Project ECO2S: Characterization of a World Class Carbon Dioxide Storage Complex

Abstract

Project ECO₂S, supported by the U.S. DOE’s Carbon Storage Assurance Facility Enterprise (CarbonSAFE) program, is a feasibility study of large-scale, safe, long-term carbon dioxide (CO₂) storage in the southeastern US. The commercial scale storage site under study is located adjacent to Mississippi Power Company’s (MPC) Kemper County energy facility, located north of Meridian, Mississippi. In this presentation, we will discuss Project ECO₂S, the technical team, and provide an overview of the current project status.

The ECO₂S research team is comprised of geoscientists, engineers, well integrity experts, risk assessment professionals, surface facilities designers, and infrastructure modelers from seventeen universities, national laboratories, non-profit institutes, and private companies. Geologic goals for Project ECO₂S are to 1) confirm storage reservoir volumetric properties and develop a dataset on flow parameters, 2) advanced core tests, including CO₂-brine relative permeability tests and computerized tomography (CT) scans under steady-state flow, 3) caprock studies including threshold entry pressure and minimum capillary displacement pressure tests, 4) a description of depositional facies, rock types, mineralogy, and environments of deposition for storage reservoirs and caprocks, 5) rock mechanics modeling, 6) fluid-rock interaction modeling, and 7) an evaluation of existing 2D seismic data. The results of these analyses informed a reservoir simulation of commercial scale CO₂ storage, a process design for surface facilities, and a project risk assessment.

Three characterization wells were installed in 2017. Each well was drilled through the Mesozoic section and reached total depth in Paleozoic basement. A full suite of logs was run, including combined magnetic resonance and formation micro-resistivity. 200 feet of whole core was acquired from potential confining units and reservoirs. Reservoir units include the lower Tuscaloosa Group ‘Massive sand’, the Washita-Fredericksburg interval, and the Paluxy formation. These reservoirs contain over 1,000 ft of net sand with an average porosity of 27%. Based on a static volumetric evaluation, we estimate CO₂ storage capacity of 200 to 600 million metric tonnes in the study area. The ‘Marine’ Tuscaloosa is a widespread marker consisting primarily of shale and will serve as a confining zone for CO₂ storage. Additional confining units occur above and beneath the ‘Marine’ Tuscaloosa.

AAPG Datapages/Search and Discovery Article #90323 ©2018 AAPG Annual Convention and Exhibition, Salt Lake City, Utah, May 20-23, 2018