Potential of CO2 Enhanced Oil Recovery and Sequestration in the Golden Pinnacle Reef Reservoir in the Williston Basin, North Dakota

This design project is developed to determine the feasibility of CO2 Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) and CO2 sequestration in the Golden Pinnacle Reef Reservoir in the Williston Basin, North Dakota; with a specific analysis of the Shell Golden #34X-34 (SWSE 34 T161N R87 W) well in Renville County, North Dakota, USA. The objectives of this research are to: (1) Characterize the candidate reservoir; (2) Estimate the potential of CO2 EOR and the capacity of CO2 sequestration; and (3) Optimize the operations under different production/injection and economic options. This research is conducted to establish the reservoir parameters and future production possibilities of the Golden Pinnacle Reef Reservoir. In this model, the geology and depositional environment of the Golden Pinnacle Reef Reservoir is evaluated in order to develop a working geologic model, from which, simulations were conducted. Previous production data is also analyzed to determine the properties of the formation water and oil, and to closely replicate the actual conditions in the reservoir. The reservoir simulations are conducted using a commercial reservoir modeling software, donated by a petroleum services company (Schlumberger, 2006)