Pipeline company announces plan to inject CO2 in Permian Basin wells to enhance recovery of oil

Fuel Fix:
Houston pipeline operator Kinder Morgan is preparing to drill a series of oil wells in the Permian Basin where it will inject carbon dioxide deep underground to boost their production — a technique known as enhanced recovery.

Kinder Morgan is seeking permission from the Railroad Commission of Texas to drill four directional wells and one vertical well on its SACROC lease in Scurry County. Located about 4.5 miles northeast of Snyder, the wells target the Kelly-Snyder field down to a depth of 7,800 feet.

As the largest transporter of carbon dioxide in North America, Kinder Morgan uses pipelines to move 1.2 billion cubic feet of carbon dioxide per day from southwest Colorado and northeast New Mexico to the SACROC lease and other enhanced oil recovery projects in the Permian Basin.

Kinder Morgan has filed for 842 drilling permits for projects on the company’s SACROC lease since June 2003. Wells on the lease produced nearly 9.8 million barrels of crude oil and more than 29.3 billion cubic feet of natural gas during the first 11 months of 2018.
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As carbon capture grows this looks like a beneficial use of the material to enhance energy production.  To the extent that CO2 in the atmosphere is seen as a problem, this looks like a more constructive use for it than banning fossil fuels and resorting to inefficient alternative energy.

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