Identification of CO₂ Sequestration Opportunities: CO₂ Miscible Flooding Guidelines

Carbon dioxide (CO ₂ ) flooding has been demonstrated as an economically feasible technique for carbon capture and storage (CCS) via enhanced oil recovery (EOR). In the oil industry, most of the CO ₂ -EOR projects were implemented in miscible phase (CO ₂ miscible flooding), and it has become the most productive EOR method in the United States since 2012. Successful implementation of CO ₂ miscible flooding requires comprehensive guidelines about where CO ₂ can be applied. With the development of new technology, the suitable conditions for CO ₂ -EOR have changed. Therefore, updating the guidelines for CO ₂ -EOR is necessary. In this study, we updated the guidelines for field CO ₂ miscible applications in the United States by collecting valuable information from about 100 publications. Significant parameters for CO ₂ miscible flooding such as minimum miscibility pressure (MMP) and pay zone net thickness were considered for the first time in comparison with existing research studies. After data processing/cleaning, 207 projects have remained in the dataset. Combination plots were created to explore the ranges, distributions, and cumulative frequencies of each property. Meanwhile, descriptive values were calculated based on statistical methods. The guidelines for CO ₂ miscible flooding were presented with important parameters, including porosity, permeability, depth, reservoir temperature, net thickness, oil saturation, oil gravity, oil viscosity, and MMP. The analyzed results show that the reservoir pressure should be greater than 1020 psi to achieve miscibility, and CO ₂ miscible flooding project could be successfully applied in a reservoir with an oil gravity greater than 25 °API, oil viscosity less than 4 cp, and a reservoir temperature less than 120 °F.