Assessing the Cypress Sandstone for Carbon Dioxide-Enhanced Oil Recovery and Carbon Storage: Part III—Development Strategies for Residual Oil Zones for Noble Oil Field, Western Richland County, Illinois

Okwen, Roland T.; Frailey, Scott M.; Webb, Nathan D.; Grigsby, Nate P.

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/130242 Copy

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Title

Assessing the Cypress Sandstone for Carbon Dioxide-Enhanced Oil Recovery and Carbon Storage: Part III—Development Strategies for Residual Oil Zones for Noble Oil Field, Western Richland County, Illinois

Author(s)

• Okwen, Roland T.
• Frailey, Scott M.
• Webb, Nathan D.
• Grigsby, Nate P.

Issue Date

2025

Keyword(s)

• Carbon dioxide
• Carbon storage
• Enhanced oil recovery
• Geologic carbon sequestration
• Sandstone

Date of Ingest

2025-11-04T12:35:27-06:00

Geographic Coverage

Richland County, Illinois

Abstract

Successful application of carbon dioxide (CO₂) enhanced oil recovery (EOR) in Permian Basin residual oil zones (ROZs) has spurred interest in the broader use of nonconventional CO₂ floods in ROZs in other basins. Nonconventional CO₂-EOR emphasizes strategies to achieve carbon-negative oil production by enabling CO₂ storage beyond that of conventional CO₂-EOR. In the Illinois Basin, thick (up to 164 ft [50 m]), multistory fluvial sandstones of the Cypress Formation contain ROZs. A reservoir modeling study was performed at Noble Field to identify development strategies for nonconventional CO₂-EOR in Illinois Basin brownfield ROZs (beneath depleted oil reservoirs). Noble Field was selected because of its production from a relatively thin main pay zone (MPZ) and its central location within the thick Cypress Sandstone fairway. A geocellular model based on well log data and geologic interpretations of the Cypress Sandstone at Noble Field was the basis for the reservoir simulation model, which was calibrated to historical production and injection data by adjusting reservoir parameters (e.g., permeability). Fine-gridded pattern models were run to better understand mechanisms controlling CO₂-EOR and fluid displacement to ensure they were included in the reservoir simulations. Depending on project goals and the business strategies, the following development strategies are recommended for Noble Field: 1) inject CO₂ continuously into the MPZ and ROZ at relatively higher rates, to increase CO₂ storage and achieve net carbon-negative oil, 2) implement WAG injection in the MPZ to maximize oil recovery, and 3) inject CO₂ continuously at high rates into the ROZ to maximize storage.

Publisher

Champaign, Ill.: Illinois State Geological Survey, Prairie Research Institute.

Series/Report Name or Number

Circular ; no. 613

Type of Resource

text

Genre of Resource

technical report

Language

eng

Sponsor(s)/Grant Number(s)

U.S. Department of Energy contract number DE-FE0024431

Copyright and License Information

Copyright 2025 Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois

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