Investigating Geological Storage of Greenhouse Gases in Southeastern Saskatchewan: The IEA Weyburn CO2 Monitoring and Storage Project

The potential of storing greenhouse gases in geological formations in the northeast portion of the Williston Basin is being investigated by researchers involved in the IEA Weyburn CO2 Monitoring and Storage Project. This project is linked to a CO2 miscible flood EOR program operated by EnCana Corporation in the Weyburn Midale Pool of southeastern Saskatchewan. A major component of the project is to assess the integrity of the geological system through the construction of a geological framework in a 200 x 200 km region around the Weyburn Field. A multidisciplinary approach was required that involved stratigraphers, hydrogeologists, geophysicists, geochemists, and specialists in remote sensing imagery analysis. Strata were examined from the Precambrian basement to ground surface to identify the principal trapping mechanisms and flow characteristics within this part of the basin and to determine their impact on the potential for long-term storage of CO2. A geological model of an area extending 10 km beyond the limits of the EOR region was constructed for use in risk and performance assessment. In total, over 175 individual products were produced in the geoscience framework task area resulting in a worldclass dataset for study towards geological characteristics of the Williston Basin.