PRELIMINARY CHARACTERIZATION OF GEOLOGIC FORMATIONS IN VIRGINIA FOR THE SEQUESTRATION AND PERMANENT STORAGE OF CARBON DIOXIDE

Geologic sequestration of carbon dioxide (CO₂) is one potential method to reduce anthropogenic atmospheric CO₂ emissions and their effects on global climate.

With the use of the U.S. Geological Survey’s Geologic Carbon Sequestration Assessment Methodology, Virginia’s Division of Geology and Mineral Resources evaluated geologic formations with the potential for CO₂ storage in Virginia. Potential geologic storage formations and seals were identified, their structure, depth, and thickness mapped, and where available data on the salinity of formation waters and the porosity of the formations were collected. Geophysical logs of more than 800 wells were used to evaluate potential storage formations and seals in Virginia.

A comprehensive series of digital maps and tabular databases were constructed for selected target formations. Structure contour maps of the tops of seals and reservoirs, maps of gross formation thickness, and net porous interval thickness were created for storage formations with the potential to store ~1 million metric tons (or greater) of CO₂.

The preliminary characterization has shown that Virginia has the resources available to sequester and permanently store large amounts of CO₂ in deep geologic formations. The highest potential for CO₂ storage recognized in this study is in the Mississippian formations in southwestern Virginia, in the Devonian Oriskany sandstone in western Virginia, and in the sedimentary units within the Mesozoic basins of eastern Virginia.

Future work will include geologic mapping and modeling of additional stratigraphic intervals determined to be viable sequestration targets as well as the refinement of those maps and models developed during this preliminary characterization.