Bakken CO2 EOR Pilot

Innovating Carbon Storage and Oil Recovery 

The Bakken CO₂ EOR and Storage Field Laboratory, in McKenzie County, North Dakota, is a partnership between the EERC and Chord Energy Corporation. This project explores injecting CO₂ into the Bakken Formation to increase oil recovery while storing CO₂ underground, helping reduce carbon emissions from oil production.

Taking Research to the Field

Over 18 months, the Bakken CO₂ EOR and Storage Field Laboratory will conduct comprehensive laboratory, modeling, and field activities focused on CO₂ injections into hydraulically fractured horizontal wells in the Bakken Formation. The primary goal is to assess the potential for CO₂ enhanced oil recovery (EOR) while storing CO₂ underground, thus reducing the carbon intensity of oil production. This phase involves multiple CO₂ injection trials, advanced monitoring systems, reservoir characterization, and geologic modeling to gather critical data on the effectiveness and feasibility of these techniques.

The project is expected to generate valuable insights into the behavior of the Bakken reservoir under CO₂ injection, supporting future life cycle analysis (LCA) and evaluating the scalability of CO₂ EOR and storage methods for unconventional oil reservoirs across the United States. By demonstrating significant incremental oil recovery and environmental benefits, the field testing efforts aim to equip stakeholders with scientifically validated data and insights to advance CO₂ EOR and storage technologies in an environmentally responsible manner, addressing national energy needs while reducing CO₂ emissions.

Laboratory Analysis and Collaboration 

Samples of rocks and fluids from the Bakken Formation will be analyzed to understand the mechanisms controlling CO₂ EOR and storage. These samples will also be provided to the U.S. Department of Energy's National Energy Technology Laboratory Research & Innovation Center. Geologic modeling and numerical simulations will support the design, permitting, and execution of field tests while monitoring the effects of CO₂ injection on the reservoir. Data collected will support future LCA for CO₂ EOR and storage in the Bakken Formation. 

Successful completion of this project will offer new data and scientifically validated insights, supporting the potential for CO₂ EOR and storage in unconventional oil reservoirs across the United States.

Benefiting Local Communities

The field laboratory project will also examine the societal impacts and benefits of CO₂ EOR and storage for surrounding communities, including rural areas, disadvantaged communities, and tribal nations, with a focus on the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara (MHA) Nation on the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation (FBIR). 

The project will provide the MHA Nation with technical knowledge to ensure that FBIR petroleum resources are produced in an environmentally aware manner that respects cultural values.