Optimal Sourcing, Supply and Development of Carbon Dioxide Networks for Enhanced Oil Recovery in CCUS Systems

PRESSER, DEMIAN J.; CAFARO, VANINA G.; CAFARO, DIEGO C.

Kyoto

Conferencia; 14th INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON PROCESS SYSTEMS ENGINEERING; 2022

Carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) is one of the most promisingtechnologies for mitigating anthropogenic CO2 emissions. The deployment of CUUStypically requires heavy capital investments that need to be offset by the benefits ofcarbon utilization. Carbon dioxide enhanced oil recovery (EOR-CO2) consists oninjecting large quantities of CO2 into mature oil reservoirs to boost hydrocarbonrecovery. It is one of the most effective ways to bring economic viability to CCUSprojects, also providing the means for the geological sequestration of CO2. The planningof CCUS coupled to EOR comprises interrelated decisions aiming to maximize oilproduction and CO2 sequestration. In this work, we propose a novel optimizationapproach to allocate CO2 from capture sources to oil fields according to their potential,and determine how these reservoirs should be developed over time. To this end, we seekfor the optimal design of pipeline networks, as well as the injection plan in eachreservoir according to the CO2 availability. The results show that the coordinatedoperation of EOR-CO2 in several oil reservoirs is crucial to the success of a CCUSproject. An illustrative case study of 3 reservoirs and 2 sources (power plants) ispresented. The production strategy yields up to 40% reduction in carbon emissions fromthe power plants and a positive net present value of 74 million USD in five years.