WASHINGTON, DC-- In a multinational project that includes the U.S. Department of Energy, more than 110 billion cubic feet of 95 percent pure CO₂ have been injected into the Weyburn Oilfield in Saskatchewan, Canada, near the North Dakota border. The effort, known as the Weyburn Project, is expected to store about 22 million tons of CO₂ and produce 130 million barrels of oil over 20 years. Most of the injected CO₂ comes from the Dakota Gasification Company’s synfuels plant in Beulah, N.D., via a 320-kilometer pipeline. 

“The project reinforces President Bush’s commitment to carbon sequestration, a mainstay of his climate change policy,” Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham said. “Through this $27 million CO₂ injection effort, the United States is poised to access new technologies from around the world, while contributing 15 percent of the project’s costs.”

The idea is simple -- injecting compressed CO₂, a greenhouse gas, into the oilfield creates a CO₂ “flood” that forces the remaining oil into a well where it can be harvested; the CO₂ remains behind, safely and permanently stored beneath the earth’s surface. The project’s overriding goal is to expand the knowledge of the capacity, transport rate, and storage of CO₂ in geological formations associated with enhanced oil recovery -- in other words, to make sure that “safe and permanent” are just that.

The Weyburn Project is a model of international cooperation. Since its launch in 1999 by the Petroleum Technology Research Centre in Regina, Saskatchewan, and EnCana Resources of Calgary, Alberta, Canada, the project has attracted 15 sponsors from governments and industry -- including the U.S. Department of Energy, Natural Resources Canada, Alberta Energy Research Institute, Saskatchewan Industry and Resources, the European Community, and 10 industrial sponsors in Canada, the United States, and Japan.

At the culmination of Phase I of the project, a final report was released at the Greenhouse Gas Technologies conference in Vancouver. The report, which represents work from about 56 subtasks and contributions from more than 22 research and consulting organizations, as well as about 70 technical and project personnel, covers four technical themes:

• Geological characterization of the geosphere and biosphere;
• Prediction, monitoring, and verification of CO₂ movements;
• CO₂ storage capacity and distribution predictions, and the applications of economic limits; and
• Long-term risk assessment of the storage site.

The project is gearing up for Phase II. A proposal has been written and sent to each of the funding agencies for approval. Other organizations, which did not participate in Phase I but are interested in Phase II, may join the effort.

Weyburn is one of several oilfields in the Williston Basin that first produced medium gravity crude oil in 1954. The field was produced by primary depletion until 1964 when an extensive water-flood scheme was introduced. By 1996 cumulative production had reached 328 million barrels of oil, or 23 percent of the 1.4 billion barrels originally trapped underground.

Data from the project, combined with the well’s historical data, are expected to provide specific insights on which a sound economic model of current and future sequestration efforts of this type can be based. It is expected that this and similar efforts would illustrate that combined enhanced oil recovery and sequestration projects are a viable and environmentally safe way of storing CO₂ while obtaining oil that is difficult and expensive to extract through traditional methods.

Media contacts:
Jeanne Lopatto, 202/586-4940
Drew Malcomb, 202/586-5806