Development of a Field Experiment of CO2 Storage in Coal Seams in the Upper Silesian Basin of Poland (Recopol)

Publisher Summary One option to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and thus control the overall levels of CO2 in the atmosphere, which has become an international priority in the wake of the Kyoto protocol, is permanent storage in subsurface coal seams, while producing methane simultaneously. The EU-funded RECOPOL project, which started in November 2001, aims at the development of the first European demonstration plant of CO2 storage in coal seams. An international consortium was formed to execute the research, design, construction, and operation within the RECOPOL project. This consortium is formed by research institutes, universities, and companies from the Netherlands, Poland, Germany, France, Australia, the United States, and by the IEA Greenhouse Gas R&D Program. Overall co-ordination of the project is in the hands of TNO-NITG. The required research, design, and operation of the pilot field test are executed by an international consortium of research institutes, universities, and industrial partners. A site was selected in the Silesian Basin in Poland where two CBM-wells are located a short distance from each other. Injection was planned to start in the Summer of 2003. Reservoir modeling shows that the distance between the injection well and the updip production well should be less than 200 m to increase the chance of breakthrough of CO2 within the test period. Breakthrough is important for a thorough understanding of the process. After and during the injection period, monitoring will be performed by direct measurements of CO2-concentration and by time lapse seismic monitoring.