National Coal Council Study Finds CO₂-Based Enhanced Oil Recovery From Coal Benefits Environment, Energy Security And Economy

The National Coal Council (NCC) today presented the U.S. Department of Energy with the results of a comprehensive study requested by U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu. The study, "Harnessing Coal's Carbon Content to Advance the Economy, Environment and Energy Security," concludes that widespread deployment of carbon dioxide capture and utilization (CCUS) technologies at coal-based power and liquid fuels production plants could help increase domestic oil production by more than 3.5 million barrels a day for 40-plus years. The Council's findings are based on contributions from more than 60 leading energy experts in coordination with the National Petroleum Council. Since 2001, the Council has conducted six major carbon dioxide (CO2) management studies for a series of U.S. Energy Secretaries. In this recent report, the Council evaluated the potential market for using CO2 captured from the existing and newly constructed U.S. coal-based electricity fleet and potential coal-to-liquids (CTL) plants as a resource for enhanced oil recovery (EOR) operations. EOR technology has successfully increased U.S. oil production for nearly half a century.