CO2 GEOLOGICAL STORAGE POTENTIAL IN POLAND Adam WÓJCICKI Polish Geological Institute National Research Institute Warsaw, June 2009
CO2 geological sequestration (definitions) Carbon capture and storage (CCS) = CO2 capture process + transport + safe sequestration in geosphere Geological sequestration of CO2 (from fossil fuel combustion) safe storage within deep geological systems and structures (carbon geological storage - CGS) for at least thousands of years; the following options are possible in Poland: - within saline aquifers (of the biggest potential but usually insufficiently explored), -within depleted d hydrocarbon fields (with a possibility of EOR, EGR), - in deep, un-mineable coal seams containing methane (with a possibility of ECBM)
CO2 geological sequestration in Poland (an idea)
CO2 geological sequestration pyramid CO2 storage capacity pyramid for the key option - saline aquifers
CO2 storage projects in Europe an Poland POLAND 1. R&D project at Borzęcin gas field (EGR using acidic gas = 60% CO2, since 1995) 2 CO2 2. CO2-ECBM ECBM EU FP projects RECOPOL & MOVECBM (since 2001); 3. Two projects under the EU ETP ZEP Demonstration Programme are launched For much of Europe (green green colour) basic knowledge (0-1) colour on CO2 geological storage possibilities has been compiled under EU and national projects, but such knowledge is not sufficient ffi i to d decide id where h exactly CO2 can be safely stored. Such detailed knowledge is required for exploration l ti and d storage t permits to be granted.
Preliminary estimation of CO2 storage capacity for Poland (2004-2008) 2008) Type Saline aquifers CASTOR Saline aquifers EU GeoCapacity upper limit for Cr1, J1, T, and other formations Storage potential, Mt 3 752 4 701 90 000 Hydrocarbon fields (31 structures) 764 Coal seams (selected CBM fields at depth of 1-2 km) Coal seams within Polish SCB at depth of 1-2 km SUM (conservative estimation) SUM (theoretical capacity/potential) 415 1 254 ~6 7 Gt ~92 Gt Regional aquifers (Cr1, J1 and dt) make the biggest volume of country storage capacity. Their huge potential, counted in Gtonnes, enables storing emissions of big power plants and other industrial installations for decades, Hydrocarbon fields (of rather small capacity) are of a local importance. These are mostly gas fields and only a few suitable oil fields. Methane-bearing coal seams are quite common in the Silesian Coal Basin and possibly have a potential to store emissions of some industrial installations. However, this is a sensitive issue because of safety of coal underground exploitation and conflicts with coal gasification.
Distribution of sedimentary basins potentially suitable for the CO2 storage Main European sedimentary basins (after FP6 EU GeoCapacity project) Central European Permian-Mezozoic basin (outlined), is the biggest European sedimentary basin - it extends from England to Poland across the North Sea, Netherlands, Denmark and Germany. Polish territory belongs to the eastern arm of this vast basin Conclusion: situation in Poland is better than European average.
Geological structure of the Polish basin Plane section at a depth z=1 km Saline aquifers of the Polish part of the Permian- Mezozoic basin (outlined), such as: Lower Jurassic (deep blue), Triassic (purple) and to a lesser extent, Lower Cretaceous (darkgreen), are likely good reservoirs for safe CO2 storage. They are particularly useful for the needs of large industrial installations.
Inventory of sources and sinks in Poland (ME PL, 2008) Known structures (level 1 of the pyramid) make the following figures of CO2 storage potential in Poland: saline aquifers (24 structures) 8299 Mt, hydrocarbon fields (82) 1021 Mt, coal/cbm seams 295 Mt, total 9615 Mt.
THE PROGRAMME In response to demandsd of national economy on future implementation of CO2 geological sequestration technologies in industrial scale (to be preceded by a testing phase of demonstration plants), Polish Ministry of Environment has launched a four-year (2008-2012) National Programme Assessment of formations and structures for safe CO2 geological storage, including monitoring i plans. PGI leads a consortium of organisations, specialized in geological-geophysical-reservoir studies (AGH, CMI, MEERI, O&GI, PBG). As an extension to the Programme cooperation with a number of industry stakeholders, as well as with European geological surveys and other organizations of relevant expertise started. Project duration: 10.2008-09.2012. The goal of the programme (in connection with a PolishpartofETP ZEP Demonstration Programme) is to collect and elaborate countrywide geo-information necessary for future decisions on exploration and storage permits (saline aquifers and other storage options), to be issued by Polish Ministry of Environment, according to the EU directive on geological storage of carbon dioxide to be implemented.
The scope of the programme The programme covers territory of Poland, including Polish Baltic economic zone. In 8 areas more thorough studies of facies of saline aquifers will be conducted, in order to select objects suitable for safe CO2 storage (I segment); similarly, hydrocarbon fields and coal beds in the country will be studied. For five selected storage sites (3 in saline aquifers and two other) detailed analyses (II segment - according to the Directive on geological storage of CO2) will be performed, followed by monitoring programmes.
The Project timetable Y ear 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 I (Bełchatów) II (SCB/environs) III (Masovia) IV (Carpathians/Foredeep) V (Lublin region) VI (Greater Poland) VII (NW Poland) VIII (Łeba and Baltic) hydrocarbons coal beds Segment I Segment II Segment II to be selected
Segment I - site screening/selection phase; based on CO2STORE criteria Seal thickness: minimum 50 m, seal integrity is essential Aquifer depth: from 800 m to 2000 m Aquifer net thickness: minimum 20 m (a single layer) Porosity of the reservoir: minimum 10%, preferably 20% Permeability of the reservoir: minimum 100 md Salinity: minimum 30 g/l, in case of relic, isolated fluids it might be lower... The procedure implemented already for area I (Bełchatów). Conclusion: the structures either do not meet all positive criteria of CO2STORE Best Practice manual, or lack sufficient data for the evaluation (as in case of study of Vattenfall in Germany and GEUS/Vattenfall in Denmark), so the site selection means a serious risk to be mitigated.
Works for area I -1st Polish demo project For the investigations of Segment II the structure was selected which is relatively well explored (sufficient coverage by seismic lines and wells with logging and drill core samples available) because this makes it possible to construct the static and dynamic model. Two backup sites were proposed to the investor (PGE).
A seismic section for the selected site GR log The structure Seismic section of 1970s, reprocessed in 2001; the structure in question is in J1 (upper part of the section)
Outline of the structure (~30 x 20 km) Investigations follow recommendations of Att. 1 to the Directive of CO2 Geological Storage as a result possible injection area will be selected and baseline monitoring designed (most likely in SW part of the structure)
Conclusions According to the results of works for area I and just started analyses for area II the following conclusions could be drawn: - Figure of total storage potential of 10 Gt for Poland seems to be realistic (new structures found, some structures known already excluded or downsized) - However, this does rather refer to capacities of geological- l reservoir cut-offs (level 1 of the pyramid), likely also to level 2 - So, the storage capacities for safe and viable storage (level 3 and 4) will likely make a fraction of this figure - How big is the fraction we cannot say at this moment exactly but likely this could be 30-40% - Such a figure equals 30-40 year emission of power plants in g q y p p Poland covered by EU ETS and 15-20 year emission of all installations in Poland covered by EU ETS