The Department of Energy has begun a very important CO2 sequestration test project in New Mexico. The project will inject of CO2 into geoligical formations deep in the earth in New Mexico at the San Juan Basin near Navajo City, NM. This is a test project to develop information regarding long term storage (sequestration) of CO2 underground. The test is being performed with the Southwest Regional Partnership, one of seven regional partnerships that are studying the potential for sequestration of CO2 in the geological formations within each of the seven regions.

This project involves injection of 35,000 tons of CO2 into a methane coal bed. Methane is the main component of natural gas. A lot of coal reserves contain methane, however, the methane can be difficult to impossible to capture, because it has an affinity for bonding with coal. CO2 has a greater affinity for bonding with coal and will displace the methane as it tries to bond with the coal. This makes the methane easier to bring to the surface. This is called enhance methane coalbed recovery – similar to enhanced oil recovery.

The site has excellent characteristics for a long-term CO2 storage field and is considered one of the premium methane coalbed recovery sites in the U.S. One of the reasons for the high ranking, is the permeability of the coal. The other reasons include the presence of recoverable methane, a well developed pipeline system and the availability of CO2 from regional industries.

CO2 is a green house gas widely believed to contribute to global warming. Storing the CO2 underground is oil and gas geological formations is practice that will prevent the CO2 from entering the atmosphere.