Life cycle inventory of CO2 in an enhanced oil recovery system

Abstract

Enhanced oil recovery (EOR) has been identified as a method of sequestering CO(2) recovered from power plants. In CO(2)-flood EOR, CO(2) is injected into an oil reservoir to reduce oil viscosity, reduce interfacial tension, and cause oil swelling which improves oil recovery. Previous studies suggest that substantial amounts of CO(2) from power plants could be sequestered in EOR projects, thus reducing the amount of CO(2) emitted into the atmosphere. This claim, however, ignores the fact that oil, a carbon rich fuel, is produced and 93% of the carbon in petroleum is refined into combustible products ultimately emitted into the atmosphere. In this study we analyze the net life cycle CO(2)emissions in an EOR system. This study assesses the overall life cycle emissions associated with sequestration via CO(2)-flood EOR under a number of different scenarios and explores the impact of various methods for allocating CO(2) system emissions and the benefits of sequestration.