Release Date: August 30, 2007

MORGANTOWN, WV — As an integral part of the U.S. Department of Energy’s effort to develop carbon sequestration technologies to capture and permanently store greenhouse gases, the Plains CO₂ Reduction (PCOR) Partnership has begun drilling operations to determine the suitability of a North Dakota lignite coal seam to simultaneously sequester the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide and produce valuable coalbed methane.
 
The PCOR Partnership—one of seven partnerships in the Department of Energy’s Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnership Program, which is managed by the National Energy Technology Laboratory—plans to inject at least 400 tons of CO₂ to a depth of approximately 1,200 feet into an unminable lignite seam in Burke County, ND.

The focus of the drilling operation will be to determine the long-term effect of CO₂ on the lignite (the lowest grade of coal) and the potential for CO₂ to enhance the recovery of coalbed methane. This effort is important in that North Dakota alone has the capacity to store 380 million tons of CO₂ and the potential to recover an estimated 1.1 trillion cubic feet of methane to supplement the nation’s energy mix.

During the drilling operation, researchers used sampling techniques to indicate the presence of gas in the vicinity of the coal seam. Although the researchers have not yet determined the composition of the gas, they are currently analyzing it. The initial core indicates the seam is about 8 feet thick.

The PCOR Partnership will drill five wells in southeastern Burke County to complete a geologic characterization of the lignite coal seam, as well as the overlying geologic zones in the area. After the wells are lined with pipe and cement, they will be completed as CO₂ injection or coalbed methane recovery wells.

Overall, the PCOR Partnership will focus on the following factors in the project:

• Methane content, CO₂ storage capacity, and methodology.
• Features of fluid transport in lignite.
• Stability of CO₂ stored within lignite coal seams.
• Factors controlling the success of sequestration and production in lignite.
• Economics associated with the project.

The Energy & Environmental Research Center, located at the University of North Dakota, manages the project and will conduct the 2-year test in two phases. The first phase will include data collection related to the coal seam and an evaluation of the seam’s potential to produce coalbed methane. Previous investigations in the area pointed toward a potential for economically recoverable coalbed methane and CO₂ sequestration potential in these deep unminable lignite seams. In phase 2, CO₂ will be injected into the coal seam. During the test, the PCOR Partnership will be collaborating with Eagle Operating Inc., of Kenmare, N.D.

The PCOR Partnership expects to use the data generated from this test drilling to plan for similar sequestration operations throughout the region. The data can also provide information about the potential for additional coalbed methane recovery in the region.

The Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnership Program was created in 2002 to determine which of numerous sequestration approaches are best suited for each of the seven specific regions of the country. To date, the program includes more than 350 organizations in 41 states, four Canadian provinces, and three Indian nations.

The partnerships program is being implemented in three phases. The characterization phase (2003–2005), which characterized opportunities for carbon sequestration, has been completed. The current phase, the validation phase (2005–2009), generally encompasses small-scale field tests and includes the PCOR Partnership drilling test. The final phase, the deployment phase (2008–2017), will conduct large-volume carbon storage tests.

The PCOR Partnership includes more than 65 public and private partners in all or part of nine states (North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Montana, Wyoming, Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri, and Wisconsin) as well as four Canadian provinces (British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba). For more information on the PCOR Partnership, please visit www.undeerc.org/PCOR.