SaskCO₂USER

The Saskatchewan CO₂Oilfield Use for Storage and EOR Research project (SaskCO₂USER) advanced the rich datasets from the Weyburn and Midale fields to better inform prospective CO₂-EOR operators, government regulators and service providers on how to maintain the safety and integrity of CO₂ storage, improve the efficiency of CO₂-EOR operations, and limit liabilities and risks during operations.

About

Saskatchewan is home to the largest amount of injected anthropogenic CO₂ in the world, which has been injected into the Weyburn and Midale oilfields. Together, these two reservoirs have approximately 40 million tonnes of CO₂ (as of 2019) in the reservoirs, with an additional 2.8 million tonnes added annually. This project seeks to build on the research conducted during the measurement and monitoring of the reservoirs conducted between 2000-2015.

Research

SaskCO₂USER conducted applied research for commercial application in high priority areas for CO₂-EOR operations, relevant to future recognition of CO₂ geological storage.

Research was undertaken by North American and European organizations, providing an international context to findings for commercialized applications. The research built upon existing best practices and lessons learned from a decade of world-leading, peer-reviewed research undertaken by the IEAGHG Weyburn-Midale CO₂ Monitoring and Storage Project (WMP).

The seven research projects funded in the program included:

Minimum Datasets Needed to Assure Safe Storage
Overburden Monitoring
Passive Seismic
History Matched Modeling
CO₂-EOR Well Design
Casing Corrosion
Core Assessment

Research results have now been published in a special electronic edition of the International Joural of Greenhouse Gas Control. Eight papers appear in this special supplement, and are accessible by clicking on the cover of the periodical to the right. Note that access to the publication may be dependent on membership or passwords granted by Elsevier.