CCUS is a technical and geo-engineering dependent solution proposed for “climate change” mitigation. Many of the CCUS technical issues and decisions require integrated geoscience technology similar to reservoir characterization descriptions. But in 2021 IEA reported "Despite the importance of CCUS for achieving clean energy transitions, deployment has been slow to take off – there are only around 20 commercial CCUS operations worldwide” indicating the need for more progress in technology and field applications. The industrial application of CCUS as a potential business solution is often not investigated completely.
We commonly recognize CCUS combined with tertiary oil field enhanced recovery has commercial significance. But the global geographic distribution of potential oil fields for this application often are not reasonably located near primary potential sources of large quantities of CO2 emissions. Several other alternative industrial solutions suggested include: pumped “hot” saline brine or super-critical CO2 phase fluid-driven electrical generators to address peak electrical energy demands.
We recognize the dependency of “successful CCUS” on geo-technical information derived from effective geophysical application technology, in all phases of CCUS implementation. This workshop will discuss
• geophysical application to resource and reserve estimates of sub-surface geological sites
• The geophysical application in detailed reservoir or site selection (when the proximity to the existing oil field is unsatisfactory).
• Geophysical monitoring of the injection phase for super-critical CO2.
• Geophysical methods applicable to long-term “dead storage” monitoring.