The storage of CO2 in depleted oil reservoirs, while recovering substantial oil through enhanced oil recovery (EOR) is one way to reduce the amount of CO2 in our atmosphere. For this coupling to be effective, the focus should shift from minimizing CO2 utilization factors to injection of significant CO2 volumes, while reducing CO2 production and maximizing oil recoveries.
This talk will focus on the technical challenges that remain for both CO2 storage and EOR. A variety of issues will be discussed including the need for transforming petrophysics away from stagnant empirical models, while incorporating these new models in compositional simulation. These technical “needs” will require a long-term commitment to new research and field implementation that move away from our conventional thinking.