Image of the Effective Porosity property from the Arbuckle geocellular model constructed for the Oneok Bushton CCS evaluation.

KGS CUSP-West

What is CUSP-West?

The Petroleum Recovery Research Center (PRRC), a research division of New Mexico Tech, was awarded a multi-million dollar contract from the Department of Energy (DOE) in September 2019 under the DOE's Regional Initiative to Accelerate CCUS Deployment. The project was one of four selected to receive federal funding for cost-shared research and development. This award allowed the formation of the Carbon Utilization and Storage Partnership (CUSP) of the Western United States, spearheaded by the PRRC. The purpose of the CUSP is to advance existing CCUS (carbon capture, utilization, and storage) research and development by addressing key technical challenges; facilitating data collection, sharing, and analysis; evaluating regional infrastructure; and promoting regional technology transfer. In addition to NMT, partners include: the University of Utah, Arizona Geological Survey, Colorado School of Mines, Stanford University, Desert Research Institute of Nevada, Montana State University, Kansas Geological Survey, Oklahoma Geological Survey, Washington Geological Survey, the University of Oklahoma, Indiana University, Utah Geological Survey, and Pacific Northwest, Sandia, and Los Alamos national laboratories.

Midstream Operation Storage of CO2 (MOSCO2)

The CCS (carbon capture and storage) Hub 2.0 Concept for ONEOK is focused on the states of Kansas and Oklahoma. The Kansas Geological Survey lead the project, in collaboration with CUSP-West partners, Carbon Solutions, and industrial partner ONEOK—a leading U.S.-based midstream energy company. 

ONEOK has several gas processing plants and hydrogen generation facilities that emit CO2 each year, and this study provided a preliminary technical evaluation for a regional carbon sequestration project (a hub or cluster concept) that would collect CO2 from various sources and inject it at a centralized facility. The CCS Hub 2.0 concept accomplished this goal through a wide range of objectives:

  • Identified CO2 reservoirs for long-term saline storage or enhanced oil recovery around ONEOK’s natural gas liquids fractionation plants near Bushton, Kansas, and Medford, Oklahoma, as well as several gas processing plants in Oklahoma.
  • Developed economic feasibility and business models for the carbon capture, utilization, and storage projects for suitable storage candidates.
  • Prepared necessary information and guidance for permitting, monitoring, reporting, and verification programs.
  • Explored feasibility of CO2 use in unconventional reservoirs in Kansas, Oklahoma, or beyond.
  • Reviewed co-utilization of additional gaseous products along with novel CO2 capture concepts.
  • Considered on-site hydrogen generation with CO2 capture.
  • Explored temporary storage of H2, CO2, or other gaseous products in salt caverns.
  • Quantified the feasibility of augmenting ONEOK CO2 capture systems to ensure sufficient CO2 volume output to qualify for 45Q tax credits or other incentives.
  • Investigated centralized CO2 capture/processing facilities for process units that leverage existing pipeline networks.