Aquistore: A fully integrated demonstration of the capture, transportation and geologic storage of CO₂

Aquistore is an integrated carbon capture-geologic storage project that will demonstrate the effectiveness of the CCS process, and will ultimately transition into a commercial operation. Initially about 550 tonnes/day of CO₂ will be captured from a steam methane reformer associated with the Consumers' Co-operative Refineries Limited's refinery in, Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada using an amine based process starting late 2012 to 2013. Capture will be increased to near 1600 tonnes/day CO₂ by introducing capture to a second SMR in subsequent years. A 5 to 10 km pipeline will be constructed to transport the compressed CO₂ to the injection location. Selection of the injection site location is based primarily on geological characteristics, proximity to the CO₂ source, ease of pipeline routing, and availability of rights to the subsurface. In Saskatchewan, current regulations around injecting and storing CO₂ in the subsurface fall under the Oil and Gas Conservation Act, and injection of CO ₂ requires a lease of pore space on Crown Land, or an agreement with the Freehold Rights owner. A significant research component is associated with this project coordinated by a Science and Engineering Research Committee that has focused on assessing injectivity, capacity and containment. A static geologic model for the proposed injection site integrates available geological data and forms the basis for flow simulations to model plume distribution. The nearest existing well to the proposed injection site that penetrates to the injection unit is about 20 km away, and was extensively cored and logged and serves as a preliminary data well for reservoir mineralogy and petrophysical characteristics. The geologic beds forming the injection target are the Cambro-Ordovician flow unit within the Williston Basin that is comprised of the Deadwood Formation and Black Island member of the Winnipeg Formation. The top of this 200 m-thick clastic package occurs at the base of the sedimentary succession at around 2000 m depth. Shales of the Ice Box member of the Winnipeg Formation form the primary seal at the top of the storage complex. Regionally, the Cambro-Ordovician unit has been used for decades for injection of large volumes of waste brine associated with potash solution mining; these operations provide proxy support that the injection characteristics are generally excellent in these units. Research efforts are coordinated with field operations including designing and instrumenting one injection well and up to two monitoring wells. Baseline studies will be performed including seismic, shallow hydrology and other surface and near-surface surveys. Prior to receiving the CO₂ stream from the refinery, injectivity tests will be run using trucked-in CO₂ and water. A communications strategy has been implemented to inform the public, regulators and media regarding activities associated with the project. Current partners in the project include federal and provincial governments, pipeline operators, power utilities, oil field service companies and the refinery operators.