Disruptive new CCUS technologies utilizing CO2 as a commodity in carbon neutral gas production and reduced carbon footprint oil production

Title : Disruptive new CCUS technologies utilizing CO2 as a commodity in carbon neutral gas production and reduced carbon footprint oil production

Abstract:

Providing sustainable energy for the future is a major global challenge that needs to reflect the growing societal awareness and concern for global warming. Due to climate concerns, new energy resources need to be cleaner, although the dependency on fossil fuels will continue; IEA estimates that 70% of energy consumption in 2035 will still be from fossil fuels.

Future energy production needs to reflect lower carbon footprint, exhibit reduced CO2 emissions, and include carbon sequestration in the form of CO2 storage. Successful global CO2 storage in the amounts needed to mitigate global warming requires industry participation, reflecting improved economic and environmental sustainability. Opportunity for the industry to generate revenues is crucial, thus new disruptive Carbon Capture Utilization and Sequestration (CCUS) technologies are needed. Two technologies recently developed at University of Bergen as enablers of CCUS are CO2 Foam EOR for low carbon oil production and CO2 injection in hydrates for carbon neutral gas production from hydrates.

Utilizing CO2 as a commodity in CO2 Foam EOR with mobility control is currently emphasized in a large-scale field pilot demonstration project in Texas. Compared to conventional CO2 EOR, CO2 Foam EOR may produce twice as much oil at lower cost and in shorter time, and more CO2 may be sequestered. The technology indicates it may represent a gamechanger with respect to sustainable economics in CO2 EOR; the Rate of Return was at a factor of more than 20.

Our MRI laboratory results have shown that exposing CO2 to hydrate accumulations spontaneously produces methane, with no need for additional energy. CO2 injection in hydrates is a win-win situation for CO2 storage with simultaneous natural gas production. Each molecule of methane produced needs a CO2 molecule to be released, establishing a carbon neutral gas production technology. There is more than twice as much energy in hydrates than all reserves of oil, gas and coal combined worldwide. This carbon neutral gas production technology may generate clean energy for the future, creating an associated huge market for CO2 globally. USDOE, ConocoPhillips and JOGMEC performed a successful US$ 30mill CCUS field test in Alaska in 2012, demonstrating the technology at large scale.

Audience Take Away Notes: 

• Learn about disruptive new CCUS technologies not widely known.
• Be inspired and learn how to utilize CO2 in their own research.
• Info to be used to Inform students and co-workers on more sustainable use of fossil fuels.
• Learn about industry participation in CCUS projects.
• New research that other faculty could use to expand their research or teaching.
• New information to assist in CO2 utilization in energy production.
• Interact with industry, academicians, and politicians in their own country to utilize new CCUS technologies.

Biography:

Arne Graue is Professor of Physics at the Department of Physics and Technology, University of Bergen (UoB), Norway. He is Head of “Reservoir Physics – Energy Technology and CO2 Storage (CCUS)”. His scientific interest is within Reservoir Physics emphasizing heterogeneous and fractured reservoirs, multiphase flow in porous media, in-situ fluid saturation imaging, laboratory investigation of Integrated EOR-techniques, Carbon Capture Utilization and Storage (CCUS), CO2 sequestration and gas hydrates. He has published more than 300 scientific publications and supervised 218 PhD and MS students. He has MS-degree in Experimental Nuclear Physics and PhD degree in Reservoir Physics, all from UoB. Graue has been Invited Visiting Scientist/Professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), U. of Wyoming, U. of Kansas, at ConocoPhillips Research Center, OK, and at Rice University in Houston, TX, USA. He Chairs the Executive Boards of: Petroleum Research School of Norway, where all universities in Norway are members, Colorado Norway Clean Energy Transition Research and Educational Collaboration (ColNor), and NorTex Petroleum Cluster.