SPE 113418

Overview of the Illinois Basin's Sequestration Pilots

Scott M. Frailey and Robert J. Finley, Illinois State Geological Survey
Copyright 2008, Society of Petroleum Engineers

This paper was prepared for presentation at the 2008 SPE/DOE Improved Oil Recovery Symposium held in Tulsa, Oklahoma, U.S.A., 1923April2008.

This paper was selected for presentation by an SPE 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 Society of Petroleum Engineers and are subject to correction by the author(s). The material does not necessarily reflect any position of the Society of Petroleum Engineers, its
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Abstract
As part of the DOE's Phase II and III Geologic
Sequestration Partnership program, the Illinois State
Geological Survey is leading the Midwest Geologic
Sequestration Consortium (MGSC) in various field
demonstrations. MGSCs Phase II/III is six sequestration
pilots of which there are four EOR pilots, one S/ECBM
pilot and one, large-scale brine-saturated formation
injection pilot.

A small 43 ton single well, huff-and-puff has been
designed, implemented and completed in the Loudon
oilfield. The well was a single formation completion at
1500 ft at pressure and temperature considered
immiscible. The well's initial oil response was 8x the pre-
CO
2
oil rate. The site selection, equipment layout, test
results and background information will be presented.

Selection of a pattern flood is in the late part of the
screening process. Because of the relative low reservoir
temperatures and high fracture gradient, this pilot is being
designed as a liquid CO
2
flood. Model results suggest 6-8
months of continuous injection followed by 2-3 months of
water injection are required to have a measurable
response at this site. Finalization of pilot contract with
oilfield operator and UIC permit application process is
being initiated at this time. The plans for the remaining
two EOR pilots are similar to the pattern flood except
these sites will be screened for pressure and temperature
conducive to immiscible and traditional miscible
conditions.

The S/ECBM pilot is scheduled for injection in summer
of 08. Presently two wells in the pilot have been drilled,
cored and DST'd. DST permeability results were lower
than expected and drilling was suspended in order to carry
out additional pressure transient testing including two
falloff tests and one pulse tests. Results of the PTA tests
confirmed the DST results and subsequent suggest closer
well spacing is required.

The deep saline formation test is scheduled to have the
injection well drilled in spring 08. The UIC permit
application has been submitted. This one million ton
injection project is intended for the Mt. Simon sandstone
in central Illinois; the Mt. Simon is the deepest
sedimentary formation in the Basin.

Introduction
The Midwest Geological Sequestration Consortium
(MGSC) is one of seven regional partnerships selected by
the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to determine the
best regional approaches for capturing and storing carbon
dioxide (CO
2
) that might otherwise contribute to global
climate change. The MGSC is led by the Illinois State
Geological Survey, in conjunction with the Indiana
Geological Survey and the Kentucky Geological Survey,
and covers Illinois, southwestern Indiana, and western
Kentucky. This partnership was established to assess
geological carbon sequestration options in the 60,000 mi
2
,
oval-shaped, geologic feature known as the Illinois Basin
(figure 1). Within the Basin are deep, less economic coal
resources, numerous mature oil fields, and deep saline
(brine-saturated) reservoirs with potential to store CO
2
.
MGSCs objective is to determine the technical and
economic feasibility of using these geologic formations
for long-term storage.

The MGSC will assess the CO
2
storage feasibility,
capacity, and safety of these geological formations.
Testing will focus on the ability of these types of
reservoirs to serve as sinks for some of the more than 326
tons of annual CO
2
emissions from fixed sources in the
Illinois Basin. Five pilot field tests will be conducted
during the current DOE Phase II Validation, which is a 4-
year effort (20052009) focused on demonstrating and
validating promising geological sequestration
opportunities. These pilot projects include the testing of
the deeper and/or thinner coal seams to adsorb gaseous
CO
2
, and the ability to enhance oil production or recovery
from old fields by CO
2
flooding. The sixth pilot is
primarily a large scale demonstration (DOE Phase III)
that overlaps with the Phase II effort. The Phase III
2 SPE 113418
demonstration will inject CO
2
into a deep saline (brine-
saturated) formation at a depth of 6000 to 7500 feet
measured depth (MD).

Injection of CO
2
into coals may produce additional
methane to augment natural gas supplies. Injection into
mature oil fields is expected to demonstrate methods to
recover some of the approximately 0.861.3 billion
barrels of enhanced oil recovery (EOR) resource that was
projected in the DOE Phase I Assessment for the Illinois
Basin.

DOE Phase I Assessment
Data gathered during the Assessment Phase (20032005)
indicates that the geology of the Illinois Basin is favorable
for CO
2
sequestration. MGSCs initial research estimated
up to 485 million tons of potential CO
2
storage capacity in
existing mature oil and gas reservoirs, 3.9 billion tons of
storage potential in coalbeds considered to be unlikely to
be mined, and 126 billion tons of storage potential in
saline formations. In some locations, all three potential
CO
2
sink types are stacked vertically. A site specific
characterization includes formation properties that control
CO
2
injectivity, total storage capacity near major CO
2

sources, the safety of injection and storage processes, and
the integrity of the overlying stratum acting as a seal. The
integrity of these seals is critical for safe and effective
storage of CO
2
.

DOE Phase II: Validation (Pilot Projects)
The overall goal of the MGSCs Validation Phase is a
targeted, coherent demonstration of geological
sequestration that will meet regional needs as well as
contribute to a broader understanding of CO
2

sequestration in saline formations, mature oil reservoirs,
and coal seams. Objectives that will contribute to this goal
include:
Assess and validate aspects of geological CO
2
storage
in the Illinois Basin.
Continue investigations into the methods and
economics of CO
2
capture at facilities such as coal-fired
power plants.
Examine the costs of transporting large quantities of
CO
2
via pipeline.
Develop measurement, mitigation, and verification
(MMV) protocols to ensure safe and effective
sequestration operations.

The MGSC is engaged in six geologic field tests during
the Validation Phase to assess geological sequestration
opportunities in the Illinois Basin. Each test will have an
extensive monitoring program designed for each pilot
location and research objectives. Monitoring of air,
shallow groundwater, oil and water produced from oil
reservoirs, and saline water produced from deep
reservoirs, to provide data to enhance understanding of
the fate of injected CO
2
at the test sites is planned. The
entire Phase will be scrutinized in detail to determine
what contribution Illinois Basin geological sinks can
make to national and international CO
2
sequestration
goals in achieving carbon emissions reductions, and how
technology developed by the MGSC can be exported to
other regions.

EOR I: Immiscible Huff n Puff. This single well CO
2

injection field test, also known as a Huff n Puff (HNP),
began in March 2007 to evaluate the potential for
geological sequestration of CO
2
and for EOR in mature
Illinois Basin oil reservoirs. During a HNP, CO
2
is
injected (normally as a gas) into the casing/tubing annulus
of a producing well (the Huff phase). The well is shut-
in and CO
2
is allowed to diffuse into the oil within the
formation, and then the well is placed back on production
(the Puff phase). Site evaluation, evaluation of well
data, CO
2
injection, modeling, and MMV efforts were
completed during a test schedule of several months. EOR
1 was located in the southern part of the Loudon Field in
Fayette County, Illinois. Forty-three tons (40 tonnes) of
CO
2
were injected into the formation at a depth of
approximately 1,500 feet.
Loudon Oilfield. The Loudon oilfield was
discovered in 1937 by Carter Oil. Primary production
continued via solution gas drive until the 1950s when
began waterflooding. In the 1980s two polymer pilot
floods in the southern part of the field were implemented
successfully, but were discontinued in the 1990s due to
low oil prices. With few exceptions the field continues to
produce via waterflood operations.
Geologically, most all wells in the field have
Mississippian formation completions, with some
geologically older formations present in some parts of the
field. Originally, the Devonian was an oil producing
formation, but presently it is used by Kinder-Morgan for
natural gas storage.
The original oil in place for Loudon is estimated at
800 MMstb. The oil produced to date is about 400
MMstb. A decline curve projection of remaining oil
production for the entire field under current operations is
7-10 MMstb. In DOE Phase I the assessed CO
2
-EOR
potential of Loudon was 35-47 MMstb.
Screening Process. Geologically, the zone selected
needed to represent a relatively large proportion of the
Basins oil production; this limited selection to the
Cypress, Aux Vases, or St. Genevieve formations (or their
equivalence). Likewise, the API gravity of the crude oil
needed to be representative of the Basins oil. API
gravity of 37 is very common so a range of 35-40 was
considered.
In commercial application, a HNP well can have a
CO
2
tank truck drive to the well site and inject CO
2

directly into the tubing-casing annulus by observing and
regulating the surface casing pressure. However, for the
purpose of this research project, a production well with
existing wells surrounding it was desired so that the
surrounding wells could be used to monitor the
distribution of the CO
2
.
A single geologic zone completion was desired so
that there was less doubt of the vertical distribution of the
CO
2
within the zone. For the volume of CO
2
budgeted for
this test (150 tons), the pressure of the formation could
SPE 113418 3
not be depleted nor could it be very high. For a HNP, the
pressure had to be high enough to ensure that the CO
2
had
enough energy to mix with oil but not high enough to
displace too much oil from around the well. As such,
pressure between 300 and 700 psia was considered.
A field implementation criterion was to have roads
available that are accessible for CO
2
tanker truck delivery
to the well site. For township roads there are seasonal
variations for winter load limits that need to be
coordinated daily with the township road commissioner.
For oilfield lease roads, the CO
2
delivery company had to
give approval to allow their trucks to location.
Owens #1. Based on screening criteria listed above,
the Owens #1 within the Loudon oilfield, Fayette County,
Illinois was selected. The Owens lease originally had
four Cypress only producing wells; presently it has two,
the Owens #1 and #4, which are the west most wells
within the 40 acre lease (figure 2). Owens #4 is south of
Owens #1. The Coddington lease is to the west of the
Owens lease: Coddington #2 a water injector is west of
Owens #1 and Coddington #4, an oil producer, is
southwest of Owens #1. The Hawkins lease is north of
the Owens lease. Hawkins #1, a water injector, is
immediately north of the Owens #1. No wells presently
bound the Owens #1 to the northeast, east, or southeast;
however, geologic models suggested very limited to no
geologic communication between Owens # 1 and the
remainder of the Owens lease, including Owens #4.
Due to the current water injection in the area
(Coddington #2 to the west and Hawkins #1 to the north),
the Cypress at Owens #1 bottom-hole shut-in pressure
was about 450 psia; the temperature was about 80 F.
The API gravity was 37. Via a simplistic and limited
method called a bucket test, the operator reported the oil
rate 2 barrels per day (bopd) and the water rate as 46
barrels per day (bwpd); hydrocarbon gas production rate
is not recorded primarily due to very low gas content of
Illinois Basin crude oils.
The well is completed open-hole in the Cypress with
casing set to 1516 ft. Total depth was 1546 ft. The
history of the well shows several tubing and rod related
workovers, which is typical for the age of most wells in
the Illinois Basin.
Field Work. The original plan was to locate all of
the injection and production equipment around the Owens
#1 well. However, the Air Liquide CO
2
transport trucks
could not access the lease road leading to the Owens site.
Consequently, the injection equipment was located near
the Owens lease tank battery, which was very close to a
township road. A 1.5 pipe with couplings and unions
was run about 330 ft to the north lease boundary and 950
ft east to the tank battery. The site around the injection
equipment is referred to the pump site and the area
around the Owens #1 is referred to as the well site.
Gravel was added to both sites and the road leading to the
well site.

Pre-Injection: The liquid CO
2
pumping equipment was
installed and pressure tested the week before injection.
A gravel pad was placed around Owens #1 for the
portable test separator, office trailer and parking. Gravel
was also placed in the area of the pump site for the CO
2

tanker delivery.
Baker-Hughes designed the chemical corrosion
treatment plan. The recommended chemical was Baker
Hughes CRO195, which is commonly used in West Texas
CO
2
EOR floods. Additionally, Petco was using this
chemical as part of the waterflood chemical treatment of
the highly saline injection water. Based on actual flow
rates, 1.0 gallon per week batch treatment was used on
this well. Coupons were placed in the three producing
wells and monitored weekly for changes in the pitting
rate. A batch treatment was applied immediately before
CO
2
injection.
A portable test separator was piped in parallel to the
flow line at the Owens #1. A back pressure regulator was
initially placed upstream of the portable test separator.
After various attempts to produce through the separator at
higher pressure, the back pressure regulator was moved
upstream of the separator and was kept in this place
through the remainder of the flow period.
Injection. Liquid CO
2
was pumped from the storage
tank using one of the three liquid CO
2
pumps. The CO
2

passed through the inline heater before moving to the
1200 ft pipeline to the wellhead.
Various pump-related problems occurred during the
pumping process. Most of these were diagnosed as
reduced pump rates assumed to be from CO
2
vaporization
upstream of the pumps. To improve and maintain pump
rates, CO
2
was bled upstream at different times during
active injection. Causes of this were suspected as heat
loss, which was reduced by adding insulation, and regular
cleaning of a screen, which was found to have leaves and
other foreign matter. It was not determined if the foreign
material was from the pump skid or the storage tank.
Other problems were the flow meter stop working and v-
belts coming off of the pulleys.
The injection process was constrained by the
injectivity of the Cypress at Owens #1. Because gas CO
2

was desired, very little hydrostatic head was available to
increase subsurface injection pressure. Consequently, a
portion of the pumped CO
2
was re-circulated to the
storage tank. To increase the CO
2
injection rate, the
injection pressure and volume regulator were controlled.
However, this frequently did not work because as rate was
lowered, the residence time of the CO
2
in the line
increased, which led to a temperature increase, which
caused expansion of the CO
2
, which added additional
pressure to the pumps (because of the low Cypress
injectivity). When this occurred, injection would cease
for several hours. Consequently, the inline heater
temperature became a more important factor for
maintaining higher injection rates for this injection
project. To improve injection rate during daylight hours,
the inline heater temperature was lowered.
Over 5 days, 43.0 tons of CO
2
were injected. The
active injection time was 4.4 days.
Post-Injection. The post-injection shut-in or soak
was eight days. During the flowback period, three
consultants, the field superintendent and production
4 SPE 113418
foreman were on location with ISGS personnel. The three
consultants expertise was as follows: HNP operations,
data acquisition, and portable test separator.
There was agreement among the consultants and field
personnel that the casing pressure needed to be lowered in
order to produce liquid from the insert rod pump. The
objective was to minimize the gas entering the pump and
to keep gas dissolved in the liquid phases.
Prior to attempting liquid production with the
pumping unit, 10 Mscf (0.59 ton) casing gas was
produced (primarily CO
2
) from a surface casing pressure
of 543 to 318 psig. Then the pumping unit was turned on.
It was very difficult to initiate liquid production via the
tubing.
Various combinations of casing pressure and tubing
pressure were used to initiate production of liquid from
the pump. Initially, while the pump was on, a modest
amount of gas would be bled-off of the tubing to 25-100
psig. (Bleeding off to atmospheric pressure never
resulted in liquid production.) Following this period
liquid production occurred for 15-45 mins followed by an
extended gas production period of 30 mins to two hours.
Afterwards the well was shut-in so that pressure could
equalize and another production attempt could be made;
this shut-in two to four hours. This time sequence
allowed two to three of these attempts daily.
Various combinations of casing and tubing pressure
were attempted unsuccessfully. Towards the end of the
week, the casing was bled to atmospheric pressure and
various tubing pressure were applied. None of these
worked either. After nearly four days of these types of
attempts, it was decided to pump the well continuously
through the period of gas-only production. After nearly
four hours, the well started to produce liquid.
It is hypothesized that gas was separating from liquid
in the casing-tubing annulus and liquid and some gas is
entering the downhole pump. As liquid is pumped to the
surface, the pressure is reduced and gas comes out of
solution. The lower viscosity, lower density gas moves
faster upward in the tubing than the liquid while the well
continues to pump; the liquid level rises to the surface and
the well begins to pump liquid.
The well produced liquid continuously for several
hours to several days before liquid flow rates returned to
zero. Eventually the back pressure regulator was opened
completely.
Corrosion treatment was applied at the rate of 0.5
gallons per day continuously. No evidence of corrosion
that was attributable to CO
2
was detected. Corrosion due
to O
2
was detected twice, once when the casing was open
and allowed air to enter. The other time the source of O
2
was not certain of.
Over a two month period, the well produced 96 barrels
of oil above the pre-CO
2
oil rate projection (figure 3).
About 33 tons of CO
2
was produced at the Owens #1
during this time. Later in the fall, Owens #1 pump was
down for about one week. At the end of this period, CO
2

was detected at Owens #4; however, this CO
2
production
disappeared when Owens #1 was returned to production.
The casing gas continues to have over 50% CO
2

concentration, and the oil production continues to be
about 1 bopd above the base rate.

EOR II: Liquid CO
2
Pattern Flood. Because many
Illinois Basin oil reservoirs are relatively low temperature
(75-85F) and have relatively high fracture pressure
gradient (1.0 psi/ft), numerous reservoirs in the Basin can
sustain a subcritical, liquid CO
2
flood, which is
anticipated to behave very similarly to a traditional
miscible CO
2
flood. MMP slim tube tests on Illinois
crude oil samples at reservoir temperatures less than the
subcritical temperature of CO
2
are very close to the vapor
pressure of pure CO
2
. For example for a reservoir
presently waterflooded at 1500 ft with a reservoir temp of
76 F, the BHIP can be 1500 psi, and average pressure
may be 1200 psi. The vapor pressure of CO
2
at 78
degrees is approximately 950 psia, so this reservoir can
sustain liquid CO
2
in situ. However, field operations
required to control pressure that will achieve and maintain
a liquid CO
2
flood in the injection well tubing, reservoir,
and the producing wells are not certain.
Site selection screening is underway for this pilot.
Based on a water injection well and surrounding wells, a
five tier screening process was used: CO
2
flood
classification, operation/development history, surface
conditions, wellbore conditions, and geologic/reservoir
modeling.
CO
2
flood classification. The first tier screening is
primarily designed to classify the CO
2
-crude oil
interaction as immiscible-gas, miscible-liquid, or
miscible-critical fluid. (A 4
th
CO
2
flood classification for
pilot tests is for those reservoirs too close to the boundary
between these three classifications; for pilot purposes
only, these formations were avoided.) The screening is
primarily based on current reservoir pressure and
temperature, API gravity, and geologic formation.
Operation/development history. The second tier is
number of geologic zones open to the injector, a centrally
located well injection well with (preferably) four, existing
producing wells surrounding the injection well. Surface
injection pressure, water injection rate (bwpd), and
oil/water/gas production at the surrounding wells are
considered in this tier, too.
Surface condition. The third tier is the surface
conditions that will accommodate the injection and data
acquisition equipment and CO
2
tank truck delivery. Other
surface features include proximity to lakes/ponds, flood
plains, homes, major roads, plus road commissioner
cooperation is also required.
Wellbore conditions. The number of zones currently
completed in the injector and ability to isolate zones is
also considered. Therefore, type of completion (e.g.
cased and perforated or openhole) is important. Injection
pressure history over the last few months was reviewed.
Workover type and frequency is important in the
screening process
Geologic/reservoir modeling. The fifth tier is the
geologic modeling and reservoir modeling results. Higher
consideration was given to injection patterns models that
give oil production and pressure results that are
SPE 113418 5
measurable and quantifiable within the CO
2
and time
budget of the project.
Pilot summary. For the tier 1 screening, primarily
formations within fields nominated by Basin oil field
operators, were classified or grouped. Tier 2 was applied
injection well by injection well. Over 100 injection wells
on 5 to 10 acre spacing were considered for this pilot and
were screened to 32. Tier 3 included 32 site visits; of
which 10 sites were give acceptable reviews. These 10
sites were reviewed for Tier 4 criteria and 6 were
acceptable; the primary screening factor was the presence
of a 4 liner that was restricting isolation of zones via a
packer. Tier 5 is development of geologic and reservoir
models to provide indications of CO
2
volume and
injection duration required to get an oil response during
the pilot project.
The modeling results suggest that a 10-15 thick
formation will require 6-8 months of continuous CO
2

injection followed by 3-4 months of waterflooding to
have a measurable response in the field. Cumulative CO
2

injection is 6000-8000 tons.
The EOR II field test does not require the drilling of
any new wells because an available water injection well
will be converted to handle CO
2
injection and the pattern
and spacing of existing wells is adequate to test EOR
processes in the reservoir. This pilot will measure
volumes of CO
2
injected, volumes of CO
2
recovered with
oil, the incremental oil production, and volume of
sequestered CO
2
. Well conversion represents a potential
near-term, low-cost opportunity to implement CO
2
EOR.
A comprehensive MMV plan will be implemented in all
phases of the pilot.

EOR III and IV. The last two pilots selection has not
been finalized. At least one of these two will be an
immiscible flood. In DOE Phase I, about half of the
OOIP in the Basin was at depths that would sustain
immiscible CO
2
floods. Simulations showed oil recovery
to be about 50% lower than for immiscible floods, but
CO
2
net utilization was only 20-35% of the miscible net
utilization. In other words 50% less oil would be
recovered, but 65-80% less CO
2
is required.
For an immiscible flood for reservoirs with
temperatures below the critical temperature of CO
2
, the
reservoir pressure must be below the vapor pressure of
pure CO
2
. For a pilot project with limited CO
2
budget,
the reservoir pressure cannot be entirely depleted or there
will be inadequate CO
2
to pressurize the reservoir to have
any significant mixing between CO
2
and the in situ crude
oil. Therefore current average reservoir pressure of at
least 250 psi and preferably 350-700 psi was desired.
Presently, a Cypress formation with a modest
structural trap is being investigated for a vertical flood.
The structure has an underlying water aquifer that
supports fluid level up to 200-300 feet below the surface.
Reservoir pressure is estimated at 700 psi. Because the
gas formation volume factor of CO
2
is quite large at
subcritical pressures, a relatively lower volume of CO
2
is
required. (For example at 80F, 500 and 700 psia, B
gCO2
is
4.4 and 2.7 rb/Mscf compared to 0.4-0.5 rb/Mscf for a
range of miscible conditions.) About 2500 tons of CO
2
is
estimated to be 1.0 PV for an area of about 70 acres
around a central injection well down to a group of down-
dip producers.
Operations and monitoring an immiscible flood is
less stringent compared to a liquid or a miscible flood as
no minimum pressure is required to maintain miscibility.
Moreover, because a modest structure is present to control
the movement of CO
2
, intermittent CO
2
supply and
injection rate is acceptable. Consequently, the storage
tank, pump skid and inline heater would not be necessary
for an immiscible pilot. For this specific site, a small CO
2

transfer pump may be required to overcome the natural
pressure support via the underlying aquifer pressure. This
field has been waterflooded, but it has not been rigorously
implemented.
EOR IV will be selected as another liquid CO
2
pattern
flood or a conventional miscible flood (supercritical
pressure and temperature). Because of the limits in time
and CO
2
volume associated with a pilot project of 10-acre
injection spacing, a water-injection 5-spot pattern is of
most interest. To balance the choice of geologic
formations, an Aux Vases or St. Genevieve formation is
preferred.

Sequestration/Enhanced Coalbed Methane (S/ECBM).
The purpose of this project is to determine the CO
2

injection and storage capability along with the enhanced
coalbed methane recovery potential of Illinois Basin coal
seams. The target formation is the Pennsylvanian
Springfield coal with planned injection of up to 600 tons
of CO
2
. The site on the Tanquary Farms in southeast
Illinois is between Albion and Mt. Carmel, Illinois (figure
4).
Reservoir simulation (COMET) cases of 10, 25 and 50
md required a 150 ft distance between injector and
observation wells to observe a detectable pressure (5 psi)
and saturation (10%) change during the planned 1-2
month injection period of up to 600 tons of CO
2
. In
summer 2007, two wells were drilled 150 ft apart.
Drillstem tests gave perm of 2 and 7 md and skin +6 and
+9. Drilling operations ceased until falloff and pulse tests
could be conducted to confirm the DST perms. The DST
also showed positive skin and coal cleat pressure very
close to the fresh water gradient.
The wells were cased and cemented to surface. The
Springfield coal was perforated with 6 shot per foot, 60
phasing, and 3/8 inch diameter. A 250 gallon, 9% formic
acid treatment was used to breakdown the perfs; the acid
was displaced with 1000 gallons water. The wells were
swabbed and gas was brought to surface. The wells were
shut-in to achieve static pressure prior to the pressure
transient tests. The coal cleat pressure supported water
level to surface.
Downhole pressure gauges with surface readout were
placed in both wells during all tests. A step rate test was
conducted in the first well. Injection rates were
maintained for about two hours for each rate. A step rate
test gave a fracture pressure gradient of 0.96 psi/ft so
injection rate and pressure could be maximized without
6 SPE 113418
fracturing the coal. This corresponded to a water
injection rate of 0.78 gpm (26.7 bwpd).
During the step rate test, pressure in the second well
was recorded. The butt cleat direction permeability was
estimated at 3.3 md and storativity was estimated at
25x10
-6
/psi. An injection period of nine hours followed
the injections of the step rate test at a rate below the
parting pressure (0.6 gpm). Afterwards, the first well was
shut-in for a 24-hour falloff test. Because water was at
surface, the well was shut-in at the surface and very little
wellbore storage occurred. The falloff gave 4.0 mD and
skin of -1.5. After the falloff test, a two-cycle pulse test
with 10 hour flow and 10 hour shut-in periods was
conducted. For each injection pulse, a pressure increase
of 5-6 psi after about 10 hours was measured at the
observation well. An interwell permeability of 3.3 mD
and storativity of 27x10
-6
/psi was calculated. Lastly a
falloff of the second well gave a permeability of 4.4 md
and skin of -3.0.
The skin was reduced substantially from the DST to
the falloff test results, and the interference and pulse tests
showed pressure communication between the wells.
Falloff tests confirmed the DST permeability estimates.
A comparison of the single well permeability and
interwell permeability gave very little difference
suggesting that the face and butt cleat permeability may
not be very different. When the injection pattern is
completed later this year, another pulse test will be
conducted to estimate the face cleat perm. Assuming the
falloff perm is equal to the geometric average of the face
and butt cleat permeability, the face to butt cleat
permeability ratio is 1.5:1.
Reservoir modeling with the lower perm required
reduced well spacing to expect measurable results during
the planned injection period. Two additional wells are
planned to complete this pilot. The injection well will be
drilled in the butt cleat direction between the first two
wells: 50 feet from one and 100 feet from the other. The
last well will be drilled 100 ft from the injection well in
the face cleat direction.
CO
2
delivery will be by 20 ton liquid CO
2
tanker
trucks. On site, the CO
2
will be transferred to a 50 ton
storage tank and pumped through an inline heater to
ensure the CO
2
is in the gas phase before entering the coal
seam. Gaseous CO
2
has lower viscosity which should
improve injectivity in the cleat system of the coal.
Moreover, low density CO
2
(gas) is expected to be less
reactive with coal compared to relatively higher density
CO
2
(liquid or supercritical).
Initially, the observation wells will have no pressure
drawdown, but without some pressure sink around these
wells it is unlikely that CO
2
or CH
4
will be detected at
these wellbores. However, too large a pressure drop
around these well may desorb gas from the near wellbore
around these wells. Because the objective of this pilot is
to account for free gas due to CO
2
injection the
observation wells bottom hole pressure will be reduced
but will be maintained above the CH
4
desorption pressure
to ensure that free gas is a result of CO
2
injection, not
pressure reduction. This should reduce ambiguity if free
CH
4
gas is detected at the observation wells.

Saline Reservoir. The MGSC and the Archer Daniels
Midland Company (ADM) joined as partners to expand
the originally planned Phase II small-scale, deep-saline
reservoir CO
2
injection of 10,000 tons into a deep saline
reservoir. The newly combined Phase II and Phase III
effort will be a large-scale multiyear deployment of
geological sequestration of 1,100 tons per day injection of
1,100,000 tons of CO
2
over three years. This large-scale
injection will occur at the ADM ethanol production plant
site in Decatur, Illinois into the Mt. Simon Sandstone
saline formation
The goal of this injection project is to demonstrate the
potential of the Mt. Simon Sandstone, a major regional
saline-water bearing reservoir in the Illinois Basin, to be a
significant CO
2
geologic sequestration formation. The
Mt. Simon is the deepest sedimentary rock that overlies
the Precambrian-age basement granites of the Illinois
Basin.
The key research targets for this large-scale injection
test relate to CO
2
injectivity and volumetric storage
capacity and efficiency of the Mt. Simon, the integrity of
the Eau Claire seal to contain the CO
2
in the subsurface,
and the entire process of pre-injection characterization,
injection process monitoring, and post-injection
monitoring to understand the fate of the CO
2
.
The sequestration site at the ADM facility will be
supplied with 99% CO
2
from the ethanol production part
of ADMs operations. The CO
2
is wet at atmospheric
pressure from the fermentation vessels, so it will be
dehydrated and compressed to between a minimum of
1,050 to 1,300 psi and a maximum of 1,500 to 2,200 psi.
The dehydration/compression facility is proposed to be
developed near the north boundary of the ADM facility;
the CO
2
will be transported about 3,200 ft through a 4-
inch to 6-inch pipe to the injection wellhead. The
injection well will be located on an ADM owned, 150-
acre tract that adjoins the facility.
Injection Fluid. Outlet CO
2
streams which are
downstream of product recovery scrubbers from ethanol
fermentor vents are typically 99%+ CO
2
, saturated with
water vapor at 80F and atmospheric pressure. Common
impurities are ethanol and nitrogen in the range of 600 to
1,000 ppmv each. Other impurities in lesser amounts
often include oxygen, methanol, acetaldehyde and
hydrogen sulfide.
Injection Plan. Injection rates will be metered and
may be suspended from time to time for operational
reasons, pressure transient testing, or for other reservoir
testing. It is expected that injection may cumulatively
cease as much as 1 month per year.
Based on regional geology, the specific injection
interval within the Mt. Simon is expected to be near the
base of the Mt. Simon Sandstone, near the granitic
basement rock. The injection interval will be identified
based on well logs, core samples, and drill stem tests from
the initial well drilled on the site. For the anticipated Mt.
Simon net thickness and permeability, reservoir modeling
SPE 113418 7
and nodal analyses suggest that a single injection well
with 95/8 inch diameter long-string casing and 4.5-inch
diameter tubing will be adequate to meet the 1,100 ton per
day injection rate. One research target will be to revise
this modeling once well logs and core samples are
recovered from the first well on the site. The project
timeline calls for a twelve-month period between
drilling/casing the well and CO
2
injection. Anticipating
that the lower interval is found and selected as the
injection interval, the well completion (perforation of the
injection zone) will occur immediately before injection
about 12 months after the well is drilled and cased. If the
injectivity of this interval is not high enough or the
interval is not found, the well may be perforated earlier
and permeability tests conducted so that the injection
interval can be determined as early as possible.
During the 12 month period prior to injection, intense
assessment of perforation strategies and subsequent
modeling to predict the behavior of the CO
2
plume will
completed. Permeability-thickness product and injectivity
of several sub-intervals within the Mt. Simon will be
calculated and assessed to fully understand the impact of
a lower permeability interval(s) within the Mt. Simon to
the distribution of the buoyant CO
2
plume. Based on
Champaign and Fayette County Mt. Simon wells, at least
one relatively lower reservoir quality interval within the
Mt. Simon was found above the likely injection interval.
Similar Mt. Simon sub-intervals are expected to be found
at the ADM site.
Supplemental Monitoring. Initial site environmental
monitoring is designed to obtain a baseline of
environmental parameters for at least one year before CO
2

is injected. This monitoring will benefit from MGSC and
ISGS experience at the small-scale enhanced oil recovery
(EOR) pilots at which reservoir fluids, groundwater, gases
in the vadose zone, and wellbore gas were sampled and
analyzed.
The pre-CO
2
injection geologic baseline will be
established with geophysical well logs, a 3D seismic
survey and possibly also pre-injection vertical seismic
profiles (VSP), depending upon the final interpretation of
the 2D survey and the surface access constraints with
respect to the layout of the 3D survey. Geophysical
techniques may include permanently placing geophones
in the injection well that would facilitate microseismic
monitoring and repeat VSPs. This appears especially
appropriate given the features on the surface. Monitoring
will continue during injection (three years) and post-
injection (two years).
Downhole fluid samples will be taken to determine
composition of the formation water, which is important to
assess mineral trapping and dissolution of CO
2
into the
brine. Pressure and temperature data from the Mt. Simon
are limited in the deeper part of the Basin. Drill stem and
pressure falloff tests will be used to estimate flow
characteristics. Post-injection seismic imagery will
provide an improved understanding of the geologic
structure, which is expected to be regional dip of about
0.5 degrees to the southeast. The extensive suite of data
collected in and around the injection well through core
analyses and petrophysical tests, borehole tests, well
logging, and seismic profiling will be analyzed and used
to build geologic models of the entire stratigraphic
column from the Mt. Simon to the surface. Reservoir
flow modeling will be used to history match the injection
performance and predict the distribution of the CO
2

plume. When the verification wells are drilled to further
understand the CO
2
plume movement, lateral variations in
the geologic and reservoir properties of the Mt. Simon
will be learned.
Activities To-Date. Two, orthogonal 2-D seismic
lines were acquired in October 2007 in preparation for
drilling the injection well planned for the second quarter
of 2008; no indications of faults or fractures were
observed at the injection site. After the first well is
drilled, 3D seismic will be acquired to improve the
baseline characterization of the Mt. Simon and the
shallower formations.
The UIC permit application process was started in the
fall of 2007 and a final application was submitted to the
Illinois EPA in January 2008. A Class I Nonhazardous
permit was requested.
In the first quarter 2008, a risk management
assessment will be conducted to identify the risks
associated with this project and the impact each will have.
These are to include HSE risks as well as project
management risks, e.g. supply and contractor availability.

Acknowledgements
This work was funded by the DOE/NETL Regional
Carbon Sequestration Partnership program through
Contract DE-FC26-05NT42588. The Illinois Department
of Commerce and Economic Development through the
Illinois Clean Coal Institute Contract 06-02 (Project #
DEV05-2(2)) provided additional funds for these pilot
projects. The State of Illinois provided cost sharing
through the Illinois State Geological Survey.

The authors would like to thank Daniel Byers for working
on the graphics.



Illinois
Indiana
Kentucky
Illinois Basin outline
Miles
0 15 30 60

Figure 1: Outline of Illinois Basin over the states of
Illinois, Indiana, and Kentucky.








Figure 3: EOR I post-CO
2
oil production rate.






















Figure 2: EOR I injection monitoring well locations.



Figure 4: S/ECBM Tanquary site layout (color infrared).