Abstract
Subsurface sequestration of CO2 in oil and gas provinces where permanence of hydrocarbon accumulations has proven the reliability of potential traps is rightly seen as a solid option for containment of CO2 atmospheric concentrations. However, one of the most promising provinces for carbon storage in North America, the Texas Gulf Coast, has also been heavily drilled for more than a century, puncturing many otherwise perfectly sound seals (>125,000 wells over ~50,000 km2). As a result, boreholes and, in particular, older abandoned wells could be major leakage pathways for sequestered CO2. This article presents statistics on well spatial and depth distribution that have been drawn from public domain sources and relates these data to historical plugging and abandonment regulations in the Texas Gulf Coast. Surface-well density averages of 2.4 wells/km2 can be locally much higher—but also much lower in larger areas. Average well penetration density drops to 0.27 and 0.05 well/km2 below a depth of 2,440 and 3,660 m, respectively. Natural mitigating factors such as thief zones and heaving “shales” could also play a role in limiting the impact of these direct conduits to the shallow subsurface and surface.
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Acknowledgments
This work was prepared with partial support of the US Department of Energy, under Award No. DE-FC25-04NT42210. However, any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the view of the DOE. Additional funding was provided by the Jackson School of Geosciences, The University of Texas at Austin, and the Gulf Coast Carbon Center, Bureau of Economic Geology, The University of Texas at Austin. The paper also benefited from a thorough editing by Lana Dieterich. Publication was authorized by the Director, Bureau of Economic Geology, The University of Texas at Austin.
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Nicot, JP. A survey of oil and gas wells in the Texas Gulf Coast, USA, and implications for geological sequestration of CO2 . Environ Geol 57, 1625–1638 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00254-008-1444-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00254-008-1444-4