Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is a process that captures carbon dioxide (CO2) by separating it from anthropogenic emissions sources before atmospheric release and storing that CO2 in deep geologic reservoirs. CCS is a powerful method for reducing anthropogenic CO2 which can ultimately diminish the effects of climate change. Prospective CO2 storage resource is the amount of carbon dioxide that can be stored in a given geologic formation typically given as a mass (e.g., metric tons). Obtaining accurate estimates of CO2 storage resources is necessary for governments and industries to make energy-related policy decisions.

Researchers at the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) under the Department of Energy (DOE) developed a tool using GoldSim to estimate prospective carbon storage resources for saline formations. This tool, called CO2-SCREEN (Storage prospeCtive Resource Estimation Excel aNalysis) utilizes Excel for data inputs/outputs and GoldSim to perform Monte Carlo simulations. The model has DOE saline storage equations embedded within to provide ease of use as well as consistent results among different users. Updated versions will expand capabilities for additional formations including shale, residual oil zones, and depleted oil and gas reservoirs.

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Prospective CO2 saline resource estimation methodology: Refinement of existing US-DOE-NETL methods based on data availability

CO2-SCREEN tool: Application to the oriskany sandstone to estimate prospective CO2 storage resource