EOR

EOR (enhanced oil recovery) is the economically dominant use of captured CO₂ in the United States, accounting for ~70 % of current CCS flows. Technically, some CO₂ remains stored in the geological reservoir after injection. Economically, CO₂ funds and prolongs oil production: the extracted oil will be burned, generating its own emissions. The net climate calculation is highly sensitive to the parameters (retention rate of injected CO₂, footprint of the oil replaced). This is the main political controversy surrounding CCS: in a net-zero framework, captured CO₂ used to produce more oil raises questions about the very purpose of CCS.