CO2 Storage Resource Estimates for Cambrian-Ordovician Formations in Eastern Ohio

Abstract

Screening-level carbon dioxide (CO2) storage resource estimates are essential for providing initial constraints on the feasibility of geologic CO2 storage at regional and site-specific scales. The volumetric methodology developed by the U.S. Department of Energy's National Energy Technology Laboratory (DOE-NETL) was applied to nine Cambrian-Ordovician saline formations in eastern Ohio to characterize the prospective CO2 storage resource of this region. “CO2 storage resource” is defined by DOE-NETL as the volume of porous and permeable rock available for storage of CO2. Geologic and petrophysical properties characterized as part of this project were used as input into the DOE-NETL CO2-SCREEN tool to calculate CO2 storage resource at the P10, P50, and P90 percentiles. Area, depth, thickness, pressure, temperature, and porosity were mapped for each formation and incorporated into single-layer static earth models (SEMs) for the heterogeneous scenarios. Multiple scenarios compare probabilistic heterogeneous and homogenous averaged values to evaluate resource estimation at various levels of input data resolution. Sensitivity analyses were conducted to determine the minimum representative number of grid cells, appropriate efficiency factors, and how to best represent mixed-lithology formations. The resulting static storage resource estimates were finally mapped for each formation to help create a roadmap to CO2 storage in eastern Ohio.

Results suggest that the basal/Mt. Simon sandstone, Maryville dolomite, and Lower Copper Ridge dolomite have the greatest CO2 storage potential of the formations examined. The highest values were generally observed in central and south-central Ohio within the extent of Delaware, Fairfield, and Scioto Counties. Storage resource results are similar across the carbonate formations (Maryville, Conasauga, Copper Ridge, and Beekmantown), with spatial trends correlating to the presence of vugs, faults, and facies changes. This feasibility study provides insight into the storage potential of deep saline formations in eastern Ohio and highlights potential storage sites with the highest CO2 storage resource. This project is funded by the Ohio Development Services Agency OCDO Grant OOE-CDO-D-13-22 and the U.S. DOE through the Midwest Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnership (MRCSP) award DE-FC26-05NT42589. The DOE-NETL CO2-SCREEN tool (beta V1) was downloaded from the U.S. DOE's Energy Data Exchange (EDX) online platform.

AAPG Datapages/Search and Discovery Article #90258 © 2016 AAPG Eastern Section Meeting, Lexington, Kentucky, September 25-27, 2016