Colorado Energy Summit

Denver, COOctober 14, 2011

Dag Nummedal, DirectorColorado Energy Research Institute

Colorado School of MinesGolden, Colorado

Carbon Emissions Reduction ResearchThe Colorado School of Mines Portfolio

CERI

Changing Landscape for CO2

• “Official” DOE terminology: CCUS• Fuel shift to gas – capture and storage from gas plants • Australian parliament lower house passed carbon tax

legislation on Oct. 12th

• UN’s COP meeting in Durban in December, 2011, may approve carbon credits for CO2 use for EOR in “Annex 2 countries”

Current CO2 uses Megatons/yr

Enhanced Oil Recovery 50Urea (captive use) 120Food Industry (liquid) 8.5Beverage Carbonation 8Inorganic Carbonate/bicarbonate 8Oil and Gas Industry non-EOR 3Other Liquid Uses <1Miscellaneous <1

More about CO2 Utilization

DOE/NETL work in progress

• Geological storage (CSM): MMV techs – seismic imaging, risk analysis, gas seepage detection, geomechanics, reservoir simulation, P&P changes with injection, geomicrobiology.

• CO2 capture (CU-Boulder and CSM)• Terrestrial (capture/storage) (CSU): soil sequestration, decision support

tools (at CSU). Regulatory, legal (e.g.who owns pore space?), greenhouse gas accounting systems (at CU-B).

• Life-cycle analysis of emissions (NREL)

Colorado Carbon Management Centerwww.carbonmangementcenter.org

Research Portfolio is Aligned with NAS Report June 2008: “The Need to Know”

What happens to CO2 in the subsurface and how do we know?

Can we monitor CO2 once it is injected?

What techniques are available to monitor whether CO2 is leaking?

Is it possible to predict the long-term storage of CO2 in reservoirs?

1. Use less• Energy Efficiency (smarter grids, better controls, advanced fuel cells) better

transmisson and conversion – regardless of generating source

2. Reduce emissions from fossil energy• Fuel shift to lighter HC molecules (unconventional natural gas instead of coal.

Unconventional gas includes: tight gas, hydrates and shale gas research. • Carbon capture and storage

3. Fundamental research to increase penetration of renewable energy resources

• Solar energy, mostly PV – three decades of experience• Biofuels – algae and cellulosic biomass• Geothermal – using CSM’s great geoscience experience• Wind energy

4. Reactivated our nuclear energy degree program (fuel cycle focus)

5. Energy water nexus – environmental issues

Energy Research Portfolio at CSMA total of 35 University centers

“State” Energy CentersColorado Center for Biorefining and Biofuels (C2B2)

Collaborative Research and Education in Wind (CREW)

Center for Revolutionary Solar Photoconversion (CRSP)

Solar Technology Acceleration Consortium (STAC)

Center for Energy Efficiency and Management (CEEM)

Center for Carbon Management (CMC)

Alliance for Sustainable EnergyA National Partnership

Aug. 1, 08 - DOE Selects ASE (Alliance for Sustainable Energy) to Manage and Operate its National Renewable Energy Laboratory

ASE is a limited liability company consisting of Battelle Memorial Institute and Midwest Research Institute as NREL contract holder, and five partner universities on the board

International CCS Collaboration

CSM CCS faculty have strong links withNorway (UiB, UiO, NTNU, Gassnova, Statoil

Canada (CMC, Regina)

Japan (U Kyoto)

China (Beijing U, CU Petroleum, CU Geosciences)

Britain (Imperial)

Sweden (Uppsala)

India (DGH - New Delhi; Gujarat Energy Research and Management Institute, Oil India Ltd.)

Carbon sequestration proposal in review (NETL), between CSM and SUCCESS (Nøttvedt, Ågård), CO2CRC (Peter Cook), Curtin University (Mark Woffenden) and Kyoto U.

Extra Slides

• Technical project highlights

Migration of CO2 from Horizontal Injectors at Weyburn Field, Canada (time-lapse 2002-

2000)

Edge of salt

dissolution

RMS Amplitude % Difference, 2000-2002

Tom Davis, 2002Fingering

12

Time-Lapse AI Difference : Decrease in AI

Reservoir Characterization Project Phase XII

Monitor – baselineDec 2008 – March 2008

WAG injectors

water injectors

producers

2.5 mile

% d

iffer

ence

in A

cous

tic Im

peda

nce

-7.5

-5.0

-2.5

-1.7

1.7

2.5

5.0

7.511-4 10-311-210-2

Potential drilling location

Alana Robinson

Tom Davis, 2010

PROJECT OBJECTIVE - To characterize and quantify the hydro-thermo- mechanical (HTM) response of rock fractures in CO2 storage reservoirs through experimental and numerical studies.

PROJECT TASKSTasks - Laboratory and numerical modeling studies of non-isothermal and multiphase fluid flow and transport in fractured porous rocks.

Schematic of CO2 storage in reservoirs showing the effects of conductive and healed fractures on

the migration of CO2.

Cap rock

GGeeoommeecchhaanniiccaall pprroocceesssseess

GGeeoocchheemmiiccaall pprroocceesssseess

Aquifer

CO2 plume Healed

fractures

Fracture Geomechanics

Marte Gutierrez

Bacterial lipids reflect isotopic signature of carbon source

O

O

13C CH3

CO2(injected)Fossil organic

carbonDissolved organic

carbon

Subsurface

BacteriaBacterial lipids reflect

biotransformation of subsurface carbon

Kevin Mandernack

• Convective mixing is an instability

1. CO2 plume will migrate to abovethe brine due to buoyancy

2. Dissolved CO2 increases thedensity of brine below

3. The heavier brine sinks into thelighter brine below, generatinga convection

4. Convection enhancesmixing and solubilitytrapping

Convective Mixing

Kneafsey & Pruess, 2010 (Simulation & Experiment)

(Adapted from data provided by CMG)

Yu-Shu Wu + LBL Colleagues

Porosity and Permeability of Shales after Carbon Porosity and Permeability of Shales after Carbon Sequestration: A nanoscale approachSequestration: A nanoscale approach

Illite-smectite clay (bar is 10 micrometers long)

USGS Fact Sheet FS-020-97

High-resolution imaging -TEM

Scattering observed in small angle neutron scattering

Aim is to quantify changes in pore networks in mudstones at submicron scales after reaction with brine and supercritical CO2 using high resolution imaging, small angle neutron scattering, and laboratory small-scale experiments

Katherine Mouzakis, Alexis Sitchler, Katherine Mouzakis, Alexis Sitchler, John McCrayJohn McCray

- Numerical simulations of CO2 injection into dolomitic Weyburn reservoir with multiphase reactive transport model PFLOTRAN- Assess gas & brine leakage and metal mobilization through the caprock and intermediate zone (IZ).-Plans to add mixed gases (Sox, CO2)

-Cantucci, B., Montegrossi, G., Vaselli, O., Tassi, F., Quattrocchi, F., Perkins, E.H.,: Geochemical Modeling of CO2 storage in deep reserviors: The Weyburn Project (Canada) case study. Chem. Geology. 265, 181-197 (2009)- http://www.co2crc.com.au/imagelibrary3/storage.php

Simulating COSimulating CO22 Leakage and Metal Mobilization Through Cap Rocks Leakage and Metal Mobilization Through Cap Rocks

Hanna Menke, Alexis Sitchler, Hanna Menke, Alexis Sitchler, Reed Maxwell, Peter Lichtner,Reed Maxwell, Peter Lichtner, John McCrayJohn McCray

Carbon Sequestration and Risk to Drinking

Water Aquifers

John McCray, Alexis Sitchler, John Kaszuba, Reed Maxwell

Questions from Jim Spiers• The President’s Interagency Task Force on Carbon Capture and Storage states: “The lack of

comprehensive climate change legislation is the key barrier to CCS deployment. • Introductions:• Dr. Dag Nummedal, overview role, with introduction of the Colorado Energy Research Institute at

Colorado School of Mines, what is the state of carbon regulation or lack thereof in the United States and what are the prospects;

• See notes at opening of Boulder meeting.  Use some slides of CSM and CMC.  • 1.      Assuming the legislative log jam is solved or carbon mitigation becomes a front burner

topic, what are the prospects of the current approach to CCS being a significant part of the solution? Dag

• 2.      If we do have viable terrestrial sequestration sites, what are the prospects of federal or state solutions to the liability and long-term storage issues?  Dag, federal/Chris, state

• 3.      Wow, even if the carbon regulation is hazy, there doesn’t appear to be any great solution out there.  What are the current solutions and what are their prospects, such as EOR?  Dag and Chris

• 4.      If we get breakthroughs in research, what will it take to grow it to utility scale? Dag and Bruce

• 5.      The paper in press for Willey journal•