Midwest Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnership reaches 1 million metric tons of carbon dioxide stored

The Midwest Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnership (MRCSP) recently announced that it has stored 1 million metric tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) into a series of depleted oil fields in northern Michigan.

The large-scale demonstration project, which is managed by the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) and led by Battelle, developed approaches for monitoring CO2 in fields in various stages of their product life cycles. MRCSP tested techniques for tracking the CO2 and quantifying the amount that remains in the formation after the oil is removed.

“These data can be used to further optimize CO2 storage and energy production in other areas,” NETL said in a press release. “This work is furthering the understanding of the subsurface by assessing potential storage capacity and validating computer models of the subsurface geology.”

The project also led to the production of oil through enhanced oil recovery (EOR).

The MRCSP region consists of ten states: Delaware, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. A group of universities, state geological surveys, nongovernmental organizations and private companies, led by Battelle, conducted the research.

“Battelle is proud to lead the MRCSP,” Neeraj Gupta, principal investigator for the MRCSP, said. “This public-private partnership has allowed us to apply cutting edge science in practical real-world settings. This project is one of several that demonstrates that CCUS can be done safely, cost-effectively, and for the larger societal benefit.”