CO2 technologies enable enhanced oil recovery and permanent mineralization

Developments in carbon dioxide (CO2) management are offering two distinct pathways: one for resource extraction and another for permanent sequestration.

In the oil industry, CO2 Enhanced Oil Recovery (CO2-EOR) is being utilized to extract remaining crude oil from depleted reservoirs. By injecting CO2 under high pressure, the gas mixes with the oil, altering its flow properties and increasing reservoir pressure to push oil toward wells. Researchers at the University of Houston are exploring the integration of this method with Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS) technologies. Estimates suggest that CO2-EOR could theoretically unlock approximately 137 billion barrels of oil in the United States alone.

Alternatively, CO2 mineralization provides a method for permanent storage by converting the gas into solid carbonates. Unlike many carbon utilization processes that require energy to break the stable CO2 molecule, mineralization reacts CO2 with calcium- or magnesium-rich minerals. This exothermic reaction is thermodynamically unique because it releases energy rather than consuming it, resulting in stable solids that are practically irreversible under natural conditions.