Among the key challenges facing the United States with respect to using fossil energy is the management of emissions of greenhouse gases, of which carbon dioxide (CO₂) is the principal component. The U.S. Department of Energy’s National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) is leading the development of systems for capturing CO₂ and is demonstrating the feasibility of permanent geologic storage. Among other activities, NETL sponsors and conducts research to advance technologies, publishes an atlas of potential areas where CO₂ can be stored, and sponsors Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnerships (RCSP)—public-private partnerships that are characterizing the storage potential, modeling the mobility and...

This chapter defines the core activities of the CO₂ storage industrial base and how each of these core activities consists of a set of subactivities. While much of the industrial base supporting CO₂ storage is shared with oil and gas exploration and development, a few activities are unique and not exercised by the shared industrial base. We characterize the core activities by the North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) codes of the industries that carry them out, and provide information on the key equipment, labor skills, and employment in these industries.

We consider the three primary activities of the industrial...

This chapter details four scenarios under which CCS systems could be deployed, and estimates the number of EOR projects with storage or geologic storage sites that would have to be opened to dispose of the projected volumes of captured CO₂. Four scenarios defined by two factors are specified. The two factors are activity in EOR and availability of captured CO₂. Under all scenarios, EOR operations can accommodate captured CO₂ through approximately 2025, after which significant development of geologic storage sites is needed.

The development scenarios for CCS are intended to illustrate the potential bounds on supply and demand of CO₂...

In this chapter, we quantify the capacity of the CO₂ storage industrial base to respond to the pressures posed by the scenarios developed in Chapter Three. We evaluate potential constraints on pipeline construction, EOR development, and the deployment of geologic storage. The response of the industrial base is compared according to historical activities of the sector, as well as according to equipment and labor needs.

In its analysis of infrastructure needs to support CO₂ storage, ICF estimated the capacity and extent of pipelines to transport captured CO₂ to potential storage sites (ICF International, 2009). ICF International describes four scenarios: two...

This chapter presents findings derived from our analysis of the CO₂ storage industrial base and the implications of those findings for the activities of the NETL CCS program. The CO₂ storage industrial base has a foundation based in the oil and gas industry. However, several activities are unique to the storage of CO₂, namely, operations related to injecting CO₂ into geologic formations, as well as MVA for the CO₂ once it is injected. Under a broad range of scenarios for the deployment of carbon capture systems and the availability of CO₂ for either EOR operations or geologic storage, significant increases...