2
NRG FACT SHEET
Petra Nova is leveraging
Enhanced Oil Recovery
(EOR) to support continuing oil production at the West Ranch Oil Field in Jackson County, Texas.
CO
2
-EOR can revitalize mature oil fields, allowing them to produce significantly more oil.
CO
2
-EOR has been a safe part of oil production in
Texas for 40 years.
Use of CO
2
for EOR will increase domestic oil supply and keep CO
2
out of the atmosphere.
• Significant volumes of conventional oil remaining in U.S. onshore oil reservoirs could be produced by the injection of carbon dioxide (CO
2
).
• CO
2
enhanced oil recovery (CO
2
-EOR) has been constrained by an inadequate CO
2
supply.
• Use of CO
2
-EOR in more basins and reservoirs will increase domestic oil supply and trap CO
2
in deep rock formations.
• Approximately 8% of oil produced in the U.S. is from CO
2
-EOR.
2
• Based on information available in the DOE/
NETL Comprehensive Oil and Gas Analysis
Model, a total of 1,673 fields/reservoirs have been identified as candidates for CO
2
flooding in the United States.
• It is estimated that large Gulf Coast oil reservoirs contain approximately 6 billion barrels of oil recoverable through Enhanced
Oil Recovery. EOR at this scale will require approximately 50 Trillion Cubic Feet of CO
2
.
• Application of CO
2
-EOR in candidate reservoirs in other basins depends on the economic availability of CO
2
from industrial sources.
Total Oil in Place in Target CO 2
EOR Reservoirs = 146 Billion
Remaining
Mobile Oil,
30 Billion
Cumulative
Production,
25 Billion
Proved
Reserves,
2 Billion
Remaining
Immobile Oil,
89 Billion
Target for
CO
2
EOR
Source: NETL COGAM Model (2004) NRG
& Associates Database (2004)

NRG FACT SHEET
Electrical Generating
Station
Flue Gas with CO
2
CO
2
capture system
90% CO
2
-free processed flue gas
CO
2
return
Pure CO
2 for EOR
CO
2
-Oil Separator
Oil combined with EOR CO
2
Oil sales
2
• CO
2
injection in oil reservoirs can produce oil unrecovered by primary production or secondary water-flooding. CO
2
acts as a solvent that reduces viscosity and enables the oil to flow to the production well. When production is complete, the CO
2
remains trapped in deep rock formations.
2
• Natural sources of CO
2
now supply about 950 billion cubic feet per year for
CO
2
-EOR projects. Approximately 75 percent is used in projects in West Texas
(the Permian Basin). Other states with
CO
2
-EOR projects include Colorado,
Wyoming and Mississippi.
• CO
2
-EOR can provide a significant market for “EOR-ready CO
2
” from industrial sources, such as coal-fired power plants.
• The potential market is about 380 trillion cubic feet or about 20 billion metric tons of CO
2
. Future oil prices and CO
2
cost will determine how much of this market can be economically captured.
2
Environmental concerns associated with CO
2
-EOR development differ from those of other unconventional oil resources.
• Most production potential exists in already producing oil fields. So, many environmental concerns are already addressed within the existing regulatory oversight framework for these fields.
• CO
2
captured from the production well is recycled, so CO
2
emissions are negligible.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:
David Knox
NRG Energy
1000 Main, Houston, Texas 77002
Office: 832.357.5730
david.knox@nrgenergy.com
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