Implications of Subsurface CO2 Mobility on CCS

March 30, 2011,
5:30am - 6:30pm

Supercritical CO2 injected in the subsurface is highly mobile and buoyant. We discuss the implications that this mobility has for commercial-scale CO2 capture and storage (CCS) projects. We will address the current legal landscape for CO2 storage, and argue that the ?American Model? of pore space ownership will enable the nascent CCS industry. We then consider some of the physical implications of CO2?s mobility, in the context of this legal landscape. In particular, we combine existing analytical models and numerical simulations of CO2 plume development to demonstrate the value of laterally confined CO2 storage sites. Furthermore, we discuss the potential for miscible CO2 flooding for Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) to enable CCS projects as well as the potential for CCS projects to enable EOR. In particular, we have identified several opportunities in which combined EOR-CCS projects are financially attractive.