Carbon Sequestration in a Forest Soil in the Citronelle Oil Field of South Alabama.

Abstract Geological sinks offer a huge potential for sequestering billions of metric tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) through enhanced CO2 oil recovery (EOR). Enhanced oil recovery offers an opportunity to safely and permanently store CO2 in natural carbon sinks such as brine-filled geological formations and compounds such as lime (CaCO3 and CaCO3.MgCO3), thereby reducing the atmospheric concentration of this greenhouse gas. The State of Alabama has a wealth of potential geologic carbon dioxide sinks, including conventional oil and gas reservoirs, coal bed methane reservoirs, and saline formations. In order for the concept of geological sequestration of CO2 injected into oil wells to be environmentally sound, it is important that the CO2 being injected into the ground will not escape back into the atmosphere. The objectives of this study discussed are to investigate the potential for CO2 injected into oil wells for EOR to escape back into the atmosphere through sub-surface vertical migration and to assess C sequestration in forest soil adjacent to the oil wells. The location of the study is the Citronelle Oil Field in Mobile County, south Alabama. Data being collected include soil surface fluxes of CO2, methane, and nitrous oxide greenhouse gases, total soil C, soil moisture, soil temperature, and various macro-and micro soil nutrients which may impact C sequestration. Preliminary results for baseline soil properties before CO2 injection will be presented in this paper.