Carbon dioxide enhanced oil recovery potential and sequestration capacity in the Gulf Coast : a CO₂ sink analysis near Texas City

The Permian Basin in West Texas has seen a long history of CO₂ enhanced oil recovery (EOR). Over 65 sandstone, limestone, and dolomite reservoirs have been subject to miscible CO₂ floodings in the last 30 years. However, the experience gained has not been extended to the much more porous and permeable clastic depositional systems of the Gulf of Mexico. Proximity to possible anthropogenic CO₂ sources, enabling reduced costs and infrastructure, and the petrophysical character of these sandstones are just two of the many attributes that showcase the Gulf Coast formations as an attractive option for this type of tertiary recovery. Results of this assessment indicate that mature Gulf Coast clastic oil reservoirs are a new large potential target for CO₂ enhanced oil recovery when experience in the Permian Basin is retooled for this setting.