GEOLOGICAL STORAGE OF CARBON DIOXIDE: MODELLING THE EARLY CRETACEOUS SUCCESSION IN THE BARROW SUB-BASIN, NORTHWEST AUSTRALIA

2004 ◽  
Vol 44 (1) ◽  
pp. 653 ◽  
Author(s):  
C.M. Gibson-Poole ◽  
J.E. Streit ◽  
S.C. Lang ◽  
A.L. Hennig ◽  
C.J. Otto

Potential sites for geological storage of CO2 require detailed assessment of storage capacity, containment potential and migration pathways. A possible candidate is the Flag Sandstone of the Barrow Sub-basin, northwest Australia, sealed by the Muderong Shale. The Flag Sandstone consists of a series of stacked, amalgamated, basin floor fan lobes with good lateral interconnectivity. The main reservoir sandstones have high reservoir quality with an average porosity of 21% and an average permeability of about 1,250 mD. The Muderong Shale has excellent seal capacity, with the potential to withhold an average CO2 column height of 750 m. Other containment issues were addressed by in situ stress and fault stability analysis. An average orientation of 095°N for the maximum horizontal stress was estimated. The stress regime is strike-slip at the likely injection depth (below 1,800 m). Most of the major faults in the study area have east-northeast to northeast trends and failure plots indicate that some of these faults may be reactivated if CO2 injection pressures are not monitored closely. Where average fault dips are known, maximum sustainable formation pressures were estimated to be less than 27 MPa at 2 km depth. Hydrodynamic modelling indicated that the pre-production regional formation water flow direction was from the sub-basin margins towards the centre, with an exit point to the southwest. However, this flow direction and rate have been altered by a hydraulic low in the eastern part of the sub-basin due to hydrocarbon production. The integrated site analysis indicates a potential CO2 storage capacity in the order of thousands of Mtonnes. Such capacity for geological storage could provide a technical solution for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Author(s):  
Zheming Zhang ◽  
Ramesh Agarwal

With recent concerns on CO2 emissions from coal fired electricity generation plants; there has been major emphasis on the development of safe and economical Carbon Dioxide Capture and Sequestration (CCS) technology worldwide. Saline reservoirs are attractive geological sites for CO2 sequestration because of their huge capacity for sequestration. Over the last decade, numerical simulation codes have been developed in U.S, Europe and Japan to determine a priori the CO2 storage capacity of a saline aquifer and provide risk assessment with reasonable confidence before the actual deployment of CO2 sequestration can proceed with enormous investment. In U.S, TOUGH2 numerical simulator has been widely used for this purpose. However at present it does not have the capability to determine optimal parameters such as injection rate, injection pressure, injection depth for vertical and horizontal wells etc. for optimization of the CO2 storage capacity and for minimizing the leakage potential by confining the plume migration. This paper describes the development of a “Genetic Algorithm (GA)” based optimizer for TOUGH2 that can be used by the industry with good confidence to optimize the CO2 storage capacity in a saline aquifer of interest. This new code including the TOUGH2 and the GA optimizer is designated as “GATOUGH2”. It has been validated by conducting simulations of three widely used benchmark problems by the CCS researchers worldwide: (a) Study of CO2 plume evolution and leakage through an abandoned well, (b) Study of enhanced CH4 recovery in combination with CO2 storage in depleted gas reservoirs, and (c) Study of CO2 injection into a heterogeneous geological formation. Our results of these simulations are in excellent agreement with those of other researchers obtained with different codes. The validated code has been employed to optimize the proposed water-alternating-gas (WAG) injection scheme for (a) a vertical CO2 injection well and (b) a horizontal CO2 injection well, for optimizing the CO2 sequestration capacity of an aquifer. These optimized calculations are compared with the brute force nearly optimized results obtained by performing a large number of calculations. These comparisons demonstrate the significant efficiency and accuracy of GATOUGH2 as an optimizer for TOUGH2. This capability holds a great promise in studying a host of other problems in CO2 sequestration such as how to optimally accelerate the capillary trapping, accelerate the dissolution of CO2 in water or brine, and immobilize the CO2 plume.


2004 ◽  
Vol 44 (1) ◽  
pp. 677 ◽  
Author(s):  
A.R. Bowden ◽  
A. Rigg

A key challenge to researchers involved with geological storage of CO2 has been to develop an appropriate methodology to assess and compare alternative CO2 injection projects on the basis of risk. Technical aspects, such as the risk of leakage and the effectiveness of the intended reservoir, clearly need to be considered, but so do less tangible aspects such as the value and safety of geological storage of CO2, and potential impacts on the community and environment.The RISQUE method has been applied and found to be an appropriate approach to deliver a transparent risk assessment process that can interface with the wider community and allow stakeholders to assess whether the CO2 injection process is safe, measurable and verifiable and whether a selected alternative delivers cost-effective greenhouse benefits.In Australia, under the GEODISC program, the approach was applied to assess the risk posed by conceptual CO2 injection projects in four selected areas: Dongara, Petrel, Gippsland and Carnarvon. The assessment derived outputs that address key project performance indicators that:are useful to compare projects;include technical, economic and community risk events;assist communication of risk to stakeholders;can be incorporated into risk management design of injection projects; andhelp identify specific areas for future research.The approach is to use quantitative techniques to characterise risk in terms of both the likelihood of identified risk events occurring (such as CO2 escape and inadequate injectivity into the storage site) and of their consequences (such as environmental damage and loss of life). The approach integrates current best practice risk assessment methods with best available information provided by an expert panel.The results clearly showed the relationships between containment and effectiveness for all of the four conceptual CO2 injection projects and indicated their acceptability with respect to two KPIs. Benefit-cost analysis showed which projects would probably be viable considering base-case economics, greenhouse benefits, and also the case after risk is taken into account. A societal risk profile was derived to compare the public safety risk posed by the injection projects with commonly accepted engineering target guidelines used for dams. The levels of amenity risk posed to the community by the projects were assessed, and their acceptability with respect to the specific KPI was evaluated.The risk assessment method and structure that was used should be applied to other potential CO2 injection sites to compare and rank their suitability, and to assist selection of the most appropriate site for any injection project. These sites can be reassessed at any time, as further information becomes available.


SPE Journal ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 17 (04) ◽  
pp. 1108-1118 ◽  
Author(s):  
M.. Jin ◽  
G.. Pickup ◽  
E.. Mackay ◽  
A.. Todd ◽  
M.. Sohrabi ◽  
...  

Summary Estimation of carbon dioxide (CO2)-storage capacity is a key step in the appraisal of CO2-storage sites. Different calculation methods may lead to widely diverging values. The compressibility method is a commonly used static method for estimating storage capacity of saline aquifers: It is simple, is easy to use, and requires a minimum of input data. Alternatively, a numerical reservoir simulation provides a dynamic method that includes Darcy flow calculations. More input data are required for dynamic simulation, and it is more computationally intensive, but it takes into account migration pathways and dissolution effects, so it is generally more accurate and more useful. For example, the CO2-migration plume may be used to identify appropriate monitoring techniques, and the analysis of the trapping mechanism for a certain site will help to optimize well location and the injection plan. Two hypothetical saline-aquifer storage sites in the UK, one in Lincolnshire and the other in the Firth of Forth, were analyzed. The Lincolnshire site has a comparatively simple geology, while the Forth site has a more complex geology. For each site, both static- and dynamic-capacity calculations were performed. In the static method, CO2 was injected until the average pressure reached a critical value. In the migration-monitoring case, CO2 was injected for 15 years, and was followed by a closure period lasting thousands of years. The fraction of dissolved CO2 and the fraction immobilized by pore-scale trapping were calculated. The results of both geological systems show that the migration of CO2 is strongly influenced by the local heterogeneity. The calculated storage efficiency for the Lincolnshire site varied between 0.34% and 0.65% of the total pore-volume, depending on whether the system boundaries were considered open or closed. Simulation of the deeper, more complex Forth geological system gave storage capacities as high as 1.05%. This work was part of the CO2-Aquifer-Storage Site Evaluation and Monitoring (CASSEM) integrated study to derive methodologies for assessment of CO2 storage in saline formations. Although static estimates are useful for initial assessment when fewer data are available, we demonstrate the value of performing dynamic storage calculations and the opportunities to identify mechanisms for optimizing the storage capacity.


2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 1504-1512 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas A. Buscheck ◽  
Joshua A. White ◽  
Susan A. Carroll ◽  
Jeffrey M. Bielicki ◽  
Roger D. Aines

By removing brine from a reservoir prior to storing CO2, storage capacity can be increased by nearly an equivalent volume.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahmad Ismail Azahree ◽  
Farhana Jaafar Azuddin ◽  
Siti Syareena Mohd Ali ◽  
Muhammad Hamzi Yakup ◽  
Mohd Azlan Mustafa ◽  
...  

Abstract A depleted gas field is selected as CO2 storage site for future high CO2 content gas field development in Malaysia. The reservoir selected is a carbonate buildup of middle to late Miocene age. This paper describes an integrated modeling approach to evaluate CO2 sequestration potential in depleted carbonate gas reservoir. Integrated dynamic-geochemical and dynamic-geomechanics coupled modeling is required to properly address the risks and uncertainties such as, effect of compaction and subsidence during post-production and injection. The main subsurface uncertainties for assessing the CO2 storage potential are (i) CO2 storage capacity due to higher abandonment pressure (ii) CO2 containment due to geomechanical risks (iii) change in reservoir properties due to reaction of reservoir rock with injected CO2. These uncertainties have been addressed by first building the compositional dynamic model adequately history matched to the production data, and then coupling with geomechanical model and geochemical module during the CO2 injection phase. This is to further study on the trapping mechanisms, caprock integrity, compaction-subsidence implication towards maximum storage capacity and injectivity. The initial standalone dynamic modeling poses few challenges to match the water production in the field due to presence of karsts, extent of a baffle zone between the aquifer and producing zones and uncertainty in the aquifer volume. The overall depletion should be matched, since the field abandonment pressure impacts the CO2 injectivity and storage capacity. A reasonably history matched coupled dynamic-geomechanical model is used as base case for simulating CO2 injection. The dynamic-geomechanical coupling is done with 8 stress steps based on critical pressure changes throughout production and CO2 injection phase. Overburden and reservoir properties has been mapped in Geomechanical grid and was run using two difference constitutive model; Mohr's Coulomb and Modified Cam Clay respectively. The results are then calibrated with real subsidence measurement at platform location. This coupled model has been used to predict the maximum CO2 injection rate of 100 MMscf/d/well and a storage capacity of 1.34 Tscf. The model allows to best design the injection program in terms of well location, target injection zone and surface facilities design. This coupled modeling study is used to mature the field as a viable storage site. The established workflow starting from static model to coupled model to forecasting can be replicated in other similar projects to ensure the subsurface robustness, reduce uncertainty and risk mitigation of the field for CO2 storage site.


2006 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
pp. 413 ◽  
Author(s):  
C.M. Gibson-Poole ◽  
L. Svendsen ◽  
J. Underschultz ◽  
M.N. Watson ◽  
J. Ennis-King ◽  
...  

Geosequestration of CO2 in the offshore Gippsland Basin is being investigated by the CO2CRC as a possible method for storing the very large volumes of CO2 emissions from the Latrobe Valley area. A storage capacity of about 50 million tonnes of CO2 per year for a 40-year injection period is required, which will necessitate several individual storage sites to be used both sequentially and simultaneously, but timed such that existing hydrocarbon assets are not compromised. Detailed characterisation focussed on the Kingfish Field area as the first site to be potentially used, in the anticipation that this oil field will be depleted within the period 2015–25. The potential injection targets are the interbedded sandstones, shales and coals of the Paleocene-Eocene upper Latrobe Group, regionally sealed by the Lakes Entrance Formation. The research identified several features to the offshore Gippsland Basin that make it particularly favourable for CO2 storage. These include: a complex stratigraphic architecture that provides baffles which slow vertical migration and increase residual gas trapping; non-reactive reservoir units that have high injectivity; a thin, suitably reactive, low permeability marginal reservoir just below the regional seal providing additional mineral trapping; several depleted oil fields that provide storage capacity coupled with a transient flow regime arising from production that enhances containment; and, long migration pathways beneath a competent regional seal. This study has shown that the Gippsland Basin has sufficient capacity to store very large volumes of CO2. It may provide a solution to the problem of substantially reducing greenhouse gas emissions from the use of new coal developments in the Latrobe Valley.


2021 ◽  
pp. petgeo2020-117
Author(s):  
Giampaolo Proietti ◽  
Marko Cvetković ◽  
Bruno Saftić ◽  
Alessia Conti ◽  
Valentina Romano ◽  
...  

One of the most innovative and effective technologies developed in recent decades for reducing carbon dioxide emissions to the atmosphere is CCS (Carbon Capture & Storage). It consists of capture, transport and injection of CO2 produced by energy production plants or other industries. The injection takes place in deep geological formations with the suitable geometrical and petrophysical characteristics to permanently trap CO2 in the subsurface, which is called geological storage. In the development process of a potential geological storage site, correct capacity estimation of the injectable volumes of CO2 is one of the most important aspects. There are various approaches to estimate CO2 storage capacities for potential traps, including geometrical equations, dynamic modelling, numerical modelling, and 3D modelling. In this work, generation of three-dimensional petrophysical models and equations for calculation of the storage volumesare used to estimate the effective storage capacity of four potential saline aquifers in the Adriatic Sea offshore. The results show how different saline aquifers, with different lithologies at favourable depths, can host a fair amount of CO2, that will imply a further and more detailed feasibility studies for each of these structures. A detailed analysis is carried out for each saline aquifer identified, varying the parameters of each structure identified, and adapting them for a realistic estimate of potential geological storage capacity.Thematic collection: This article is part of the Geoscience for CO2 storage collection available at: https://www.lyellcollection.org/cc/geoscience-for-co2-storage


Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (24) ◽  
pp. 8604
Author(s):  
Katarzyna Luboń

An analysis of the influence of injection well location on CO2 storage efficiency was carried out for three well-known geological structures (traps) in deep aquifers of the Lower Jurassic Polish Lowlands. Geological models of the structures were used to simulate CO2 injection at fifty different injection well locations. A computer simulation showed that the dynamic CO2 storage capacity varies depending on the injection well location. It was found that the CO2 storage efficiency for structures with good reservoir properties increases with increasing distance of the injection well from the top of the structure and with increasing depth difference to the top of the structure. The opposite is true for a structure with poor reservoir properties. As the quality of the petrophysical reservoir parameters (porosity and permeability) improves, the location of the injection well becomes more important when assessing the CO2 storage efficiency. Maps of dynamic CO2 storage capacity and CO2 storage efficiency are interesting tools to determine the best location of a carbon dioxide injection well in terms of gas storage capacity.


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