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May 01, 2016 Technical Report

Life Cycle Analysis for Primary and Secondary Enhanced Oil Recovery At The Bell Creek Field Completed

The Energy & Environmental Research Center is working with The CETER Group, Inc., through the PCOR Partnership Program to determine, using life cycle analysis (LCA) methodology, if oil produced by enhanced oil recovery (EOR) using anthropogenic CO2 has a smaller CO2 footprint than conventionally produced oil. An LCA is used to evaluate the environmental impacts associated with each stage of a products life, from raw material procurement and processing to distribution, use, and disposal or recycling. This type of assessment results in a broad view of environmental issues through the compilation of an inventory of relevant material and energy inputs and releases to the environment, evaluation of potential impacts, and interpretation of the results. Using information provided by Denbury Resources (Denbury) as well as in-house PCOR Partnership data, two LCAs are being performed: the first of oil produced during primary and secondary recovery (i.e., conventional oil production) and the second for oil produced during EOR activities at the Bell Creek Field in southeastern Montana. The Argonne National Laboratory Greenhouse Gases, Regulated Emissions, and Energy Use in Transportation Model, known as the GREET model, is being used for both LCAs. Published literature has shown that other LCA methodologies result in cost and/or emission results that are not the same as those obtained using the GREET model. Therefore, a different methodology is being used to repeat the LCAs for the two oil production scenarios to assess any variances in the models results. The resulting CO2 footprints will then be compared to highlight any differences between the two scenarios (i.e., conventional oil production vs. EOR). The information will be invaluable to the U.S. Department of Energy and Denbury because it offers an objective determination of the CO2 emission differences between oil produced during EOR and non-EOR activities.

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