CO2 from industrial sources as injection gas in oil reservoirs

A study of CO2 injection into an oil reservoir on the Norwegian Continental Shelf has been conducted. With a numerical reservoir simulator a production profile from a scenario where the reservoir pressure is maintained by displacing oil with CO2 has been performed on a three dimensional reservoir model using reservoir properties measured in the laboratory. The forecasted production profile was compared to the profile that was obtained when CO2 was substituted by water. The simulations showed that considerably more oil could be recovered with CO2 injection, approximately 60% of original oil in place, compared to approximately 40% by water injection. A technical/economical evaluation of CO2 separation from industrial sources, transport and injection into oil reservoirs has also been made. The results show positive economics only when some sort of CO2 tax avoidance is imposed on the source which alternatively would release CO2 into the atmosphere.