Carbon Storage Resource Assessment of the Mid-Atlantic U.S. Offshore Region

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is a critical technology for ensuring a range of clean energy options are available to meet future energy demands. Offshore storage can be linked to large point-sources of carbon dioxide (CO2) while avoiding many of the logistical difficulties and potential risks encountered when siting onshore projects, especially in densely populated areas of the East Coast of the United States. Offshore storage along mid-Atlantic region was studied under the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) funded Mid-Atlantic U.S. Offshore Carbon Storage Resource Assessment Project (MAOCSRAP) and as a subtask under the Midwest Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnership (MRCSP). The assessment was conducted as a technical collaboration between Battelle, Rutgers University, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory at Columbia University, state geological surveys of Delaware, Maryland and Pennsylvania, United States Geological Survey-Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center, and Harvard University. Major objectives were to complete a systematic carbon storage resource assessment of the of the mid-Atlantic offshore coastal region from the Georges Bank Basin (GBB) through the Long Island Platform (LIP) to the southern Baltimore Canyon Trough (BCT), examine offshore storage risk factors, and engage industry and regulatory stakeholders through development of a Road Map to assist future project planning and implementation. Various publicly available data sets, such as seismic data, well-logs, and core data, were integrated to define geologic characteristics of candidate storage sites and calculate prospective CO2 storage resources for Cretaceous- and Jurassic-age sandstone sequences of the mid-Atlantic offshore sub-regions. The combined dataset helped to identify and map potential storage zones within sequences of the Logan Canyon, Missisauga, and Mohawk formations, as well as the regionally extensive caprock comprised of the Dawson Canyon shale. Prospective storage resource estimates and formation-specific storage efficiency values were calculated with static volumetric and dynamic methods. Regional-scale estimates range from 150 to 1136 gigatonnes (Gt) for the combined storage zones, with high estimated storage resource (≥ 2.4 megatonnes [Mt] CO2/km2) occurring in the northern BCT near the Great Stone Dome (GSD) structure. Results of local scale simplified dynamic reservoir simulation in the GSD indicate that injection rates of 1 Mt CO2/year may be sustained within the time and pressure constraints assumed for a commercial storage project. An initial, qualitative assessment of technical risk factors present in mid-Atlantic offshore areas was conducted. Overall, the mid-Atlantic offshore area benefits from the large spatial extent, thick sequences of sands, lack of previous oil and gas wellbores, and distance from populated development. Geomechanical stability, reservoir variability, and soft sediment deformation were identified as moderate risk factors in some areas. No highly critical risk factors were identified that would impede CO2 storage along the study areas. Input and participation from government, industry, and environmental groups helped to address next steps needed for future CCS project planning and implementation in the study region. Recommended near-term actions are to develop site screening through advanced geologic modeling, implement stakeholder outreach and risk mitigation strategies, identify industry and research goals, and develop regulatory pathways. Recommended mid-term actions are to validate subsurface properties with new data, conduct a cost-benefit analysis, and develop a monitoring, verification, and accounting (MVA) plan. Long term-recommended actions are to implement a plan for large-scale CCS operations using the previous findings, conduct site design, permitting, and construction, and upscale infrastructure. This project represents an important first step by completing a high-level CO2 storage resource assessment and building the knowledge infrastructure necessary to support the development of full-scale offshore carbon storage.