Bell Creek CO₂ Storage Demonstration Project

The PCOR Partnership is collaborating with Denbury to use the Bell Creek commercial enhanced oil recovery (EOR) operation to learn more about the science of CO₂ behavior in the subsurface. This knowledge will assist future projects to move seamlessly from CO₂ EOR projects to long-term CO₂ storage projects.

Collaborative Effort
The PCOR Partnership teamed with Denbury to provide further information on the geology of the site as well as additional monitoring of injected CO₂. This information will be used to develop a more detailed picture of the site geology and behavior of CO₂, oil, and water in the subsurface. Based on field experience, this improved understanding will be the basis of a comprehensive approach to monitor injected CO₂, account for the CO₂ during and after the EOR operation, and verify that the CO₂ remains in place in the injection zone once EOR operations are complete. The result is improved safety, EOR efficiency, and having the systems in place for CO₂ storage operations.

Integrated Approach
The nature of the geology at a location, both at the surface and deep underground, is the key to successful CO₂ EOR and CO₂ storage. The PCOR Partnership is developing an approach that takes knowledge of the geology and uses it to build an interactive computer model. This allows us to:

• Develop plans to properly track CO₂ in the subsurface.
• Respond to the potential for CO₂ migration.
• Account for the CO₂ injected.
• Verify the CO₂ volume and position in the subsurface.

This approach helps meet the safety expectations of local landowners and communities, while reassuring CO₂ owners that the commodity will remain securely stored in the formation.

A New Standard for CO₂ EOR
By implementing our integrated approach at Bell Creek, the demonstration project will result in a new standard for safe and practical geologic CO₂ EOR-to-CO₂ storage operations.

The real-world results generated by the Bell Creek project will provide stakeholders, including policy makers, regulators, industry, financiers, and the public, with the knowledge necessary to make informed decisions regarding the effectiveness of carbon capture and storage (CCS) as a carbon management strategy.

With this knowledge, stakeholders will have the data necessary to expand the implementation of safe, practical, well-documented CCS projects.