--> Abstract: Citronelle Dome: A Giant Opportunity for Multi-Zone Carbon Storage and Enhanced Oil Recovery in the Mississippi Interior Salt ; #90063 (2007)

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Citronelle Dome: A Giant Opportunity for Multi-Zone Carbon Storage and Enhanced Oil Recovery in the Mississippi Interior Salt Basin of Alabama

 

Pashin, Jack1, Richard Esposito2 (1) Geological Survey of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL (2) Southern Company, Birmingham, AL

 

Citronelle Dome is a giant salt-cored anticline in the eastern Mississippi Interior Salt Basin of Alabama and is near a major coal-fired power plant serving the greater Mobile area. The dome forms an elliptical structural closure containing multiple opportunities for EOR and CO2 sequestration. Citronelle Field, which is on the crest of the dome, has produced more than 168 MMbbl of 42° gravity oil from fluvial sandstone in the Lower Cretaceous Rodessa Formation. The oil accumulation is sealed by a thick succession of shale and anhydrite, and the oil-water contact is more than 100 feet above the structural spillpoint. Approximately 37 percent of the original oil in place has been recovered by primary and secondary methods, and CO2-enhanced oil recovery has potential to increase reserves by 10 to 20 percent.

Structural contour maps demonstrate that the area of the structural closure increases upward in section. Saline reservoirs of Upper Cretaceous age may provide more than a century of CO2 capacity. Sandstone units providing prospective carbon sinks include the Massive and Pilot sands of the lower Tuscaloosa Group and several sandstone units in the upper Tuscaloosa Group and Eutaw Formation. These sandstone units are characterized by high porosity and permeability and low heterogeneity. The Tuscaloosa-Eutaw interval is capped by up to 2,000 feet of marine shale and chalk that are proven reservoir seals in nearby oil fields. Therefore, Citronelle dome can be considered as a major sink where CO2 can be stored safely while realizing the economic benefits associated with EOR.

 

AAPG Search and Discover Article #90063©2007 AAPG Annual Convention, Long Beach, California