The U. S. Geological Survey carbon dioxide storage efficiency value methodology: Results and observations

In order to complete the 2013 U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) assessment of carbon dioxide (CO₂) storage resources, a methodology was needed to determine the CO₂storage efficiency of individual rock strata. The method that was used involved a storage efficiency approximation by MacMinn et al., combined with a brine viscosity model by Mao and Duan, and thermal and pressure data from petroleum fields across basins. The resulting efficiencies indicated that both salinity of the pore fluid and the thermal gradient have a strong effect on the amount of CO₂ that strata could store.