Christina A. DeVera

Microbial community composition of a hydrocarbon reservoir 40 years after a CO2 enhanced oil recovery flood

Abstract Injecting CO2 into depleted oil reservoirs to extract additional crude oil is a common enhanced oil recovery (CO2-EOR) technique. However, little is known about how in situ microbial communities may be impacted by CO2 flooding, or if any permanent microbiological changes occur after flooding has ceased. Formation water was collected from an oil field that was flooded for CO2-EOR in the 1980s, including samples from areas affected by or outside of the flood region, to determine the impacts of CO2-EOR on reservoir microbial communities. Archaea, specifically methanogens, were more abundant than bacteria in all samples, while identified bacteria exhibited much greater diversity than the archaea. Microbial communities in CO2-impacted and non-impacted samples did not significantly differ (ANOSIM: Statistic R = -0.2597, significance = 0.769). However, several low abundance bacteria were found to be significantly associated with the CO2-affected group; very few of these species are known to metabolize CO2 or are associated with CO2-rich habitats. Although this study had limitations, on a broad scale, either the CO2 flood did not impact the microbial community composition of the target formation, or microbial communities in affected wells may have reverted back to pre-injection conditions over the ca. 40 years since the CO2-EOR.

Geologic framework for the national assessment of carbon dioxide storage resources—Southern Rocky Mountain Basins: Chapter M in Geologic framework for the national assessment of carbon dioxide storage resources

The U.S. Geological Survey has completed an assessment of the potential geologic carbon dioxide storage resources in the onshore areas of the United States. To provide geological context and input data sources for the resources numbers, framework documents are being prepared for all areas that were investigated as part of the national assessment. This report is the geologic framework document for the Uinta and Piceance, San Juan, Paradox, Raton, Eastern Great, and Black Mesa Basins, and subbasins therein of Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah. In addition to a summary of the geology and petroleum resources of studied basins, the individual storage assessment units (SAUs) within the basins are described and explanations for their selection are presented. Although appendixes in the national assessment publications include the input values used to calculate the available storage resource, this framework document provides only the context and source of the input values selected by the assessment geologists. Spatial-data files of the boundaries for the SAUs, and the well-penetration density of known well bores that penetrate the SAU seal, are available for download with the release of this report.

Geologic framework for the national assessment of carbon dioxide storage resources: U.S. Gulf Coast: Chapter H in Geologic framework for the national assessment of carbon dioxide storage resources

This report presents 27 storage assessment units (SAUs) within the United States (U.S.) Gulf Coast. The U.S. Gulf Coast contains a regionally extensive, thick succession of clastics, carbonates, salts, and other evaporites that were deposited in a highly cyclic depositional environment that was subjected to a fluctuating siliciclastic sediment supply and transgressive and regressive sea levels. At least nine major depositional packages contain porous strata that are potentially suitable for geologic carbon dioxide (CO2) sequestration within the region. For each SAU identified within these packages, the areal distribution of porous rock that is suitable for geologic CO2 sequestration is discussed, along with a description of the geologic characteristics that influence the potential CO2 storage volume and reservoir performance. These characteristics include reservoir depth, gross thickness, net-porous thickness, porosity, permeability, and groundwater salinity. Additionally, a characterization of the overlying regional seal for each SAU is presented. On a case-by-case basis, strategies for estimating the pore volume existing within structurally and (or) stratigraphically closed traps are also presented. Geologic information presented in this report has been employed to calculate potential storage capacities for CO2 sequestration in the SAUs that are assessed herein, although complete assessment results are not contained in this report.

Geologic framework for the national assessment of carbon dioxide storage resources: Denver Basin, Colorado, Wyoming, and Nebraska: Chapter G in Geologic framework for the national assessment of carbon dioxide storage resources

This is a report about the geologic characteristics of five storage assessment units (SAUs) within the Denver Basin of Colorado, Wyoming, and Nebraska. These SAUs are Cretaceous in age and include (1) the Plainview and Lytle Formations, (2) the Muddy Sandstone, (3) the Greenhorn Limestone, (4) the Niobrara Formation and Codell Sandstone, and (5) the Terry and Hygiene Sandstone Members. The described characteristics, as specified in the methodology, affect the potential carbon dioxide storage resource in the SAUs. The specific geologic and petrophysical properties of interest include depth to the top of the storage formation, average thickness, net-porous thickness, porosity, permeability, groundwater quality, and the area of structural reservoir traps. Descriptions of the SAU boundaries and the overlying sealing units are also included. Assessment results are not contained in this report; however, the geologic information included here will be used to calculate a statistical Monte Carlo-based distribution of potential storage volume in the SAUs.

Geologic framework for the national assessment of carbon dioxide storage resources: Greater Green River Basin, Wyoming, Colorado, and Utah, and Wyoming-Idaho-Utah Thrust Belt

The 2007 Energy Independence and Security Act (Public Law 110–140) directs the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to conduct a national assessment of potential geologic storage resources for carbon dioxide (CO2). The methodology used by the USGS for the national CO2 assessment follows up on previous USGS work. The methodology is non-economic and intended to be used at regional to subbasinal scales. This report identifies and contains geologic descriptions of 14 storage assessment units (SAUs) in Ordovician to Upper Cretaceous sedimentary rocks within the Greater Green River Basin (GGRB) of Wyoming, Colorado, and Utah, and eight SAUs in Ordovician to Upper Cretaceous sedimentary rocks within the Wyoming-Idaho-Utah Thrust Belt (WIUTB). The GGRB and WIUTB are contiguous with nearly identical geologic units; however, the GGRB is larger in size, whereas the WIUTB is more structurally complex. This report focuses on the characteristics, specified in the methodology, that influence the potential CO2 storage resource in the SAUs. Specific descriptions of the SAU boundaries, as well as their sealing and reservoir units, are included. Properties for each SAU, such as depth to top, gross

Abstract LB-297: Mortality trends from lung and bronchus cancer in Boone County, W.V., USA before and after mountaintop removal mining practices

Proceedings: AACR Annual Meeting 2014; April 5-9, 2014; San Diego, CA Publically-available databases (CDC/NCI) report causes of mortality at the national, state and recently, county level. However, county or sub-county-wide health in West Virginia is difficult to assess due to the rural, sparse and isolated nature of many counties. In Boone County, WV, villages are arranged in a narrow, winding valley or ‘hollow’ lying between mountain peaks and situated along a creek or river. This region, rich with subterranean coal seams, has been mined for over 100 years; however, mountaintop removal mining (MTR), which began in the 1980s, now allows for the removal of previously-inaccessible seams by surface mining techniques in the top third of a mountain. Mountaintop removal mining has increased dramatically and current estimates suggest greater than 30 percent of West Virginia’s coal is produced using this technique. For people residing near MTR sites, dust particulates or other mobilized constituents (minerals, metals, coal, or excipients) may present a health hazard by entering the food chain via vegetables or fruit grown in a home garden, through drinking water, or by breathing or ingestion. To evaluate whether the rate of lung and bronchus cancer deaths have changed over the past fifty years, mortality records were examined from 1962 and 1972-3 (before mountaintop mining removal was widely used) and compared with those from 2006-12. The Chi-squared statistic was used to compare the frequency distributions for the rate of lung and bronchus cancer deaths in eight age categories between 1962, 1972-3, and 2006-12. We found the three time periods were significantly different from one another (α=0.005), and that the number of lung and bronchus cancer deaths had increased in those aged 45 years or older. Smoking rates and socioeconomic status within the county have remained relatively constant during the past decade. Taken together societal and environmental changes and medical advances have influenced causes of mortality in this coal-rich Appalachian county. Citation Format: Lynn M. Crosby, Christina DeVera, Kaylene Charles, William Orem. Mortality trends from lung and bronchus cancer in Boone County, W.V., USA before and after mountaintop removal mining practices. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 105th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2014 Apr 5-9; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2014;74(19 Suppl):Abstract nr LB-297. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2014-LB-297