Battelle Leads Partnership Team to Major Milestone in Large-Scale Demonstration Project

MRCSP Completes Goal of Injecting One Million Metric Tons Carbon
Dioxide

COLUMBUS, Ohio–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Ten years ago, the United
States Department of Energy (DOE) set a big goal. It wanted a
scientific demonstration of injecting a significant amount of carbon
dioxide (CO2) into the rock deep below the earth’s surface.

Now, a Battelle-led
team known as Midwest Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnership (MRCSP)
has successfully stored one million metric tons of carbon dioxide (CO2)
as part of its large-scale demonstration project. This MRCSP
demonstration is one of eight such DOE projects helping to develop and
deploy carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS), an advanced
energy technology that can help support a secure, reliable, and
competitive energy system in the U.S.

In the intervening decade since the project began, an impressive amount
of environmental and economic benefits has been achieved. Battelle began
the third phase of injection in 2013 and, in conjunction with Core
Energy LLC, is monitoring, verifying and accounting for the CO2
being used for enhanced oil recovery (EOR) in the depleted oil fields of
Michigan’s Northern Reef Trend.

The practice of using carbon dioxide to recover oil uses a closed-loop
process to access the fossil fuel that would otherwise be left behind,
maximizing existing oil fields. One million cumulative metric tons of CO2
stored is equivalent to removing 214,000 passenger vehicles for one
year, or the amount stored by 1.2 million acres of forest in one year.
As a result of this CO2 injection, more than $70 million
dollars of economic benefit has been added to the local economy in jobs,
goods and services, and taxes, based on the significant volume of oil
that has been produced—oil that would otherwise have been left behind.

Additionally, there has been significant scientific knowledge gained.
The project developed novel approaches for using CO2 in
fields that were in different stages of their production life-cycles,
from initial flooding to late-stage. The MRCSP tested state-of-the-art
techniques to track the CO2 and quantify the amount that is
retained in the formation after the oil is removed. These data can be
used to further optimize CO2 storage and energy production in
other areas. MRCSP will continue to collect field operational data and
deploy advanced monitoring technologies to characterize and simulate the
CO2 storage, retention, and enhanced oil recovery processes
across the test locations.

“Battelle is proud to lead the MRCSP,” said Neeraj Gupta, Principal
Investigator for the MRCSP. “This public-private partnership has allowed
us to apply cutting edge science in practical real-world settings. This
project is one of several that demonstrates that CCUS can be done
safely, cost-effectively, and for the larger societal benefit.”

The MRCSP comprises a 10-state region that is home to more than 25% of
the U.S. population and generates roughly $4.62 trillion in gross
regional product. It produces almost 25% of all electricity generated in
the country—more than half of that by burning coal. The MRCSP is one of
seven Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnerships in the United States
established by DOE’s National
Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL).

About Core Energy, LLC

Core Energy, LLC is actively involved in innovative oil and gas
exploration and production technologies throughout Michigan. Core was
the first company in Michigan to utilize carbon dioxide on a commercial
scale to produce oil that would otherwise be stranded from existing oil
fields. The company is also using modern techniques to explore for new
reserves located near existing oil fields. Core Energy is headquartered
in Traverse City, MI. More information about the company is available on
the Internet at: www.coreenergyholdings.com.

About Battelle

Every day, the people of Battelle apply science and technology to
solving what matters most. At major technology centers and national
laboratories around the world, Battelle conducts research and
development, designs and manufactures products, and delivers critical
services for government and commercial customers. Headquartered in
Columbus, Ohio since its founding in 1929, Battelle serves the national
security, health and life sciences, energy and environmental industries.
For more information, visit www.battelle.org.

Contacts

Battelle
T.R. Massey, 614-424-5544
[email protected]