Framing an issue at hand

The largest volume of carbon sequestration currently occurs in the form of geologic sequestration.  In this form, carbon dioxide is injected into depleted oil and gas reservoirs, unmineable coal seams, and underground saline formations.  These reservoirs represent a strong majority of underground storage capability, and the capacity volumes necessary to make a difference in the reduction of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.  However, it must be pointed out that the present form of injecting carbon dioxide has not taken place as a means of purposely reducing global carbon dioxide levels, but as a form of enhanced energy production.

            The thought of injecting carbon dioxide into the ground to reduce greenhouse gas emissions seems counterproductive and dangerous to some people.  Why pay high operational costs to inject the carbon dioxide?  Many think the money would be better spent cleaning up industrial processes.  Skeptics also point out that reservoir capacity calculations are estimations and companies can never possibly know the exact volume of gas that can be put into the reservoir.  Worst of all, the gas could potentially migrate into aquifers and contaminate drinking water and further harm the environment.  These are all fair dissertations, but a closer look is needed.

            Carbon dioxide has been injected for decades into oil and gas reservoirs as an enhanced oil recovery technique.  The gas is pumped into the formation and remains in the reservoir to provide an extra drive mechanism to produce increased amounts of oil.  This method represents an opening to sequester carbon at an overall low net cost.  The cost is considered low due in part to the great profit margins recovered from oil and gas production.  The carbon dioxide injected into the reservoir is well documented, and as long as the initial pressure of the reservoir is not exceeded, theoretical knowledge indicates that the reservoir should remain intact.  This means no formation damage should occur and leak-off volumes of gas are very minimal.  Reservoirs hold there integrity extremely well, after all they have held oil and gas for millions of years already.  Also, there has never been a proven case in which carbon dioxide leakage from an underground reservoir has had detrimental effects on the outside environment.