In October 2000, Cenovus (formerly Pan Canadian, Encana) began injecting significant amounts of carbon dioxide into the Weyburn field in order to boost oil production.
Cenovus was the operator and held the largest share of the 37 current partners in the oilfield prior to the sale of local assets to Whitecap in 2017.
Overall, it is anticipated that some 40 Mt of carbon dioxide will be permanently sequestered over the lifespan of the project in the Weyburn and Midale fields.
This is the first instance of cross-border transfer of CO2 from the US to Canada and highlights the ability for international cooperation with GHG mitigation technologies.
The First Phase of the IEAGHG Weyburn CO2 Monitoring and Storage Project (the Midale oil field did not join the research project until the Final phase research) which began in 2000 and ended in 2004, verified the ability of an oil reservoir to securely store CO2 for significant lengths of time.
A critical part of the First Phase was the accumulation of baseline surveys for both CO2 soil content, and water wells in the area.
These baselines were identified in 2001 and have helped to confirm through comparison with more recent readings that CO2 is not leaking from the reservoir into the biosphere in the study area.
The research of the project's final phase should be complete in 2011, with the Best Practices Manual issued before the end of that year.
The report said that carbon dioxide levels in the soil averaged about 23,000 parts per million, several times higher than is normal for the area.
[7] The PTRC posted an extensive rebuttal of the Petro-Find report, stating that the isotopic signatures of the CO2, claimed by Mr. Lafleur to be indicative of the manmade CO2 being injected into the reservoir, were in fact, according to studies of CO2 conducted by the British Geological Survey and two other European Union geological groups prior to CO2 being injected at Weyburn, occurring naturally in several locations near the Kerr farm.
The report also questions, based on seismic imaging conducted over ten years, that any active faults exist or that the caprock is compromised to allow pathways for the CO2 to reach the surface.