Integrated Pre-Feasibility Study for CO2 Geological Storage in the Cascadia Basin: Offshore Washington State and British Columbia

DESCRIPTION: The Cascadia CarbonSAFE project conducted a pre-feasibility study to evaluate technical and nontechnical aspects of collecting and storing 50 million metric tons (MMT) of CO2 in a safe, ocean basalt reservoir offshore from Washington State and British Columbia. The project goals include the evaluation of this reservoir as an industrial-scale CO2 storage complex, developing potential source/transport scenarios, conducting laboratory and modeling studies to determine the storage potential of the reservoir, and completing an assessment of economic, regulatory and project management risks.

OUTCOMES: In summary, Phase I accomplishments cover several tasks, as summarized below, including: (1) a compiled evaluation of industrial CO2 sources and potential modes of transportation in the region; (2) an inventory of existing geophysical and geological data in the area and evaluation of new data required to further assess storage potential and pre/post-injection environmental monitoring needs; (3) an initial reservoir model of the potential storage complex; (4) a preliminary analysis of regulatory requirements, stakeholder and financial analysis for the offshore storage complex; and (5) a comprehensive project risk assessment analysis.