John E. Hunt, Trevor L. Richards, John E. Hunt, Bethany A. Kurz, John A. Hamling, Energy and Environmental Research Center, University of North Dakota
The Red Trail Energy (RTE) ethanol plant near Richardton, North Dakota is seeking to capture carbon dioxide (CO₂) from its fermentation process and inject the CO₂ into the Broom Creek Formation for permanent geologic storage. RTE applied for a North Dakota CO₂ storage facility permit (SFP) and received approval in October 2021 by the North Dakota Industrial Commission, who has authority to regulate the geologic storage of CO₂ and primacy to administer the North Dakota Underground Injection Control Class VI Program.
To ensure the injected CO₂ is safely and permanently stored at the RTE Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) project site, an adaptive monitoring, verification, and accounting (MVA) strategy was developed to be simultaneously compliant with the NDIC’s SFP requirements, the Environmental Protection Agency’s Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification plan, and the California Air and Resources Board’s Monitoring, Measurement, and Verification plan. The development of the monitoring strategy was informed by an early-stage risk assessment of the RTE CCS project.
This talk will focus on the adaptive monitoring plan developed for the RTE CCS project, which includes an analysis of the injected CO₂, periodic testing of the injection well, a corrosion-monitoring plan for the CO₂ injection well components, a leak detection and monitoring plan for surface components of the CO₂ injection system, and a leak detection plan to monitor any movement of the CO₂ outside of the storage reservoir.
This talk will also include a discussion on the novel monitoring techniques implemented at the RTE CCS project site, including permanent installation of fiber for temperature, acoustic, and strain sensing (DTS/DAS/DSS) along the CO₂ flow line, injection well, monitoring well, and select groundwater monitoring wells. The installed fiber provides an opportunity for continuous flow line and wellbore integrity monitoring, as well as applying low-impact time-lapse seismic techniques for CO₂ saturation and pressure monitoring. We will also highlight the feasibility of using gravity methods at the RTE CCS project site for monitoring the plume extents.