CO2 life cycle analysis for an enhanced oil recovery: Weyburn based case

Publisher Summary This chapter evaluates the life-cycle of CO 2 storage from delivery to the oil-field through the production, transportation, and refining of the oil and to identify opportunities for optimization. At the global, national, and sub-national levels, many policies have been created or are in the process of development to deal with greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, Greenhouse gases, particularly carbon dioxide (CO2), are being extensively studied because global climate change has been demonstrated to be one of the major environmental problems of the 21 s t century. CO2 enhanced oil recovery (EOR) or storage in saline aquifers are options available to governments and industries to meet emission reduction levels. Carbon emission trading can create a value for CO2 and can modify the cost competitiveness of EOR or other forms of geological storage. The main contributor to CO2 emissions is fossil fuel combustion. CO2 emissions can be reduced by switching to fuel with a lower carbon content, improving operating efficiency, and CO2 capture and storage. The International Energy Agency (IEA) Weyburn Monitoring and Storage Project was established to study the CO2-enhanced oil recovery project at Weyburn in 1999 to determine the fate of CO2 in the oil reservoir. Information from the IEA Weyburn Monitoring and Storage Project is used to provide baseline information for the storage of CO2. This could be combined with other sources of information to generate the life-cycle economics and energy consumption for CO2.