Phoenix Chapter

Looking Ahead…

• June: Beer tasting at the Greenwood Brewery
• July: Summer break
• August: Lightening talks with Kelly Mott LaCroix, USFS
• September: Groundwater Modeling with Sorab Panday, GSI
• October: ASU Flow 2024
• November: TBD
• December: Holiday party fundraiser (location TBD)

Abstract: Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS) Potential in Southern Arizona’s Harquahala Basin as Part of a Future Southwest-US CCUS Network

The Arizona Geological Survey (AZGS) within UA is actively investigating geologic sites across Arizona where carbon dioxide (CO2) can be permanently sequestered in the deep subsurface. The Department of Energy (DOE), through Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management and National Energy Technology Laboratory, with assistance from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, is advancing nationwide carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) and carbon dioxide removal (CDR) for decarbonization during the energy transition to net-zero energy emissions by 2035. To meet these goals, AZGS is partnering with federal, state, county, and tribal governments, industry, utilities, and Arizona communities and stakeholders to evaluate feasibility, characterization, permitting and construction of CCUS storage complexes in Arizona. AZGS-UA is currently pursuing a DOE funded Phase-II feasibility study for CCUS in western Maricopa County within the Harquahala basin (Project “CO2HQ”).

The Harquahala basin, one of 57 sedimentary basins in southwestern Arizona with the potential to store large volumes of CO2 at depth, will be the focus of this talk. Based on our phase-I pre-feasibility study utilizing all available surface, subsurface, and geophysical datasets, this basin appears to meet initial criteria necessary for CCUS:

• Sufficient pore space volume below ~800 m (~2,600 ft) depth in clastic basin-fill deposits (potential CO2 reservoir)
• Storage within saline groundwater (>10,000 ppm TDS)
• Storage below an impermeable seal (bedded evaporites and clay) that separate the CO2 reservoir from USDW aquifers
• Close proximity to CO2 emission sources and pipeline infrastructure

Additionally, mafic lava flows within the reservoir rock serve as a strong candidate for rapid CO2-mineralization. Water salinity, geothermal potential, and historic seismicity were also integrated into the study. To validate these findings and address data gaps, a phase-II feasibility study to collect new high-resolution geophysical data and drill a deep stratigraphic characterization test well was proposed to DOE’s CarbonSAFE II initiative in February 2024 (pending).

This talk will also discuss the concept of a distributed “ecosystem” of CCUS in Arizona basins utilizing various resources of the deep subsurface such as geothermal potential, saline-disposal injection, stacked-storage, and multi-use storage scenarios. The current state of proposed revisions to Arizona Revised Statutes (ARS) that define pore space ownership and liability (pending), in addition to Underground Injection Control (UIC) and state primacy (pending) will also be discussed. Last, and critical to these efforts, are community outreach, engagement, and education plans necessary to address the risks and benefits associated with CCUS and CDR projects in Arizona.

Speaker: Brian Gootee

Brian Gootee, a senior research geologist and tribal liaison with the AZGS at the UA since 2007, has over three decades of experience and over eighty publications in multiple fields: geologic mapping, sedimentology, stratigraphy, sequestration, geologic hazards, hydrogeology, and outreach. Since 2020, Brian has led the Basin Analysis Group at the AZGS, specializing in research of the deep subsurface for CO2 sequestration and mineralization, hydrogen gas storage, and energy-related ecosystems. He also completed several hydrogeologic characterizations of Arizona basins for APPs and AAWS certificates while at AZGS and (previously) Dames & Moore (now URS) and Clear Creek Associates. He received his B.S. and M.S. at ASU. A native of Texas, Brian enjoys spending time with his family, backpacking, silversmithing, and woodworking.