CO2Carbon dioxide injectionThe process of using pressure to force fluids down wells has been widely applied for enhanced oil recoveryThe recovery of oil additional to that produced naturally, achieved by fluid injection or other means (EOREnhanced Oil RecoveryThe recovery of oil additional to that produced naturally, achieved by fluid injection or other means: the recovery of oil additional to that produced naturally, achieved by fluid injection or other means) purposes at more than 70 sites worldwide. InjectionThe process of using pressure to force fluids down wells of CO2Carbon dioxide into the Weyburn Oil Field of southeast Saskatchewan, Canada, began in 2000 with the intention of reversing the decline in oil production. After 10 years of CO2Carbon dioxide injectionThe process of using pressure to force fluids down wells, oil production in this 50 year old field has increased by 60%. Moreover, it has been estimated that about a further 155 million barrels of incremental oil may be recovered that will extend the life of the field by more than 30 years. Similarly, in the adjacent Midale Oil Field, full field CO2Carbon dioxide injectionThe process of using pressure to force fluids down wells began in September 2005 with a forecast 60 million barrels of incremental production over a period of 30 to 40 years. The Great Plains Synfuel Plant near Beulah produces 13,000 tonnes of CO2Carbon dioxide daily as a by-product of lignite gasificationProcess by which a carbon-containing solid fuel is transformed into a carbon- and hydrogen-containing gaseous fuel by reaction with air or oxygen and steam, 60% of which (8,000 tonnes) is injected in the Weyburn and Midale Fields. More than 18 MtMillion tonnes of greenhouse gases are currently stored in these two depleting oil fields, with an expected ultimate combined storage(CO2Carbon dioxide) A process for retaining captured CO2Carbon dioxide, so that it does not reach the atmosphereThe layer of gases surrounding the earth; the gases are mainly nitrogen (78%) and oxygen (around 21%) of around 40 MtMillion tonnes CO2Carbon dioxide (Whittaker et al., 20112011 - S. Whittaker, B. Rostron, C. Hawkes, C. Gardner, D. White, J. Johnson, R. Chalaturnyk and D. SeeburgerA decade of CO2 injection into depleting oil fields: Monitoring and research activities of the IEA GHG Weyburn-Midale CO2 Monitoring and Storage Projectsee more).
A research program has been developed for the Weyburn EOREnhanced Oil RecoveryThe recovery of oil additional to that produced naturally, achieved by fluid injection or other means: the recovery of oil additional to that produced naturally, achieved by fluid injection or other means project with the aim of achieving a better understanding of the processes associated with long-term geological storage(CO2Carbon dioxide) A process for retaining captured CO2Carbon dioxide, so that it does not reach the atmosphereThe layer of gases surrounding the earth; the gases are mainly nitrogen (78%) and oxygen (around 21%) of greenhouse gases. The programme has four main themes: 1) geological characterisation; 2) prediction, monitoringMeasurement and surveillance activities necessary for ensuring safe and reliable operation of a CGS project (storage integrity), and for estimating emission reductions, and verification(CO2Carbon dioxide storage(CO2Carbon dioxide) A process for retaining captured CO2Carbon dioxide, so that it does not reach the atmosphereThe layer of gases surrounding the earth; the gases are mainly nitrogen (78%) and oxygen (around 21%)) The proof, to a standard still to be decided, of the CO2Carbon dioxide storage(CO2Carbon dioxide) A process for retaining captured CO2Carbon dioxide, so that it does not reach the atmosphereThe layer of gases surrounding the earth; the gases are mainly nitrogen (78%) and oxygen (around 21%) using monitoringMeasurement and surveillance activities necessary for ensuring safe and reliable operation of a CGS project (storage integrity), and for estimating emission reductions results; (in the context of CDMKyoto Protocol’s Clean Development Mechanism ) The independent review by a designated operational entity of monitored reductions in anthropogenic emissions of CO2Carbon dioxide movements; 3) CO2Carbon dioxide storage(CO2Carbon dioxide) A process for retaining captured CO2Carbon dioxide, so that it does not reach the atmosphereThe layer of gases surrounding the earth; the gases are mainly nitrogen (78%) and oxygen (around 21%) capacityThe accumulated mass of CO2Carbon dioxide that can be stored environmentally safely, i.e., without causing leakage(in CO2Carbon dioxide storage) The escape of injected fluid from the storage formationA body of rock of considerable extent with distinctive characteristics that allow geologists to map, describe, and name it to the atmosphereThe layer of gases surrounding the earth; the gases are mainly nitrogen (78%) and oxygen (around 21%) or water column of CO2Carbon dioxide or native reservoirA subsurface body of rock with sufficient porosityMeasure for the amount of pore spaceSpace between rock or sediment grains that can contain fluids in a rock and permeabilityAbility to flow or transmit fluids through a porous solid such as rock to store and transmit fluids fluids or triggering geologic activity that has a negative impact on human health or the environment and distribution predictions and application of economic limits; and 4) long-term riskConcept that denotes the product of the probability of a hazard and the subsequent consequence of the associated event of the storage(CO2Carbon dioxide) A process for retaining captured CO2Carbon dioxide, so that it does not reach the atmosphereThe layer of gases surrounding the earth; the gases are mainly nitrogen (78%) and oxygen (around 21%) site. Different aspects of the EOREnhanced Oil RecoveryThe recovery of oil additional to that produced naturally, achieved by fluid injection or other means: the recovery of oil additional to that produced naturally, achieved by fluid injection or other means project have so far been studied in over 50 research projects. Within the Weyburn-Midale region (40 x 50 km) there are more than 4,000 wells that penetrate to reservoirA subsurface body of rock with sufficient porosityMeasure for the amount of pore spaceSpace between rock or sediment grains that can contain fluids in a rock and permeabilityAbility to flow or transmit fluids through a porous solid such as rock to store and transmit fluids-level depths. Due to the large number of wells in the study area, a less conventional approach to flow modelling - invasion percolation methodology - has been employed. The invasion percolation model constructed for Weyburn contains 2 billion cells of 20×20×5 m. During the initial phase of the project (2000 to 2004), a deterministic numerical simulation approach was used to model the migrationThe movement of fluids in reservoir rocks of the injected CO2Carbon dioxide for 5,000 years. A significant number of publications have been generated from the studies including recently published papers in the GHGT-10 conference (Hawkes et al., 20112011 - C. Hawkes, C. Gardner, T. Watson and R. ChalaturnykOverview of wellbore integrity research for the IEA GHG weyburn-midale CO2 monitoring and storage projectsee more; Rostron and Whittaker, 20112011 - B. Rostron and S. Whittaker10+ years of the IEA-GHG Weyburn-Midale CO2 monitoring and storage project: Successes and lessons learned from multiple hydrogeological investigationssee more; White and Team, 20112011 - D. J. White and W. G. M. TeamGeophysical monitoring of the Weyburn CO2 flood: Results during 10 years of injectionsee more). During the Weyburn final phase project, the evolution of reservoirA subsurface body of rock with sufficient porosityMeasure for the amount of pore spaceSpace between rock or sediment grains that can contain fluids in a rock and permeabilityAbility to flow or transmit fluids through a porous solid such as rock to store and transmit fluids brine chemistry has been studied and is used to show the role of fractures in controlling flow. This is expected in forthcoming publications.