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US, Canada and Mexico release atlas mapping North American potential CO2 storage capacity; 500 years of geologic storage
2 May 2012
The US Department of Energy (DOE), Natural Resources Canada and the Mexican Ministry of Energy have released the first-ever atlas mapping the potential carbon dioxide storage capacity in North America. According to the newly released North American Carbon Storage Atlas (NACSA), there is at least 500 years of geologic storage for carbon dioxide emissions in North America.
Created through the North American Carbon Atlas Partnership, a joint cross-border mapping initiative by the United States, Canada, and Mexico, NACSA includes both low and high estimates for potential carbon dioxide storage capacity in North America. The low case estimates potential capacity of 136 billion metric tons for oil and gas fields; 65 billion metric tons for coal fields; and 1,738 billion metric tons for saline reservoirs, collectively representing over 500 years of storage.
In addition to estimating the storage capacity for North American oil and gas fields, coal fields and saline reservoirs, NACSA also notes the location of a total of approximately 2,250 large stationary carbon dioxide sources. Documenting the location of large stationary carbon dioxide emission sources and the locations and storage potential of various geological storage sites helps quantify the benefits and opportunities for potential carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) projects.
CCUS technologies help to capture, purify and compress carbon dioxide, which is injected into geological formations for permanent storage. Those technologies can also be used for enhanced oil recovery (EOR) to produce hard-to-access oil, while storing the carbon dioxide.
The new North American atlas shows an increase in potential storage capacity relative to previous estimates, primarily due to better geologic resolution and the identification of additional locations that could be used for EOR. By matching up EOR storage locations with specific sources of CO2, the atlas provides a more comprehensive view of the outlook and potential for carbon storage through EOR.
The atlas included work from the Department of Energy’s Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnerships, whose 400 organizations have worked over the last decade to characterize geologic storage opportunities in the US and Canada and provide inputs to DOE’s National Energy Technology Laboratory’s National Carbon Sequestration Database and Geographic Information System.
Also being launched alongside the hard-copy atlas are the NACSA website and online viewer. The website contains information about CO2 stationary sources and storage resources in North America, as well as methodologies for estimating storage resources and links to additional information. The online viewer is accessible from the NACSA website and houses data from all three countries, along with analytical tools to address CCUS deployment. Intended for a broad range of users, the online viewer gives users interactive access to the map layers and data used in the atlas.
The North American Carbon Atlas Partnership was formed under the North American Energy Working Group in 2001. Established by the Canadian Minister of Natural Resources, the Secretary of Energy of Mexico, and the US Secretary of Energy, the working group developed a communication and cooperation framework among the three countries’ energy sectors on matters of common interest and to enhance North American energy trade.
May 2, 2012 in Brief | Permalink | Comments (7) | TrackBack (0)
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CO2 storage is a lot like trying to cure cancers.
It is wiser, cheaper and more profitable to avoid (creating) both.
Posted by: HarveyD | May 02, 2012 at 07:18 AM
Energy used for lighting could be reduced by another 50+ % using new GaN LEDs (by NGK Insulator Ltd, Japan) with internal efficiency of up to 90% instead of current LED with 30% to 40%. Those new LEDs produce less heat and require smaller, lighter apparatuses.
Electrified vehicles would benefit and get increased e-range from same batteries. Our old fashion ICEVs would consume less liquid fuel and produce less CO2.
Posted by: HarveyD | May 02, 2012 at 07:26 AM
CO2 and cheap nuclear power may turn out to be a practical way of making synthetic fuels one day.. why not store the stuff in spent gas wells?
Posted by: Herm | May 02, 2012 at 08:24 AM
You know the oil companies are desperate for a fix when they start mainlining CO2.
"The primary source of carbon/CO2 is outgassing from the Earth's interior..." http://www.columbia.edu/~vjd1/carbon.htm
So, let me get this right. The oil companies actually want to add more CO2 to the main source of it, under the Earth. So they can push out more oil to burn, which creates more CO2. Hello?
Why bother? The technology now exists that far surpasses the energy efficiency available in oil, with no pollution. (Search Rossi and/or Keshe as a couple of examples)
When we become aware as a culture that we could easily be paying about 99% less for our energy costs, an energy revolution will begin.
Posted by: mrfixitrick | May 02, 2012 at 10:22 AM
Going from one era to another is often difficult and laborious. After relying on fossil fuels (coal, NG and crude oil) as major energy sources for 5+ centuries, the switch to cleaner electricity sources will take many decades, but it will come before the end of the current century.
Posted by: HarveyD | May 02, 2012 at 02:07 PM
It's good that we have this data surveyed, but...
how many of these storage sites could produce power services to the electric grid even more cheaply as compressed air energy storage sites? My understanding is that carbon capture and storage really drives up the cost of fossil-fuel based power generation. CAES in combination with local or HVDC-supplied electric power may be cheaper in many such locations -- and avoids the whole CO2 production problem to begin with.
Originally I only thought of this in zero-carbon versus fossil-fuel terms, but carbon capture and storage has one more issue: there are several technologies under development that use carbon as a resource (graphene, carbon fiber or nanotubes, etc.). If fabrication techniques can bring the cost of these materials down, it seems these could take the place of much of the metals in structural and electrical work (aluminum, steel, copper...). Under those circumstances, do we really want to take dense forms of carbon like coal and turn them into diffuse forms, then shove 'em back underground? Especially when some of the candidate storage formations would chemically react with the carbon to "lock it up"?
We may be better off reducing fossil fuel use, period, in order to save dense carbon for more productive uses than mere fuel.
Posted by: disgustedandamused | May 02, 2012 at 04:58 PM
Thank you daa.
Posted by: ai_vin | May 03, 2012 at 12:30 PM