--> Abstract: An R&D Roadmap For Carbon Sequestration in Geologic Formations, by Nicholas Woodward, Sally Benson, and Michael York; #90914(2000)

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Nicholas Woodward1, Sally Benson2, Michael York3
(1) Office of Science, Department of Energy, Germantown, MD
(2) Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA
(3) Office of Fossil Energy, Department of Energy, Washington DC, DC

Abstract: An R&D Roadmap For Carbon Sequestration in Geologic Formations

The Department of Energy has sponsored development an R&D roadmap for carbon sequestration in geologic formations. A team of industry, academic and national laboratory researchers jointly identified critical knowledge gaps and key issues needed to advance the scientific foundations for lowering the costs and assessing the safety of this method for sequestering carbon. Three principal types of formations are widespread and have the potential for sequestering large amounts of carbon. These are active and depleted oil and gas formations, deep coal beds and brine formations. The potential for collateral benefits from EOR and enhanced coal-bed methane production make these formations especially attractive. The R&D roadmap charts a course over a 25 year time-frame that addresses all three formation types, recognizing R&D needs specific to each formation type as well as cross-cutting issues such as monitoring and performance assessment. In the near term the roadmap recommends initiating R&D in three principal areas. 1) Fundamental and applied research is needed to understand and predict the long-term fate of sequestered CO2, including chemical reactions between CO2, brine and minerals, and micromechanics and deformation modeling, and high resolution monitoring methods. 2) A national assessment is needed to determine the location and capacity of geologic formations available for CO2 sequestration, including the development of screening criteria. 3) Pilot-scale testing with adequate monitoring for performance verification is needed to develop cost and performance data and to help prioritize future R&D needs. This paper provides a detailed description of the elements of the R&D roadmap.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90914©2000 AAPG Annual Convention, New Orleans, Louisiana