Exploring the potential of carbon capture and storage-enhanced oil recovery as a mitigation strategy in the Colombian oil industry

The use of CO2 for enhanced oil recovery (CO2-EOR) is a promising alternative for reducing the cost of carbon capture and storage (CCS). In this study the techno-economic potential of integrated CCS-EOR projects for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the Colombian oil industry is estimated. For this purpose, a source-sink matching process is carried out, including CO2 capture potentials in sources from the petroleum, cement, power generation, and bioethanol industries, as well as from the CO2 storage in suitable oil fields for EOR. The results indicate that a total of 142 million tons of carbon dioxide (MtCO2) could be stored, while delivering 465 MMbbl through five CCS-EOR projects in four clusters identified around the country. The levelised cost for capture ranged between 12–209 €/tCO2, followed by the cost of CO2 during EOR operations with a variation of 24–59 €/tCO2, and finally the CO2 transport, from 1 €/tCO2 to 23 €/tCO2. The CO2 mitigation potential of CCS-EOR represents 25 % of the forecasted oil industry emissions in Colombia for the period of 2025–2040. As compared to the intended nationally determined contribution (INDC) target set by the Colombian government, CCS-EOR projects could contribute 7 % of the total accumulated emissions reductions by 2040.