BOEM contracted a study with ICF International in 2010 on the costs and benefits of CO2 Sequestration on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) to fulfill the cost-benefit requirements for rule-making activities designed to regulate offshore carbon sequestration. The results of the study show that with a national carbon policy, the greatest potential for offshore sequestration would be in the Gulf of Mexico with the carbon gases used for enhanced oil recovery (EOR). The study estimates undiscounted benefits from CO2 sequestration on the OCS of nearly $17 billion between 2015 and 2054, but with less than 2 percent of these benefits occurring before 2030.
Analysis of the Costs and Benefits of CO2 Sequestration on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf – September 2012 (BOEM 2012-100)