Strategic Design Optimization of CO2 Transportation: A Case Study for Lobos Pipeline In New Mexico

Abstract The development of CO2 transportation infrastructure is vital to addressing the increasing demand for Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) and Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS) initiatives. This work presents the technical design of a 214-mile CO2 pipeline intended to transport 1 MMton/year of CO2 from the St. Johns Dome, a natural CO2 source located on the Arizona-New Mexico border, to the Permian Basin in Texas. Initially planned as part of the Lobos CO2 pipeline system, the project aims to expand the availability of natural CO2 supplies for industrial and environmental applications in the future. Our approach incorporates standard CO2 data from National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) across varying pressures and temperatures—such as density, viscosity, and phase behavior—to perform flow simulations and optimize the pipeline design. Using a computational simulator with hydraulic model consideration, detailed conditions of CO2 flow under diverse operational conditions can be obtained. This modeling enables the careful selection of the pipeline diameter, the number and placement of booster pump stations, the appropriate operating pressures and temperatures, and the velocity constraint consideration for erosion and corrosion of pipeline. The design ensures that CO2 remains in its supercritical state throughout the transport route, preventing phase transitions that could disrupt flow stability and efficiency while minimizing project costs. This comprehensive strategy supports the development of cost-effective, efficient, and reliable CO2 transportation infrastructure.