Brian Hitchon (Editor)
2012
353 pp. /4 colour photographs/ 134 colour line diagrams/14 b/w line diagrams/ 17 tables
(hardcover)
ISBN 978-0-9680844-7-2
FOREWORD
The IEAGHG Weyburn-Midale CO2 Monitoring and Storage Project has now been active since 2000 and has therefore established an extensive database of knowledge over the 11 year period of its operation. The knowledge gained is now being shared through this book to the benefit of carbon capture and storage (CCS) project proponents and practitioners around the world.
The IEAGHG Weyburn-Midale CO2 Monitoring and Storage Project was the second commercial scale CO2 injection project to come on board after that in the Sleipner oilfield, offshore Norway in 1996. The project though is very different to Sleipner and therefore provides an extended research and monitoring data set that is currently unique in its own right. The target reservoir is an onshore carbonate formation, about 1500 metres deep, that has been operated as an oil field since the 1950s. The CO2 flood that commenced in 2000 will extend the life of the field by some 25 years and thus has provided a field laboratory to test monitoring and modelling tools.
Enhanced oil recovery using CO2 is becoming an attractive option to stimulate carbon storage projects in many parts of the world. This book, coming from a project with a strong international reputation for scientific credibility and excellence, is both timely and internationally important. The fact that the IEAGHG Weyburn-Midale CO2 Monitoring and Storage Project was able to counteract claims of leakage was a result of the thorough monitoring baselines established, the continuity of researchers working on the project, and the scientific quality of their research institutions. This book will stand as a prime example of their work for many years to come.
John Gale
General Manager
IEA Greenhouse Gas R&D Programme.
Cheltenham, United Kingdom