Pressure space: The key subsurface commodity for CCS

Abstract

Storage resource estimates are part of the foundation for Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) policy, project development and pipeline routing. Multiple generations of such estimates have found that hundreds and even thousands of gigatons of storage are available in basins around the world. However, these estimates have largely been based on basin-scale static capacity calculations that assume pore space is accessible to CO₂, because basins have open boundaries that allow water to be displaced and avoid pressure build-up. However, as we now consider large-scale injection that stresses the system capacity, limitations to the flow of CO₂ and displaced brine must be considered. These limits include pressure interactions among multiple projects, physical lateral discontinuities such as faults and facies changes, overpressure, juxtaposition with impermeable basement, and regulatory requirements that require protection of freshwater. We present here a simple algorithm to estimate the total pressure-limited storage resource. Applying it to the example of the Texas coastal Miocene results in a significantly lower storage resource over our previous static capacity estimates (assuming no water production). Based on this assessment, we find that CCS is still unlikely to be capacity-limited, but effective regulation, land valuation and project development will require recalibration and consideration of all projects in pressure communication. We conclude that depth-dependent and geomechanically-limited pressure space, not pore space, is the key subsurface commodity.