2014 GSA Annual Meeting in Vancouver, British Columbia (19–22 October 2014)

Paper No. 254-8
Presentation Time: 3:05 PM

SYNOPSIS OF NATURAL CARBON DIOXIDE OCCURRENCE IN THE EASTERN MID-CONTINENT, UNITED STATES


SLUCHER, Ernie R., U.S. Geological Survey, 6480 Doubletree Ave, Columbus, OH 43229

Low-BTU gases can be a significant component locally of the natural gas reservoirs in some basins in the United States. Of the various non-hydrocarbon gases in these systems, carbon dioxide (CO2) is frequently the most prevalent, and in some instances, of sufficient quantity and quality to be the primary commodity produced from the gas field. On-going research by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) on geologic storage for CO2 includes investigations on these natural CO2-rich reservoirs, in that they may be natural analogs for understanding long-term CO2 storage systems. Recognizing critical attributes in low-BTU gas systems such as residence time, diagenetic alterations, and geochemistry may serve as pathways for predictive engineering of anthropogenic CO2 storage reservoirs. The recently completed national geologic CO2 storage resource assessment by the USGS ranks the Illinois, Michigan and Appalachian Basins as the 4th, 8th, and 13th of the 36 basins assessed, in terms of mean technically accessible storage resources in the nation. In these basins, natural gas is a major commodity and existing geochemical data from these areas notes occurrences of elevated levels of CO2 within the natural gas. Improved understanding of natural CO2 reservoir systems may facilitate refinement of potential geologic storage resources of CO2 within these basins. At present, preliminary research into natural CO2 in these basins suggest CO2 exists mainly at low levels in individual wells in the Illinois Basin. In the Michigan Basin CO2 associated with Antrim Shale biogenic gas production is present (and is removed and used for tertiary CO2-flood oil recover locally). In the Appalachian Basin, two CO2-rich gas fields are known: the Furnace in Kentucky, and the Indian Creek in West Virginia, as are a few wells in other portions of the basin with elevated CO2 content. A summary of the current research on natural CO2 systems in these basins will be presented.