A Feasibility Study of the Integration of Geologic CO₂ Storage with Enhanced Oil Recovery (CO₂ Flooding) in the Ordos Basin, China

Abstract

Rich in energy resources, China’s Ordos Basin shares many similarities with Wyoming’s Greater Green River Basin and Powder River Basin. As a result, the energy development strategy employed in Wyoming basins should be applicable to the Ordos Basin. The Ordos Basin’s coal, coalbed methane, and natural gas reserves are ranked first in China, and its oil reserves are ranked fourth. The coal deposits in the Ordos Basin account for 39 % (3.98 Tt) of Chinese coal resources, and six of the thirteen largest coal mines in China are in the basin. China’s large energy base and the facilities essential to its fast-growing coal-to-chemicals industry are located in the Ordos Basin. The concurrent development of relatively new coal conversion industries with existing oil and gas industries in the Ordos Basin (Northern Shaanxi Province) provides the opportunity to apply the systematic approach to energy production developed in Wyoming: the integration of geologic CO₂ storage and enhanced oil recovery (EOR) using CO₂ flooding (CO₂-EOR). The coal conversion industry (coal-to-methanol, coal-to-olefins, etc.) provides affordable, capture-ready CO₂ sources for developing large-scale CO₂-EOR and carbon storage projects in the Ordos Basin. Compared with other CCUS projects, the ability to use CO₂ from the coal-conversion industry for CO₂-EOR and geologic CO₂ storage will make these projects in the Ordos Basin more cost-effective and technologically efficient while reducing CO₂ emissions to the atmosphere.