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Peter D. Warwick, Ph.D.

Peter Warwick is the Science Coordinator for Carbon Sequestration and Energy Storage at the Energy Resources Program office in Reston, VA.

Peter's scientific and technical specialties include sedimentology, stratigraphy, the geology of fossil fuels, and geologic carbon sequestration. His career with the USGS has focused on energy-related research, exploration, and resource assessments in various sedimentary basins in North and South America, Europe, and Asia. He has authored or co-authored more than 200 scientific research publications. In addition, Dr. Warwick has served as the President of the Energy Minerals Division of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG) and is an AAPG Charles Taylor Fellow. He has been President of The Society for Organic Petrology, and Chair of the Coal Geology Division of the Geological Society of America (GSA). He is a GSA Fellow and an active member of several scientific journal review boards.

Professional Experience

  • Supervisory Research Geologist, U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia 

  • Research Geologist, U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia 

  • Geologist, U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia 

  • Resident Research Associate, U.S. Geological Survey, National Research Council

Education and Certifications

  • Ph.D. Geology, University of Kentucky

  • M.S. Geology, North Carolina State University

  • B.S. Political Science and Geology, North Carolina State University

Science and Products

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Utilization of Carbon and other Energy Gases - Geologic Research and Assessments

Carbon Dioxide (CO2) is utilized by industry to enhance oil recovery. Subsurface CO2 storage could significantly impact reduction of CO2 emissions to the atmosphere, but the economics and potential risks associated with the practice must be understood before implementing extensive programs or regulations. Utilization of other energy-related gases such as helium (He), if separated and concentrated...
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Energy Resources Program, Geology, Energy & Minerals Science Center
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Utilization of Carbon and other Energy Gases - Geologic Research and Assessments

Carbon Dioxide (CO2) is utilized by industry to enhance oil recovery. Subsurface CO2 storage could significantly impact reduction of CO2 emissions to the atmosphere, but the economics and potential risks associated with the practice must be understood before implementing extensive programs or regulations. Utilization of other energy-related gases such as helium (He), if separated and concentrated...
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USGS

Project Staff

Below is a project staff list containing the current staff members of the Utilization of Carbon and other Energy Gases - Geologic Research and Assessments project.
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Geology, Energy & Minerals Science Center
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Project Staff

Below is a project staff list containing the current staff members of the Utilization of Carbon and other Energy Gases - Geologic Research and Assessments project.
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Abandoned Mines Assessing Emissions Task 1 Representation Thumb

Assessing Emissions from Active and Abandoned Coal Mines

The gas emission zone liberates and accumulates significant amounts of coal mine methane as a by-product of active mining. In most active mines, coal mine methane is controlled by wellbores, called gob gas ventholes. Despite the presence of these wellbores, it is not possible to capture all of the methane generated within the gas emission zone. As a consequence, a large amount of gas migrates into...
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Energy Resources Program, Geology, Energy & Minerals Science Center
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Assessing Emissions from Active and Abandoned Coal Mines

The gas emission zone liberates and accumulates significant amounts of coal mine methane as a by-product of active mining. In most active mines, coal mine methane is controlled by wellbores, called gob gas ventholes. Despite the presence of these wellbores, it is not possible to capture all of the methane generated within the gas emission zone. As a consequence, a large amount of gas migrates into...
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CO2 Task 2 Energy Related Thumb

Geologic Carbon Dioxide and Energy-related Storage, Gas Resources, and Utilization

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...
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Energy Resources Program, Geology, Energy & Minerals Science Center
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Geologic Carbon Dioxide and Energy-related Storage, Gas Resources, and Utilization

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...
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CO2 Task 1 Methodology Thumb

Methodology Development and Assessment of National Carbon Dioxide Enhanced Oil Recovery and Associated Carbon Dioxide Storage Potential

The objective of this research task is to conduct a national assessment of recoverable oil related to CO2 injection. The amount of CO2 stored (utilized) during the hydrocarbon recovery process will also be evaluated.
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Energy Resources Program, Geology, Energy & Minerals Science Center
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Methodology Development and Assessment of National Carbon Dioxide Enhanced Oil Recovery and Associated Carbon Dioxide Storage Potential

The objective of this research task is to conduct a national assessment of recoverable oil related to CO2 injection. The amount of CO2 stored (utilized) during the hydrocarbon recovery process will also be evaluated.
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Digital subsurface data from previously published contour map of the top of the Wilcox Group, northern Gulf of Mexico coastal region

The lower Paleogene Wilcox Group crops out around the northern edge of the Gulf of Mexico Basin and is a major coal-bearing unit and a primary oil and gas producer in the lower Paleogene section of the Gulf Coast region. The outcrop distribution of the Wilcox Group and other coal-bearing strata of the Gulf Coast region was compiled as part of a U.S. Geological Survey National Coal Assessment (Warw
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National Cooperative Geologic Mapping Program, Geosciences and Environmental Change Science Center

National assessment of carbon dioxide enhanced oil recovery and associated carbon dioxide retention resources - data release

In 2020, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) completed a probabilistic assessment of the volume of technically recoverable oil resources available if current carbon dioxide enhanced oil recovery (CO2-EOR) technologies were applied in amenable oil reservoirs underlying the onshore and State waters area of the conterminous United States. The assessment also includes estimates of the magnitude of CO2 s
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Energy Resources Program, Geology, Energy & Minerals Science Center

Geologic formations and mine locations for potential CO2 mineralization

This geodatabase contains geologic unit boundaries and asbestos site locations shown in "Carbon dioxide mineralization feasibility in the United States" (Blondes and others, 2019). Data was compiled from source material at a scale range of 1:100,000 to 1:5,000,000 and is not intended for any greater detail.
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Energy Resources Program, Geology, Energy & Minerals Science Center

Geospatial Data for a Preliminary GIS Representation of Deep Coal Areas for Carbon Dioxide Storage in the Contiguous United States and Alaska

These geospatial data and their accompanying report outline many areas of coal in the United States beneath more than 3,000 ft of overburden. Based on depth, these areas may be targets for injection and storage of supercritical carbon dioxide. Additional areas where coal exists beneath more than 1,000 ft of overburden are also outlined; these may be targets for geologic storage of carbon dioxide i
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Energy Resources Program, Geology, Energy & Minerals Science Center

Federal Lands Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sequestration in the United States: Estimates 2005-14 - Data Release

This dataset includes ten years of emissions and sequestration estimates (2005-2014) in two separate tables, 1) the combustion and extraction of fossil fuels on Federal lands and 2) processes from the ecosystems on those Federal lands. The fossil fuel related estimates include the greenhouse gases carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and nitrous oxide (N2O), and the ecosystems estimates include on
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Energy Resources Program, Geology, Energy & Minerals Science Center

Principal reference section for part of the Eocene Ghazij Formation, Moghal Mine area, Mach coal field, Balochistan, Pakistan

The information presented on this sheet was collected as part of a joint U.S. Geological Survey-Geological Survey of Pakistan program sponsored by the U.S. Agency for International Development. As a project within this program, the coal-bearing Ghazij Formation (Eocene) was investigated in the northeastern part of Balochistan cast and south of the provincial capital of Quetta. Strata exposed in th

Principal reference section for part of the Eocene Ghazij Formation, Gishtari Nala area, Mach coal field, Balochistan, Pakistan

The information presented on this sheet was collected as part of a joint U.S. Geological Survey-Geological Survey of Pakistan program sponsored by the U.S. Agency for International Development. As a project within this program, the coal-bearing Ghazij Formation (Eocene) was investigated in the northeastern part of Balochistan east and south of the provincial capital of Quetta. Strata exposed in th

Principal reference section for part of the Eocene Ghazij Formation, Sarawan River area, Johan coal field, Balochistan, Pakistan

The information presented on this sheet was collected as part of a joint U.S. Geological Survey-Geological Survey of Pakistan program sponsored by the U.S. Agency for International Development. As a project within this program, the coal-bearing Ghazij Formation (Eocene) was investigated in the northeastern part of Balochistan cast and south of the provincial capital of Quetta. Strata exposed in th
Oil, gas, and water separation vessels at a carbon dioxide enhanced oil recovery operation
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Oil, gas, and water separation vessels
CO2 injection well
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CO2 injection well in Mississippi
Filter Total Items: 180

Geologic carbon management options for the North Atlantic-Appalachian Region

IntroductionThe U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) North Atlantic-Appalachian Region is developing the regionwide capacity to provide timely science support for decision-makers attempting to enhance carbon removal, sequestration, and emissions mitigation to meet national atmospheric carbon reduction goals. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reported that in 2021, the fourteen States and the
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Peter D. Warwick, Madalyn S. Blondes, Sean T. Brennan, Steven M. Cahan, C. Özgen Karacan, Kevin D. Kroeger, Matthew D. Merrill
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Energy Resources Program, Geology, Energy & Minerals Science Center, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

A residual oil zone (ROZ) assessment methodology with application to the central basin platform (Permian Basin, USA) for enhanced oil recovery (EOR) and long-term geologic CO2 storage

Residual oil zones (ROZ) form due to various geologic conditions and are located below the oil/water contact (OWC) of main pay zones (MPZ). Since ROZs usually contain immobile oil, they have not typically been considered commercially attractive for development by conventional primary recovery methods used in the initial phases of oil production. However, during the last decade some operators of th
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C. Özgen Karacan, Sean T. Brennan, Marc L. Buursink, Philip A. Freeman, Celeste D. Lohr, Matthew D. Merrill, Ricardo A. Olea, Peter D. Warwick
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Energy Resources Program, Geology, Energy & Minerals Science Center

Distribution of rare earth and other critical elements in lignites from the Eocene Jackson Group, Texas

Coal is increasingly evaluated as a source of rare earth elements (REEs) in the United States to address the overreliance on imported REEs. The objective of this study was to assess the distribution of REEs in lignites from selected mining areas in the Texas Gulf Coastal Plain region. Thirty-one archived lignite and rock samples previously collected by the U.S. Geological Survey were analyzed for
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James C. Hower, Peter D. Warwick, Bridget R. Scanlon, Robert C. Reedy, Tristan M. Childress
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Mineral Resources Program, Geology, Energy & Minerals Science Center

Geologic energy storage

Introduction As the United States transitions away from fossil fuels, its economy will rely on more renewable energy. Because current renewable energy sources sometimes produce variable power supplies, it is important to store energy for use when power supply drops below power demand. Battery storage is one method to store power. However, geologic (underground) energy storage may be able to retain
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Marc L. Buursink, Steven T. Anderson, Sean T. Brennan, Erick R. Burns, Philip A. Freeman, Joao S. Gallotti, Celeste D. Lohr, Matthew D. Merrill, Eric A. Morrissey, Michelle R. Plampin, Peter D. Warwick
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Energy Resources Program, Geology, Energy & Minerals Science Center, Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center

Geologic assessment of undiscovered gas resources in Cretaceous–Tertiary coal beds of the U.S. Gulf of Mexico Coastal Plain

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) completed an assessment in 2007 of the undiscovered, technically recoverable, continuous gas potential of Cretaceous–Tertiary coal beds of the onshore areas and State waters of the northern Gulf of Mexico Coastal Plain. The assessment was based on geologic elements including hydrocarbon source rocks, availability of suitable reservoir rocks, and hydrocarbon accumu
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Peter D. Warwick
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Energy Resources Program, Geology, Energy & Minerals Science Center

Assessing global geologic carbon dioxide storage resources

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Energy (U.S. DOE) Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management (FECM), the IEA Greenhouse Gas R&D Programme (IEAGHG), and the Clean Energy Ministerial Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage Initiative (CEM-CCUS Initiative), plans to work with partner nations to assess geologic carbon dioxide (CO2) storage resources glo
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Sean T. Brennan, Peter D. Warwick, Anhar Karimjee, Adam Y. Wong, Timothy Dixon, James Craig, Juho Lipponen
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Energy Resources Program, Geology, Energy & Minerals Science Center

National assessment of carbon dioxide enhanced oil recovery and associated carbon dioxide retention resources — Summary

IntroductionIn 2020, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) completed a probabilistic assessment of the volume of technically recoverable oil resources that might be produced by using current carbon dioxide enhanced oil recovery (CO2-EOR) technologies in amenable conventional oil reservoirs underlying the onshore and State waters areas of the conterminous United States. The assessment also includes est
Authors
Peter D. Warwick, Emil D. Attanasi, Madalyn S. Blondes, Sean T. Brennan, Marc L. Buursink, Steven M. Cahan, Colin A. Doolan, Philip A. Freeman, C. Özgen Karacan, Celeste D. Lohr, Matthew D. Merrill, Ricardo A. Olea, Jenna L. Shelton, Ernie R. Slucher, Brian A. Varela
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Energy Resources Program, Geology, Energy & Minerals Science Center

National assessment of carbon dioxide enhanced oil recovery and associated carbon dioxide retention resources — Results

In 2020, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) completed a probabilistic assessment of the volume of technically recoverable oil resources available if current carbon dioxide enhanced oil recovery (CO2-EOR) technologies were applied to amenable oil reservoirs underlying the onshore and State waters areas of the conterminous United States. The assessment also includes estimates of the mass of CO2 that
Authors
Peter D. Warwick, Emil D. Attanasi, Madalyn S. Blondes, Sean T. Brennan, Marc L. Buursink, Steven M. Cahan, Colin A. Doolan, Philip A. Freeman, C. Özgen Karacan, Celeste D. Lohr, Matthew D. Merrill, Ricardo A. Olea, Jenna L. Shelton, Ernie R. Slucher, Brian A. Varela
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Energy Resources Program, Geology, Energy & Minerals Science Center

Methodology for estimating the prospective CO2 storage resource of residual oil zones at the national and regional scale

Residual oil zones (ROZs) are increasingly gaining interest as potential reservoirs for carbon dioxide (CO2) storage. Here, we present a national- and regional-scale methodology for estimating prospective CO2 storage resources in residual oil zones. This methodology uses a volumetric equation that accounts for CO2 storage as a free phase in pore space and as a dissolved phase in oil and does not a
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Sean Sanguinito, Harpreet Singh, Evgeniy M. Myshakin, Angela L. Goodman, Robert M. Dilmore, Timothy C. Grant, David Morgan, Grant Bromhal, Peter D. Warwick, Sean T. Brennan, Philip A. Freeman, C. Özgen Karacan, Charles Gorecki, Wesley Peck, Matthew Burton-Kelly, Neil Dotzenrod, Scott Frailey, Rajesh Pawar
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Energy Resources Program, Geology, Energy & Minerals Science Center

A probabilistic assessment methodology for carbon dioxide enhanced oil recovery and associated carbon dioxide retention

The U.S. Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 authorized the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to conduct a national assessment of the potential volume of hydrocarbons recoverable by injection of carbon dioxide (CO2) into known oil reservoirs with historical production. The implementation of CO2 enhanced oil recovery (CO2-EOR) techniques could increase the U.S. recoverable hydrocarbon resource
Authors
Peter D. Warwick, Emil D. Attanasi, Ricardo A. Olea, Madalyn S. Blondes, Philip A. Freeman, Sean T. Brennan, Matthew D. Merrill, Mahendra K. Verma, C. Özgen Karacan, Jenna L. Shelton, Celeste D. Lohr, Hossein Jahediesfanjani, Jacqueline N. Roueché
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Energy Resources Program, Geology, Energy & Minerals Science Center

Preliminary GIS representation of deep coal areas for carbon dioxide storage in the contiguous United States and Alaska

This report and its accompanying geospatial data outline many areas of coal in the United States beneath more than 3,000 ft of overburden. Based on depth, these areas may be targets for injection and storage of supercritical carbon dioxide. Additional areas where coal exists beneath more than 1,000 ft of overburden are also outlined; these may be targets for geologic storage of carbon dioxide in c
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Kevin B. Jones, Laura E. Barnhart, Peter D. Warwick, Margo D. Corum
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Energy Resources Program, Geology, Energy & Minerals Science Center

Improving pressure-limited CO2 storage capacity in saline formations by means of brine extraction

The carbon dioxide (CO2) storage capacity of saline formations may be constrained by reservoir pressure limitations. Brine extraction could be necessary to increase the CO2 storage capacity of a given formation, manage the extent of the underground CO2 plume and induced pressure front, and control the migration direction. To estimate the additional CO2 storage capacity of a saline formation that c
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Hossein Jahediesfanjani, Steven T. Anderson, Peter D. Warwick
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Energy Resources Program, Geology, Energy & Minerals Science Center

Non-USGS Publications**

Warwick, P.D., 1985, Depositional environments and petrology of the Felix coal interval (Eocene), Powder River Basin, Wyoming: Lexington, University of Kentucky, Ph.D. dissertation, 333 p. 27 figs., https://uknowledge.uky.edu/ees_etds/74/.
Flores, R.M., and Warwick, P.D., 1984, Dynamics of coal deposition in intermontane alluvial paleoenvironments, Eocene Wasatch Formation, Powder River Basin, Wyoming, in 1984 Proceedings of the Symposium on the Geology of Rocky Mountain Coal, Houghton, R.L., and Clausen, E.N., eds.: North Dakota Geological Society Special Publication 84-1, p. 184-199, 11 figs.
Belt, E.S., Flores, R.M., Warwick, P.D., Conway, K.M., Johnson, K.R., and Waskowitz, R.S., 1984, Relationship of fluvio-deltaic facies to coal deposition in the Lower Fort Union Formation (Paleocene), south-western North Dakota, in Sedimentology of coal and coal-bearing sequences, Rahmani, R.A., and Flores, R.M., eds.: International Association of Sedimentologists Special Publication no. 7, p. 177-198, 19 figs.
Warwick, P.D., 1982, The geology of some lignite-bearing fluvial deposits (Paleocene), southwestern North Dakota: Raleigh, North Carolina State University, M.S. thesis, 116 p., 20 figs.

**Disclaimer: The views expressed in Non-USGS publications are those of the author and do not represent the views of the USGS, Department of the Interior, or the U.S. Government.

Geologic Carbon Dioxide Sequestration Interactive Map

The Geologic CO2 Sequestration interactive web map includes investigated basins, assessed areas, stratigraphic columns, and well density information.

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Energy Resources Program, Geology, Energy & Minerals Science Center

Federal Lands Emissions and Sequestration in the United States: Estimates 2005-14

This website is a data visualization companion to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) report titled Federal Lands Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sequestration in the United States: Estimates 2005-14. The maps and charts on this site include the estimated emissions and sequestration from both fossil fuel activities and ecosystem processes on Federal lands only.

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Energy Resources Program, Geology, Energy & Minerals Science Center
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Using Petroleum Reservoirs to Store Carbon

Can the very reservoirs where petroleum was produced be used to store carbon? The USGS went to find out!

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U.S. Departments of Energy and Interior Partner to Explore Potential for Geologic Carbon Storage

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, the U.S. Department of the Interior’s U.S. Geological Survey and U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Fossil Energy...

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USGS Releases A New Assessment Methodology for Carbon Dioxide Enhanced Oil Recovery and Associated Carbon Dioxide Retention

The U.S. Geological Survey has developed a new assessment method to estimate how much oil and gas could be produced by injecting carbon dioxide into...

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USGS Releases Three Approaches for Estimating Recovery Factors in Carbon Dioxide Enhanced Oil Recovery

The U.S. Geological Survey has evaluated three methods for estimating how much oil and gas could be produced by injecting carbon dioxide (CO2) into...

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