OTC 21990

The Costs and Benefits of Carbon Capture and Storage

Khosrow Biglarbigi, INTEK Inc., Hitesh Mohan, INTEK Inc., Marshall Carolus, INTEK Inc.

Copyright 2011, Offshore Technology Conference

This paper was prepared for presentation at the Offshore Technology Conference held in Houston, Texas, USA, 2–5 May 2011.

This paper was selected for presentation by an OTC program committee following review of information contained in an abstract submitted by the author(s). Contents of the paper have not been
reviewed by the Offshore Technology Conference and are subject to correction by the author(s). The material does not necessarily reflect any position of the Offshore Technology Conference, its
officers, or members. Electronic reproduction, distribution, or storage of any part of this paper without the written consent of the Offshore Technology Conference is prohibited. Permission to
reproduce in print is restricted to an abstract of not more than 300 words; illustrations may not be copied. The abstract must contain conspicuous acknowledgment of OTC copyright.

Abstract
The growing concerns about meeting increased demand and greenhouse gas emissions has led to increased interest in carbon
capture and storage (CCS) technologies. Industry is already exploring various CCS technologies. The viability of a carbon
capture and sequestration industry will be dependent upon the costs of capturing CO2 from industrial and natural sources.
This raises the questions: what are the potential costs and benefits of capturing industrial CO2?
To answer these questions, a detailed analysis was conducted. A source-to-sink analysis was done to estimate the total
cost of capturing and transporting CO2 from a variety of industrial sources to potential sequestration sites. These include
concentrated sources, such as ammonia and ethanol plants, as well as less-concentrated sources including power plants. The
considered sequestration sites include value options such as enhanced oil and gas recovery projects, pressure maintenance in
gas reservoirs, as well as sequestration in saline aquifers, depleted oil and gas reservoirs, and other geologic media.
This paper will discuss examples of various CO2 capture technologies currently in use and in development. It will also
discuss the industrial sources and sequestration options which were considered in the analysis. In addition, the paper will
provide estimates of CO2 pipeline transportation costs at various distances between sources and sinks. Finally, the paper will
discuss the total estimated cost, inclusive of capture, compression, and transportation, at which the CO2 can be sold to
operators of enhanced oil recovery projects or other industries which could utilize the CO2. This analysis concluded that CO2
can be captured and transported approximately 100 miles at costs ranging between $1 and $3.50 per thousand cubic feet.

Introduction
Over the past decades, the United States has continued to Figure 1: U.S. Annual Carbon Dioxide Emissions
be a major emitter of many greenhouse gasses including
CO2. To date CO2 is the largest single contributor to the 7.0
United States
greenhouse-gas buildup in the atmosphere. The EIA
reported that in 2008, the U.S. emitted more than 5.75
Billion tons of CO21. This volume, as seen in figure 1, is 6.0

an increase of more than 20 percent over the 1990

emissions. This has created a growing concern of climate
Billion Tons of CO2

5.0
change and greenhouse gas emissions from industrial
sources such as power generation, the number one source
4.0
of CO2 emissions world wide2.
In order to help meet strict future environmental 20% Increase

requirements, such as the legal and regulatory framework 3.0

the NPC called for, CCS technologies will be borrowed
from other industries, enhanced and developed. 2.0
Sequestration can occur for either directly sequestering the
1990
1991
1992

1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
1993

CO2 or treating it as a commodity for a variety of Source: US EIA

Year
industrial uses. Industrial sources of CO2 are the second
largest emissions source of greenhouse gas consisting of 27% annually and are subject to capture and use in industrial or
sequestration projects. These CO2 streams have food grade, industrial grade, and sequestration applications. This paper
discusses the carbon capture technologies, industrial CO2 sources, the costs of transportation, and the key value-added
sequestration options for the environment and industry alike.
2 OTC 21990

Capture Technologies Figure 2: Amine Absorber Schematic3

As strict environmental, legal, and regulatory
Acid Gas
requirements are developed it is assumed that Flue Gas Condenser CO2
CO2 will need to be captured for sequestration without
or use in other industrial purposes. Amine CO2
Amine Stripper
absorption is an example of one viable capture
technology which is currently being Amine
Absorber
developed. Aqueous mono-ethanolamine is a Make-Up
Water
derivative of ammonia and is often used in the
Lean
treatment of flue gases. In this process, Solution
illustrated in figure 2, the flue gases escaping Cooler
from an industrial process are directed through
a cool aqueous amine solution. In this step, Feed
the CO2 reacts with the amine and forms a Gas Lean Solution Lean/Rich
“rich amine.” The rich amine is then heated in Pump Exchanger
order to release the CO2 before it is cooled and
recycled. The CO2 is dried to remove the Amine Reboiler
Source: UOP, “Amine Guard FS Process” 2000.
TM

water vapor and then compressed for

transportation.
In addition, other capture processes are under development. These include the use of hot and cold methanol, pressure
swing absorption, potassium carbonate, membranes, or combinations of amine and membranes.
CO2 capture costs are dependent upon the process and the concentration of the CO2 in the flue gas. The
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) estimated in 2005 that capture costs for CO2 could range between $31
and $55 per metric ton4. This cost includes both capital and operating costs and covers the capture, drying, and compression
of CO2.

Industrial Sources of CO2

The analysis was conducted on industrial sources which Figure 3: Industrial Sources of CO2
produce a stream of CO2. The primary source of emission
data for the source – to – sink analysis was the National
Carbon Sequestration Database and Geographic
Information System (NATCARB). NATCARB is a
unified database, funded by the National Energy
Technology Laboratory (NETL) and maintained by the
Kansas Geological Survey, which contains several regional
databases of carbon sources and sinks. For this study
INTEK analyzed the databases to provide unique subsets
of data for analysis5. Ethanol Plants > 50 Bcf/Yr
Ethanol Plants > 1 Bcf/Yr
The NATCARB database provides source data for Refineries
Ammonia Plants
industrial carbon dioxide emissions totaling 56.5 Tcf. Data Cement Plants
Hydrogen Plants
is provided for utilities, ethanol, gas processing, concrete, Fossil Fuel Power Plants
steel, refineries, ammonia, and other industrial sources.
Industries considered as potential sources include: the
fossil fuel plants, refineries, cement plants, hydrogen Figure 4: Ethanol Plant Locations
plants, ammonia plants, and ethanol plants. Figure 3 maps
the industrial sources considered in the study6.
Fossil fuel plants and refineries represent almost 90%
of the total CO2 emitted. However, CO2 emissions from
ethanol plants are expected to grow steadily in the near
future. The location and emission data of ethanol plants,
presented in figure 4, was supplemented using data from
the Renewable Fuels Association7. As seen in table 1, up
to 25 Tcf of industrial CO2 can be made available each
year through capture from these industrial sources8.

Ethanol Plants > 50 Bcf/Yr 65 Ethanol Plants

Cost of Capturing Industrial CO2 Ethanol Plants > 1 Bcf/Yr 108 BCF CO2 Emitted Each Year
Once a suitable source is established the CO2 is then
captured. Capture cost data was complied from a literature search of publicly available data including the recent Global
Energy Technology Strategy Program Report9-12. As seen in table 2, the capture costs are technology-specific and vary
OTC 21990 3

drastically depending on the plant type. The technologies for capturing CO2 Table 1: Available Volumes of CO2
are in development for this study a conservative cost estimate between $31 Annual CO2
Industrial
and $55 per ton of CO2 captured is used. These costs are expected to
decrease over time as the technologies become developed and expand their Source Available (BCF)
market penetration. Fossil Fuel Plants 21,763
Refineries 2,082
Transportation Costs Cement Plants 403
Transportation of CO2 can occur through truck, barge, ship, and pipelines. Hydrogen Plants 343
When transported via truck, barge, and ships the CO2 is transported as a Ammonia Plants 126
liquid. This process requires liquefaction infrastructure and additional Ethanol Plants 108
activities such as loading and unloading. The costs associated are $10 per All Sources 24,825
ton for liquefaction and $1-$10 per ton for shipping. Traditionally such
commodities are transported using pipelines. CO2 transported via pipeline
must be dried and compressed. Compression is high (2000-3000 psig) and Table 2: Source Specific CO2
together cost $9 per ton. $/Ton CO2
The transportation costs are assumed to be the pipeline tariffs and Technology
Range
calculated using the following procedure: 1) The maps of industrial sources
and candidate fields were overlaid. 2) The average distances between the Fossil Fuel Power Plants 38 - 63
Refineries 35 - 55
sources and fields were calculated. 3) A pipeline tariff model was
Cement Plant 35 - 55
developed and used to calculate the minimum tariff required for each source.
Hydrogen Plants 6 - 12
Figure 5, which illustrates this procedure, shows the distances between four
Ammonia Plants 6 - 12
refineries and a large number of candidate fields in the Illinois Basin. In this
Ethanol Plants 6 - 12
illustration, the tariff would be for the average distance of 158 miles.
New IGCC Plants 25 - 40
The pipeline cost is dependent upon the distance the CO2 is transported,
the capacity of the pipeline, and the compression equipment
required. Figure 6 provides example costs for two pipeline Figure 5: Calculating Average Pipeline Distances
scenarios. As seen in the graph, transportation costs can
range from less than $7 per ton to more than $8 per ton
depending upon the volume of CO2 transported and the
distance.

Storage Options
After the CO2 has been captured compressed, and
transported, it must be sequestered. As illustrated in figure
7, the company can either directly sequester the CO2 or treat
it as a commodity for industrial use. The value of the CO2 is
dependent upon its level of contamination and the purpose
for which it is intended. In this section, the key
sequestration and value options are described.

Sequestration in Depleted Oil and Gas Reservoirs

Carbon dioxide can be injected into depleted or abandoned
Figure 6: Average Pipeline Tariffs
reservoirs. In 2008, the National Energy Technology
Laboratory (NETL) conducted a CO2 sequestration pilot test $8.00
in the depleted West Pearl Queen Field in New Mexico. For
Transportation Costs ($/Ton of CO2)

250 MMcf/D
500 MMcf/D
this test, 2,100 tons of CO2 was injected13. $7.80

$7.60
Sequestration in Deep Saline Aquifers
Another sequestration option includes the use of saline $7.40
aquifers, which are composed of porous rock containing
brine. These aquifers are capped by an extensive $7.20
impenetrable rock layer which allow for the trapping of the
$7.00
injected CO213. These formations are widespread
throughout the United States and Canada. In fact, there are $6.80
several aquifers with considerably large storage potential
within the states of Utah, Wyoming, and Colorado. One $6.60
0 50 100 150 200 250
such formation is the Farnham Dome, which is located along Distance (Miles)
the southwestern edge of the Uinta Basin. The Farnham
Dome is the target location of a planned field test of the effectiveness of carbon sequestration in deep saline aquifers. As
reported by NETL, the injection wells will be drilled in 2009 and CO2 injection will continue through 2012. Up to one
4 OTC 21990

million tons of CO2 is planned to be injected each year Figure 7: Sequestration and Value Options
during the test phase. The test site will be monitored
for several more years after injection has been Value-Options
completed. NETL has recently assessed deep saline
formations and has found that those saline aquifers CO2 Food Grade
within Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming have the
combined capacity to store between 291 and 1,119 Industrial Grade
million tons of CO214. The locations of the saline
aquifers are provided in figure 8. Environmental &
Environmental Sequestration Economic Benefits
Benefits
EOR
Sequestration in Oceanbeds
Sequestration of CO2 in the oceanbed is an Oil & Gas Res.
Gas Bearing
experimental technology and is not currently in use. Sandstone
Under this option, if sequestration is occurring at up to
1,000 meters, it will be transported by pipeline; Gas Bearing
Brine Aquifer Shale
otherwise a ship will be required.
Coal Bed
Methane
Food Grade & Industrial Grade CO2 Ocean Bed
If the company purifies the CO2 sufficiently, it can be Gas Storage
(Base Gas)
sold as either industrial or food grade CO2. Preparing
CO2 for an industrial or food purpose is more costly,
however, as it must meet purity standards. The Figure 8: Deep Saline Aquifers15
industrial CO2 must be at least 99.5% pure CO2 while
the food grade CO2 is required to be 99.9% pure.

Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR)

Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) is a generic term for
techniques for increasing the amount of crude oil that
can be extracted from an oil field. Using EOR, 30-60
%, or more, of the reservoir's original oil can be
extracted which is 10-20% more than primary
recovery alone.
CO2 EOR technology has been demonstrated to be
profitable in commercial scale applications for nearly
30 years. As of 2008, there were one hundred CO2
EOR projects in the United States. These projects had
a combined production of 240,000 barrels per day. Twenty of these projects were started between 2006 and 2008. Figure 9
draws the relationship between the increase in both the number of active projects and the production being realized17.
Figure 9: Current U.S. CO2 EOR Projects

100 Projects in 2008 240 MBbl/Day in 2008

120 250

100
200

80
Production (MBbl/Day)

150
No. of P rojects

60

100

40

50
20

0 0
1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008

Year Year
OTC 21990 5

There are nearly 2,100 reservoirs in the Onshore Figure 10: Candidate U.S. CO2 EOR Fields16
Lower 48 United States which are candidates for
CO2 miscible flooding (figure 10) and would present
an applicable market for the produced CO2. These
potential reservoirs were identified using the
following criteria:
™ API Gravity greater than 22 degrees
™ The reservoir pressure greater than the
minimum miscibility pressure
™ Depth greater than 2,500 feet
™ Oil viscosity less than 10 centipoise
™ Current oil saturation is greater than 20% of
the pore volume
™ Either sandstone or carbonate rock

Gas Bearing Sandstone

CO2 can be injected into the gas bearing sandstone in Figure 11: Unmineable Coal Seams
order to maintain pressure and produce the methane
contained in the reservoir. Gas reservoirs in
sandstones have ideal porosity for CO2 injection.
Injection is continued until the CO2 breaks through.
This process may require the installation of
additional injection wells and compressors to
increase pressure in the reservoir.

Gas Bearing Shale

Similar to the gas bearing sandstones, CO2 can be
injected into gas bearing shales. In this instance, the
CO2 is used to maintain the pressure in the reservoir,
and to produce the methane through the natural
fractures in the reservoir. This process is continued
until the CO2 breaks through to the production well.

Coal Bed Methane

CO2 can also be used to recover gas from unmineable coal seams. CO2 along with nitrogen is injected into the coal seam.
The methane and nitrogen are produced and separated. The nitrogen is re-injected into the seam while the methane is treated
and sold. This process is currently being tested in the San Juan Basin in New Mexico18. Under this pilot, 35,000 tons of CO2
are being injected.
As seen in figure 1119, numerous unmineable coal seams are located in the states of Utah, Wyoming, and Colorado near
the oil shale deposits of the Green River Basin. The National Energy Technology Laboratory has recently estimated that the
storage capacity of the coal seams in these three states ranges between 21,283 and 22,142 million tons of CO220.

Gas Storage
A further option for the CO2 produced during oil shale development is to use it to help with natural gas storage. Gas storage
reservoirs are used to provide support for seasonally driven natural gas demand. The gas would be injected during times of
low demand and then produced during times of high demand. As the gas storage reservoirs are produced using the pressure
of the stored gas, a fraction of the natural gas can not be produced. This base gas can be replaced using injected carbon
dioxide.

Example Application: Benefits of CO2 EOR

As previously mentioned, there are approximately 2,100 reservoirs which are candidates for CO2 EOR. Many of these
projects candidates are economically viable with current or higher oil prices but are limited by the availability of CO2. The
widespread capture of industrial CO2 for EOR could increase the available volume from 3 Bcf per day from natural sources
to nearly 70 Bcf per day of natural and industrial sources. By providing a steady source of CO2 in the United States, at prices
between $1 and $3 per Mcf, more than 200 CO2 EOR projects, with incremental production reaching nearly one million
barrels a day could be realized. At the same time, these projects would provide the opportunity to sequester nearly 5 Bcf of
CO2 each day. Over 25 years, this could result in the production of more than 5.5 billion barrels of oil and the sequestration
of nearly 30 Tcf of CO2 (figure 12).
6 OTC 21990

Figure 13 shows the incremental oil production from Figure 12: Benefits of CO2 EOR: CO2 Sequestration
additional CO2 projects through 2030. By 2030, over an 30
additional 800 thousand barrels of daily incremental
production could be realized while nearly 5 Bcf of CO2 25

CO2 Stored (MMcf/Day)

would be sequestered on a daily basis. The CO2
sequestered is the difference between the volume of CO2 20
injected and the volume of CO2 produced. The “two
15
hump” shape of the CO2 curve is due to additional CO2
from refineries and power plants becoming available after 10
2021 for additional projects.
5

Costs and Benefits of Carbon Capture and 0

2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022 2024 2026 2028 2030
Storage Year
The total cost of carbon capture and storage includes the
cost of capture, the cost of transportation, and the cost
Figure 132: Benefits of CO2 EOR: Incremental Production
of either sequestering the CO2 or the value which can
be realized through its sale. The sequestration costs 1,200
can range from $1/ton to $41/ton depending upon the
geologic media. The costs for sequestering CO2 in 1,000
depleted oil and gas reservoirs and brine aquifers Daily Oil Production (MBbl)
range from $1 to $10 per ton depending upon the
800
depth of the reservoir or aquifer. The additional
technical difficulties in oceanbed sequestration raise
the costs to between $7 and $41 per ton of CO2 600
sequestered. These costs include transportation of the
CO2. 400 Total of
If the CO2 is sold for commercial or industrial use, 4.7 Billion Bbl
the value will depend upon the purpose of the CO2. 200
The industrial and food grade CO2 have the highest
values ranging between $50 and $120 per ton. The 0
values of CO2 for enhanced oil or gas recovery can 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022 2024 2026 2028 2030
Year
range between $36 and $106 dollars per metric ton.
The sequestration costs and values are illustrated in figure 14.
Figure 14 also provides the final costs and values of CO2 inclusive of capture and transportation. The capture costs are
applied to all sequestration and value
options. In addition, the food grade and Figure 14: Costs and Benefits of CO2 Capture and Sequestration
industrial grade CO2 require liquefaction
and transportation. The CO2 used in the Value-Options
enhanced oil and gas recovery processes Liquefaction ($10) Food Grade
as well as the gas storage does not CO2 $100 - $120 $(25) - 78
include transportation costs. It is ($1 Shipping ($1 – $10)
-10
assumed that these costs will be paid by ($31-55)
) Industrial Grade
$ 50 - 80
the operator of the reservoir. The final
Environmental &
cost of sequestration including capture Economic Benefits
costs between $31 and $55 per ton range Environmental Sequestration
Benefits
from nearly $36 to $106 per ton of CO2. EOR
Oil & Gas Res.
The range of cost varies based on the
($1-10) Gas Bearing
sequestration technology applied. The
($33-75)

Sandstone
$36 - 106

food grade CO2 continues to be

$4 - 41

profitable for the seller of CO2. The Brine Aquifer Gas Bearing
industrial grade and other value options ($1-10) Shale

are profitable and range from value of $4 Coal Bed

($39-106)

to 41 per ton of CO2 captured and sold. Ocean Bed Methane

The costs provided do not reflect ($7- 41)
Gas Storage
monitoring, liability, or other costs (Base Gas)
required by future regulations.
OTC 21990 7

Conclusions
The technologies for capturing CO2 are in development and have been estimated to cost between $31 and $55 per ton of CO2
captured, however specific cost are both site and technology specific. This CO2 can be either sequestered in natural
formations or sold for commercial or industrial use providing both environmental and commercial benefits. There is
significant storage capacity for CO2 captured from industry. The U.S. possesses not only deep saline aquifers, unmineable
coal seams, and depleted oil and gas reservoirs. It also possesses candidate fields and reservoirs for enhanced oil and gas
recovery. Through the formation of partnerships with enhanced oil and gas production projects or the sale of pure CO2 for
industrial and commercial uses, the multiple industries can realize values of up to $78 per ton of CO2 captured, transported,
and sold.

Acknowledgements
The authors wish to thank the staff of INTEK Inc. for their efforts in preparing the manuscript and the analysis. The staff
includes Christopher Dean (Sr. Associate), Emily Knaus (Associate) and Jeffrey Stone (Research Assistant).

References
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www.npc.org
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Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), 2005.
5. NATCARB Website, http://www.natcarb.org and INTEK, Inc. 2009.
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7. Renewable Fuels Association, http://www.ethanolrfa.org
8. INTEK Inc.
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