methodology: Numerical Simulation

Utilize Cranfield pattern calibrated models to:
Run numerical simulations for different novel and standard CO2
injection scenarios (WAG, direct CO2 injection)
Evaluate how the variability of CO2 utilization ratios for the different
injection scenarios affects the environmental impact of the system
components (New contribution)
Understand the carbon balance evolution from start of injection to
completion (New contribution)

Current activities:

Updating existing Cranfield models: added physics

Relative permeability laboratory experiments
History matching for historic Cranfield production (1944-1972)
46

Trapping Mechanisms
Additional funds allowed us to add valuable work to the
modeling tasks by studying the trapping mechanisms
that contribute to the geological permanence of the
stored CO2

1.
2.
3.
4.

Residual/capillary trapping
CO2 dissolution into brine
CO2 dissolution into oil
Mineral trapping

Benson, 2003

New CO2-brine Relative Permeability

12 Cranfield core plugs were sent to a commercial laboratory
Relative permeability experiments will be run in in 2
composite samples consisting of 6 aligned core plugs
1.5 in

2 in

Development of MVA Plan

Use predictive flow and pressure elevation results to
develop a generic but comprehensive MVA plan that is
based on:
existing regulatory monitoring requirements
existing best practices
a number of proposed and suggested processes that are currently
being considered for possible future regulatory or credit trading
conditions

Summary
Accomplishments:
Selection of system boundaries relevant to NCNO classification:
gate-to-grave
Identification of critical CO2 emission components within the EOR
site
Gathered and classifying Cranfield mass accounting data
Started numerical simulation tasks

Future Plans:

Build a model for energy consumption of the CO2-EOR operation

Start scenario analysis
Link results from numerical simulations with energy consumption
model
Develop an MVA plan
50

Conclusions
Carbon balance of CO2 EOR is sensitive to the system boundary.
In a gate-to-gate life cycle analysis, the electricity consumption
(purchased and generated) is responsible for almost all the
emissions associated with the EOR operation, particularly at the
CO2 separation and compression processes.
Combustion of the refined product is the largest CO2 emissions
contributor in the entire cradle to grave system.
Carbon balance is sensitive to CO2 flood performance (CO2
utilization rates).
A universal methodology for NCNO classification will certainly
benefit CO2-EOR operations as there might be an economic impact
if potential future regulations provide value to the emissions and/or
storage of CO2.
51

Questions?