(484d) Enabling Gigaton-Scale CO2 Mineralization and Utilization in Reactive Reservoirs

Basalt and ultramafic reservoirs provide the safest geologic carbon storage (GCS) solution through carbon mineralization. Commercial-scale deployment requires coupling the lab-based experiments with reactive transport modeling to derisk the process and fulfill permitting requirements. This work focuses on research and development needed to accelerate adoption of commercial-scale GCS in our mafic and ultramafic active drill sites, including the Columbia River Basalts. We report on storage resource analyses of carbon storage potential in basalt and peridotites, including the potential for critical mineral recovery. We also have continued to develop reactive transport reservoir simulators to evaluate well configurations, pressures, temperatures, flow rates, and predicted reservoir development, plume extent and migration, and fractional storage in supercritical, aqueous and mineral phases. The simulations are conducted to consider changes in reservoir porosity and permeability associated with geochemical effects; and to quantify changes in effective storage capacity, and storage/injection rate at the site. The results are guiding the downselection of priority areas and options for acquisition of new datasets to resolve key uncertainties. These collective projects are laying the groundwork to characterize and permit a multiple injection well, and to help develop the industrial regulatory and community partnerships needed to successfully demonstrate and upscale carbon storage and utilization technology in reactive mafic-ultramafic reservoirs across the globe.