Wireline Log Interpretations and Preliminary CO2; Capacity Estimates for the Baltimore Canyon Trough

Brian Slater¹, Langhorne Smith¹, Ken Miller², Greg Mountain², and Ying Fan Reinfelder²
¹New York State Museum, Albany, NY, [email protected], [email protected]
²Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ, [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]

Although geologists continue to find terrestrial rock formations that have the capacity to hold moderate amounts of carbon dioxide, the greatest potential for carbon sequestration in North Eastern United States lies in the offshore geologic formations that make up the continental shelf.

The Baltimore Canyon Trough (BCT) represents a portion of the continental shelf located approximately 80 miles south of Long Island and 50 miles east of New Jersey. Within the BCT, a 2,000 square mile study area has been established based on the availability of data from previous exploration. The recent acquisition of wireline logs from 21 wells in the study area has enabled correlation of numerous lithological units including potential carbon sequestration reservoirs and cap rocks. Porosity logs indicate some sandstone units may have multiple intervals with greater than 20% porosity. Capacity estimates calculated using this data suggest that this area may be capable of holding over 300 Gt of supercritical CO2.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90154©2012 AAPG Eastern Section Meeting, Cleveland, Ohio, 22-26 September 2012