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Summary

Subsurface storage of carbon dioxide (CO₂) has geologic and economic uncertainties that must be addressed as part of a performance assessment. A model presented herein links uncertainty in geologic heterogeneity and associated well injectivity to variability in costs. This includes a novel averaging scheme for CO₂ injectivity using geostatistical realizations of petrophysical properties and a systems-level model that includes costs of drilling and completion of injection wells. Using the Mount Simon formation in the Illinois basin, USA, as a test case, this analysis demonstrates how the underlying costs of CO₂-subsurface-storage projects can be highly sensitive to geologic heterogeneity.