Geologic Carbon Dioxide and Energy-related Storage, Gas Resources, and Utilization Active
Caballos Novaculite Reservoir Outcrop
A major reservoir for naturally occurring carbon dioxide in southwestern Texas
Atop the LaBarge Platform
A major reservoir for naturally occurring carbon dioxide, helium, and hydrocarbon gases
Mud Volcanoes
Mud volcanoes at the Davis-Schrimpf Seep Field, Calipatria, California
Above-ground Infrastructure for Storing Excess Energy
Subsurface natural gas storage in the Hutchinson Salt Member in Reno County, Kansas
The objectives of this task are to conduct relevant research needed to 1) evaluate helium (He) and CO2 resources; 2) support future assessments of low-thermal gases and better understand their resources and potential for use as analogues for anthropogenic CO2 storage; 3) study the feasibility of large-scale CO2 mineralization in the United States; 4) develop pressure-limited dynamic models for regional CO2 storage assessments and economic evaluations; and 5) evaluate geologic energy storage resources.
Geologic Carbon Dioxide Utilization Topics
Utilization of other energy-related gases such as CO2, He, nitrogen (N2), and hydrogen sulfide (H2S), if separated and concentrated from the produced natural gas stream, can make otherwise low-thermal (un-economic) natural gas accumulations a viable part of the national natural gas resource base. Many of these gases, including CO2, are separated and vented at the production site (H2S is typically reinjected), thereby contributing greenhouse gas to the atmosphere. Similarly, methane emissions during coal mining and after mine closure are often released to the atmosphere and contribute to greenhouse gases instead of being captured and utilized for energy production. The national electrical grid requires a balance between supply and demand across daily to annual cycles. Subsurface energy storage mechanisms including compressed air or gas, pumped hydroelectric, and geothermal require additional geologic investigations and assessments of available storage resources. To address an all-of-the-above approach, this project works to build improved geologic models needed to describe the distribution and resource-potential of these various energy options.
This task plans to complete a national assessment of He and CO2 resources found in natural gas reservoirs. New field and natural gas geochemistry data collected by task staff will be compiled and interpreted for scientific journal publications. Models of natural CO2 leakage of stored CO2 into shallow aquifers will be developed. A report describing the feasibility of large-scale CO2 mineralization in the United States was completed in 2019. In addition, engineering and economic modeling will be used to better characterize pressure-limited geologic CO2 storage resources. The task will evaluate the datasets and key process steps required to build a probabilistic assessment methodology to assess various geologic subsurface energy storage options that are available for use by the U.S. energy industry.
Subtasks:
- National Helium Resource Assessment: 01-OCT-2017 to 30-SEP-2022 -- Brennan
- Natural CO2 and Helium - Resources and Analogues for Anthropogenic CO2 Storage: 01-OCT-2017 to 30-SEP-2022 -- Brennan
- Feasibility of CO2 Mineralization in the United States: 01-OCT-2017 to 30-SEP-2022 -- Blondes
- Economics of CO2 storage: 01-OCT-2017 to 30-SEP-2020 -- Anderson, Freeman
- Geologic Energy Storage: 01-OCT-2019 to 30-SEP-2022 -- Buursink
Slideshows Associated with Project Member Talks:
- Federal lands greenhouse gas emissions and sequestration – a modified EPA methodology [.pdf]
- A Pressure-limited Model to Estimate CO2 Injection and Storage Capacity of Saline Formations: Investigating the Effects of Formation Properties, Model Variables and Presence of Hydrocarbon Reservoirs [.pdf] [1.2 MB]
- Overview of USGS Carbon Sequestration - Geologic Research and Assessments Project [.pdf] [2.1 MB]
- Status Report: Estimating greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels produced from Federal lands [.pdf] [1.2 MB]
- U.S. Geological Survey National Assessment of Geologic Carbon Dioxide Storage Resources and Associated Research [.pdf] [2.3 MB]
- U.S. Geological Survey National Assessment of Geologic Carbon Dioxide Storage Resources and Associated Research [.pdf] [2.6 MB]
- National Assessment of Geologic Carbon Dioxide Storage Resources - Results [.pdf] [2.2 MB]
- U.S. Geological Survey Geologic Carbon Dioxide Storage Resource Assessment of the United States - 2012 Project Update [.pdf] [3.9 MB]
- Examining Salinity Restrictions for CO2 Storage: Suggestions from Basin to Reservoir Scales [.pdf] [1.9 MB]
- Using ArcGIS to Identify Environmental Risk Factors Associated with CO2 Storage [.pdf] [1.7 MB]
- A Probabilistic Assessment Methodology for the Evaluation of Geologic Carbon Dioxide Storage [.pdf] [1.4 MB]
- CO2 Fluid Flow Modeling to Derive the Time Scales of Lateral Fluid Migration [.pdf] [1.2 MB]
- U.S. Geological Survey Geologic Carbon Dioxide Storage Resource Assessment of the United States - Project Update [.pdf] [3.3 MB]
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Microbial community composition of a hydrocarbon reservoir 40 years after a CO2 enhanced oil recovery flood
Geologic framework for the national assessment of carbon dioxide storage resources—Atlantic Coastal Plain and Eastern Mesozoic Rift Basins
3D Pressure‐limited approach to model and estimate CO2 injection and storage capacity: saline Mount Simon Formation
Mantle and crustal gases of the Colorado Plateau: Geochemistry, sources, and migration pathways
Risk, liability, and economic issues with long-term CO2 storage—A review
Cost implications of uncertainty in CO2 storage resource estimates: A review
Environmental drivers of differences in microbial community structure in crude oil reservoirs across a methanogenic gradient
Carbon and oxygen isotopic composition of coal and carbon dioxide derived from laboratory coal combustion: A preliminary study
Determining CO2 storage potential during miscible CO2 enhanced oil recovery: Noble gas and stable isotope tracers
A method for examining the geospatial distribution of CO2 storage resources applied to the Pre-Punta Gorda Composite and Dollar Bay reservoirs of the South Florida Basin, U.S.A
Impact of formation water geochemistry and crude oil biodegradation on microbial methanogenesis
Geologic framework for the national assessment of carbon dioxide storage resources—Southern Rocky Mountain Basins: Chapter M in Geologic framework for the national assessment of carbon dioxide storage resources
The U.S. Geological Survey has completed an assessment of the potential geologic carbon dioxide storage resources in the onshore areas of the United States. To provide geological context and input data sources for the resources numbers, framework documents are being prepared for all areas that were investigated as part of the national assessment. This report, chapter M, is the geologic framework d
Below are data or web applications associated with this project task.
Below are news stories associated with this project task.
Below are FAQ associated with this project task.
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- Overview
The objectives of this task are to conduct relevant research needed to 1) evaluate helium (He) and CO2 resources; 2) support future assessments of low-thermal gases and better understand their resources and potential for use as analogues for anthropogenic CO2 storage; 3) study the feasibility of large-scale CO2 mineralization in the United States; 4) develop pressure-limited dynamic models for regional CO2 storage assessments and economic evaluations; and 5) evaluate geologic energy storage resources.
Geologic Carbon Dioxide Utilization TopicsUtilization of other energy-related gases such as CO2, He, nitrogen (N2), and hydrogen sulfide (H2S), if separated and concentrated from the produced natural gas stream, can make otherwise low-thermal (un-economic) natural gas accumulations a viable part of the national natural gas resource base. Many of these gases, including CO2, are separated and vented at the production site (H2S is typically reinjected), thereby contributing greenhouse gas to the atmosphere. Similarly, methane emissions during coal mining and after mine closure are often released to the atmosphere and contribute to greenhouse gases instead of being captured and utilized for energy production. The national electrical grid requires a balance between supply and demand across daily to annual cycles. Subsurface energy storage mechanisms including compressed air or gas, pumped hydroelectric, and geothermal require additional geologic investigations and assessments of available storage resources. To address an all-of-the-above approach, this project works to build improved geologic models needed to describe the distribution and resource-potential of these various energy options.
This task plans to complete a national assessment of He and CO2 resources found in natural gas reservoirs. New field and natural gas geochemistry data collected by task staff will be compiled and interpreted for scientific journal publications. Models of natural CO2 leakage of stored CO2 into shallow aquifers will be developed. A report describing the feasibility of large-scale CO2 mineralization in the United States was completed in 2019. In addition, engineering and economic modeling will be used to better characterize pressure-limited geologic CO2 storage resources. The task will evaluate the datasets and key process steps required to build a probabilistic assessment methodology to assess various geologic subsurface energy storage options that are available for use by the U.S. energy industry.Subtasks:
- National Helium Resource Assessment: 01-OCT-2017 to 30-SEP-2022 -- Brennan
- Natural CO2 and Helium - Resources and Analogues for Anthropogenic CO2 Storage: 01-OCT-2017 to 30-SEP-2022 -- Brennan
- Feasibility of CO2 Mineralization in the United States: 01-OCT-2017 to 30-SEP-2022 -- Blondes
- Economics of CO2 storage: 01-OCT-2017 to 30-SEP-2020 -- Anderson, Freeman
- Geologic Energy Storage: 01-OCT-2019 to 30-SEP-2022 -- Buursink
Slideshows Associated with Project Member Talks:
- Federal lands greenhouse gas emissions and sequestration – a modified EPA methodology [.pdf]
- A Pressure-limited Model to Estimate CO2 Injection and Storage Capacity of Saline Formations: Investigating the Effects of Formation Properties, Model Variables and Presence of Hydrocarbon Reservoirs [.pdf] [1.2 MB]
- Overview of USGS Carbon Sequestration - Geologic Research and Assessments Project [.pdf] [2.1 MB]
- Status Report: Estimating greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels produced from Federal lands [.pdf] [1.2 MB]
- U.S. Geological Survey National Assessment of Geologic Carbon Dioxide Storage Resources and Associated Research [.pdf] [2.3 MB]
- U.S. Geological Survey National Assessment of Geologic Carbon Dioxide Storage Resources and Associated Research [.pdf] [2.6 MB]
- National Assessment of Geologic Carbon Dioxide Storage Resources - Results [.pdf] [2.2 MB]
- U.S. Geological Survey Geologic Carbon Dioxide Storage Resource Assessment of the United States - 2012 Project Update [.pdf] [3.9 MB]
- Examining Salinity Restrictions for CO2 Storage: Suggestions from Basin to Reservoir Scales [.pdf] [1.9 MB]
- Using ArcGIS to Identify Environmental Risk Factors Associated with CO2 Storage [.pdf] [1.7 MB]
- A Probabilistic Assessment Methodology for the Evaluation of Geologic Carbon Dioxide Storage [.pdf] [1.4 MB]
- CO2 Fluid Flow Modeling to Derive the Time Scales of Lateral Fluid Migration [.pdf] [1.2 MB]
- U.S. Geological Survey Geologic Carbon Dioxide Storage Resource Assessment of the United States - Project Update [.pdf] [3.3 MB]
- Science
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- Publications
Below are publications associated with this project task.
Filter Total Items: 69Microbial community composition of a hydrocarbon reservoir 40 years after a CO2 enhanced oil recovery flood
Injecting CO2 into depleted oil reservoirs to extract additional crude oil is a common enhanced oil recovery (CO2-EOR) technique. However, little is known about how in situ microbial communities may be impacted by CO2 flooding, or if any permanent microbiological changes occur after flooding has ceased. Formation water was collected from an oil field that was flooded for CO2-EOR in the 1980s, inclAuthorsJenna L. Shelton, Robert S. Andrews, Denise M. Akob, Christina A. DeVera, Adam C. Mumford, John E. McCray, Jennifer C. McIntoshGeologic framework for the national assessment of carbon dioxide storage resources—Atlantic Coastal Plain and Eastern Mesozoic Rift Basins
This chapter presents information pertinent to the geologic carbon dioxide (CO2) sequestration potential within saline aquifers located in the Atlantic Coastal Plain and Eastern Mesozoic Rift Basins of the Eastern United States. The Atlantic Coastal Plain is underlain by a Jurassic to Quaternary succession of sedimentary strata that onlap westward onto strata of the Appalachian Piedmont physiograpAuthorsWilliam H. Craddock, Matthew D. Merrill, Tina L. Roberts-Ashby, Sean T. Brennan, Marc L. Buursink, Ronald M. Drake, Peter D. Warwick, Steven M. Cahan, Christina A. DeVera, Philip A. Freeman, Mayur A. Gosai, Celeste D. Lohr3D Pressure‐limited approach to model and estimate CO2 injection and storage capacity: saline Mount Simon Formation
To estimate the carbon dioxide (CO2) injection and storage capacity of saline formations, we used Tough2‐ECO2N simulation software to develop a pressure‐limited (dynamic) simulation approach based on applying three‐dimensional (3D) numerical simulation only on the effective injection area (Aeff) surrounding each injection well. A statistical analysis was performed to account for existing reservoirAuthorsHossein Jahediesfanjani, Peter D. Warwick, Steven T. AndersonMantle and crustal gases of the Colorado Plateau: Geochemistry, sources, and migration pathways
The Colorado Plateau hosts several large accumulations of naturally occurring, non-hydrocarbon gases, including CO2, N2, and the noble gases, making it a good field location to study the fluxes of these gases within the crust and to the atmosphere. In this study, we present a compilation of 1252 published gas-composition measurements. The data reveal at least three natural gas associations in theAuthorsWilliam H. Craddock, Madalyn S. Blondes, Christina A. DeVera, Andrew G. HuntRisk, liability, and economic issues with long-term CO2 storage—A review
Given a scarcity of commercial-scale carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects, there is a great deal of uncertainty in the risks, liability, and their cost implications for geologic storage of carbon dioxide (CO2). The probabilities of leakage and the risk of induced seismicity could be remote, but the volume of geologic CO2 storage (GCS) projected to be necessary to have a significant impact onAuthorsSteven T. AndersonCost implications of uncertainty in CO2 storage resource estimates: A review
Carbon capture from stationary sources and geologic storage of carbon dioxide (CO2) is an important option to include in strategies to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions. However, the potential costs of commercial-scale CO2 storage are not well constrained, stemming from the inherent uncertainty in storage resource estimates coupled with a lack of detailed estimates of the infrastructure needed toAuthorsSteven T. AndersonEnvironmental drivers of differences in microbial community structure in crude oil reservoirs across a methanogenic gradient
Stimulating in situ microbial communities in oil reservoirs to produce natural gas is a potentially viable strategy for recovering additional fossil fuel resources following traditional recovery operations. Little is known about what geochemical parameters drive microbial population dynamics in biodegraded, methanogenic oil reservoirs. We investigated if microbial community structure was significaAuthorsJenna L. Shelton, Denise M. Akob, Jennifer C. McIntosh, Noah Fierer, John R. Spear, Peter D. Warwick, John E. McCrayCarbon and oxygen isotopic composition of coal and carbon dioxide derived from laboratory coal combustion: A preliminary study
The concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere has dramatically increased from the start of the industrial revolution in the mid-1700s to present levels exceeding 400 ppm. Carbon dioxide derived from fossil fuel combustion is a greenhouse gas and a major contributor to on-going climate change. Carbon and oxygen stable isotope geochemistry is a useful tool to help model and predict theAuthorsPeter D. Warwick, Leslie F. RuppertDetermining CO2 storage potential during miscible CO2 enhanced oil recovery: Noble gas and stable isotope tracers
Rising atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations are fueling anthropogenic climate change. Geologic sequestration of anthropogenic CO2 in depleted oil reservoirs is one option for reducing CO2 emissions to the atmosphere while enhancing oil recovery. In order to evaluate the feasibility of using enhanced oil recovery (EOR) sites in the United States for permanent CO2 storage, an active multiAuthorsJenna L. Shelton, Jennifer C. McIntosh, Andrew Hunt, Thomas L Beebe, Andrew D Parker, Peter D. Warwick, Ronald Drake, John E. McCrayA method for examining the geospatial distribution of CO2 storage resources applied to the Pre-Punta Gorda Composite and Dollar Bay reservoirs of the South Florida Basin, U.S.A
This paper demonstrates geospatial modification of the USGS methodology for assessing geologic CO2 storage resources, and was applied to the Pre-Punta Gorda Composite and Dollar Bay reservoirs of the South Florida Basin. The study provides detailed evaluation of porous intervals within these reservoirs and utilizes GIS to evaluate the potential spatial distribution of reservoir parameters and voluAuthorsTina Roberts-Ashby, Brandon N. AshbyImpact of formation water geochemistry and crude oil biodegradation on microbial methanogenesis
Converting non-producible crude oil to CH4 via methanogenic crude oil biodegradation in oil reservoirs could serve as one way to increase our energy profile. Yet, field data supporting the direct relationship between methanogenesis and crude oil biodegradation are sparse. Indicators of methanogenesis, based on the formation water and gas geochemistry (e.g. alkalinity, δ13C–CO2) were compared withAuthorsJenna L. Shelton, Jennifer C. McIntosh, Peter D. Warwick, John E. McCrayGeologic framework for the national assessment of carbon dioxide storage resources—Southern Rocky Mountain Basins: Chapter M in Geologic framework for the national assessment of carbon dioxide storage resources
The U.S. Geological Survey has completed an assessment of the potential geologic carbon dioxide storage resources in the onshore areas of the United States. To provide geological context and input data sources for the resources numbers, framework documents are being prepared for all areas that were investigated as part of the national assessment. This report, chapter M, is the geologic framework d
AuthorsMatthew D. Merrill, Ronald M. Drake, Marc L. Buursink, William H. Craddock, Joseph A. East, Ernie R. Slucher, Peter D. Warwick, Sean T. Brennan, Madalyn S. Blondes, Philip A. Freeman, Steven M. Cahan, Christina A. DeVera, Celeste D. Lohr - Web Tools
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