Carbon sequestration potential in saline formations of Arizona

The U.S. Department of Energy released its 2008 Carbon Sequestration Atlas II of the United States and Canada, which documents more than 3,500 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide storage potential in oil and gas reservoirs, coal seams, and saline formations.

Arizona is a member of both the Western and Southwestern regional partnerships that are identifying sources and potential geologic sinks for CO2. The Western partnership (WESTCARB) shows large saline reservoirs [yellow] in the Colorado Plateau region of Arizona [top], while the Southwestern regional partnership show nothing in this region [bottom].

The other potential reservoirs for CO2 in Arizona are coal beds in the Black Mesa field also on the Plateau.

WESTCARB is preparing to drill a test well on the Plateau near the Cholla powerplant to see if deep saline beds are capable of holding significant amounts of carbon dioxide.

Given what we know from other wells in the region, that is not a given.