Carbon Sequestration Certification Program

Geologic Sequestration 

The Carbon Sequestration Certification Program is now accepting applications for verification of geologic sequestration from oil and gas companies that are injecting carbon dioxide (CO2) into depleted oil and gas wells for enhanced oil recovery (EOR) in Oklahoma. 

Verification

Verification relies heavily on permitting and monitoring information reported to the state's regulatory Underground Injection Control (UIC) Program. Oklahoma expects to expand verification standards as research based monitoring and verification protocols for geologic storage of CO2 become available. 

Background

Depleted oil and gas reservoirs are formations that held crude oil and natural gas over geologic time frames. In general, they are a layer of porous rock with a layer of non-porous rock above such that the non-porous layer forms a dome. It is the dome shape that trapped the hydrocarbons. This same dome offers great potential to trap CO2 and makes these formations excellent sequestration opportunities. The U.S. Department of Energy's Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnerships (RCSPs) have documented the location of more than 82.4 million metric tons of sequestration potential in mature oil and gas reservoirs in the United States and Canada. 

As a value-added benefit, CO2 injected into a depleting oil reservoir can enable incremental oil to be recovered. The CO2 lowers the viscosity of the oil, enabling it to slip through the pores in the rock and flow with the pressure differential toward a recovery well. Typically, primary oil recovery and secondary recovery (water flooding) produce 30-40 percent of a reservoir's original oil in place. A CO2 flood enables recovery of an additional 10-15 percent or more of the original oil in place. For more information visit the U.S. Department of Energy's Carbon Sequestration webpage.

Source: U.S. Department Of Energy “Carbon Sequestration FAQs – Geologic Sequestration” June 19, 2008.