Report: Japan, China To Partner on CO2 Injection For EOR

2 May 2008

The Nikkei reports that Japan and China will partner on a project that will inject carbon dioxide captured from a coal-fired power plant into an oil field to enhance oil recovery. The two countries will pledge cooperation in a statement to be issued at the meeting between Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda and Chinese President Hu Jintao next Wednesday, according to the report.

The cost is estimated to total 20-30 billion yen, and the operation is expected to kick off next year. Japanese investors will include JGC Corp. and Toyota Motor Corp. as well as the government’s Research Institute of Innovative Technology for the Earth. Among the prospective Chinese stakeholders are the China National Petroleum Corp. and the China Huadian Corp. How the costs will be shared has yet to be determined.

CO₂ captured from a coal-fired plant in Harbin will be transported about 100 km west to a heavy-oil field in Daqing. The field produces more than 40 million tonnes (more than 316 million barrels per year); the CO₂-enabled EOR is expected to boost output by 1.5 to 2 million tonnes per year.

The field has the capacity to eventually sequester at least 150 million tons of CO₂.