CCUS PROVIDES AN INTEGRATED STRATEGY FOR THE SUSTAINABLE ENERGY FUTURE OF ENERGY PROLIFIC BASINS IN WYOMING AND CHINA

As the nation’s leading exporter of energy, mostly coal, Wyoming stands to lose much from recently announced U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) greenhouse gas (GHG) rules designed to limit carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions from fossil fuel-fired power plants. Under all economic scenarios going forward, it seems likely that GHG emissions associated with the production and use of fossil fuels will remain under sustained policy and regulatory pressure both in the United States and worldwide.

In order to maintain an economic and environmentally friendly energy industry future, Wyoming must develop clean coal facilities and innovative techniques that effectively and efficiently utilize the State’s rich fossil energy resources—including coal, coalbed natural gas, natural gas, and oil—in a manner that results in reduced GHG emissions and improved environmental performance overall. To meet this challenge, we suggest an integrated energy/carbon capture utilization & storage (CCUS) development strategy that aims to synchronously integrate coal mining, coal conversion technologies, coalbed methane production (CBM), CO₂ enhanced oil recovery (CO₂-EOR), and CO₂ storage in the Powder River Basin, Wyoming. A similar, though less comprehensive plan, is currently being developed in the Ordos Basin, China.

In this integrated energy/CCUS strategy, an environmental challenge associated with the development of one fossil resource becomes a low-carbon solution for the develop­ment of another. For example, coal conversion facilities equipped with CCUS technology could be built in proximity to coal mines, with the captured CO₂ subsequently used for CO₂-EOR operation, and saline or stacked reservoir storage. Temporary or permanent storage options could be pursued, but in all cases storage would be obtained. Produced water from geologic storage operations would be used to support the coal conversion facilities. This integrated energy/CCUS development strategy would greatly reduce carbon pollution, identify uses for produced water, and serve as a sustainable energy development model for energy prolific basins in the United States, China, and elsewhere.