Borehole seismic methods for geologic CO2 storage monitoring

2021 ◽  
Vol 40 (6) ◽  
pp. 434-441
Author(s):  
Don White ◽  
Thomas M. Daley ◽  
Björn Paulsson ◽  
William Harbert
Keyword(s):  
Co2 Storage ◽  
Geophysical Methods ◽  
Time Lapse ◽  
Microseismic Monitoring ◽  
Seismic Methods ◽  
Geologic Co2 Storage ◽  
Subsurface Monitoring ◽  
Borehole Seismic ◽  
Time Lapse Imaging

Borehole geophysical methods are a key component of subsurface monitoring of geologic CO2 storage sites because boreholes form a locus where geophysical measurements can be compared directly with the controlling geology. Borehole seismic methods, including intrawell, crosswell, and surface-to-borehole acquisition, are useful for site characterization, surface seismic calibration, 2D/3D time-lapse imaging, and microseismic monitoring. Here, we review the most common applications of borehole seismic methods in the context of storage monitoring and consider the role that detailed geophysical simulations can play in answering questions that arise when designing monitoring plans. Case study examples are included from the multitude of CO2 monitoring projects that have demonstrated the utility of borehole seismic methods for this purpose over the last 20 years.

scholarly journals Evaluating the utility of time-lapse imaging in the estimation of post-mortem interval: An Australian case study

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 204-210 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alyson Wilson ◽  
Stanley Serafin ◽  
Dilan Seckiner ◽  
Rachel Berry ◽  
Xanthé Mallett
Keyword(s):  
Time Lapse ◽  
Post Mortem ◽  
Post Mortem Interval ◽  
Australian Case ◽  
Time Lapse Imaging

Time-lapse full waveform inversion based on curvelet transform: Case study of CO2 storage monitoring

2021 ◽  
Vol 110 ◽  
pp. 103417
Author(s):  
Dong Li ◽  
Suping Peng ◽  
Xingguo Huang ◽  
Yinling Guo ◽  
Yongxu Lu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Co2 Storage ◽  
Waveform Inversion ◽  
Curvelet Transform ◽  
Time Lapse ◽  
Full Waveform Inversion ◽  
Full Waveform

ROCK PHYSICS—APPLICATION TO GEOLOGICAL STORAGE OF CO2

2003 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
pp. 567 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.J. McKenna ◽  
B. Gurevich ◽  
M. Urosevic ◽  
B.J. Evans
Keyword(s):  
Elastic Moduli ◽  
Co2 Storage ◽  
Rock Physics ◽  
Sedimentary Basins ◽  
Time Lapse ◽  
Seismic Monitoring ◽  
Potential Contribution ◽  
Underground Brine ◽  
Shear Moduli ◽  
Borehole Seismic

Sequestration of anthropogenic CO2 into underground brine-saturated reservoirs is an immediate option for Australia to reduce CO2 emissions into the atmosphere. Many sites for CO2 storage have been defined within many Australian sedimentary basins. It is anticipated that seismic technology will form the foundation for monitoring CO2 storage within the subsurface, although it is recognised that several other technologies will also be used in support of seismic or in situations where seismic recording is not suitable. The success of seismic monitoring will be determined by the magnitude of the change in the elastic properties of the reservoir during the lifecycle of CO2 storage. In the short-term, there will be a strong contrast in density and compressibility between free CO2 and brine. The contrast between these fluids is greater at shallower depth and higher temperature where CO2 resembles a vapour. The significant change in the elastic moduli of the reservoir will enable time-lapse seismic methods to readily monitor structural or hydrodynamic trapping of CO2 below an impermeable seal. Because the acoustic contrast between brine saturated with CO2 and brine containing no dissolved CO2 is very slight, however, dissolved CO2 is unlikely to be detected by any seismic technology, including high-resolution borehole seismic. The detection of increases in porosity, associated with dissolution of susceptible minerals within the reservoir may provide a means for qualitative monitoring of CO2 dissolution. Conversion of aqueous CO2 into carbonate minerals should cause a detectable rise in the elastic moduli of the rock frame, especially the shear moduli. The magnitude of this rise increases with depth and demonstrates the potential contribution that can be made from repeated shear-wave and multi-component seismic measurements. Forward modelling suggests that the optimal reservoir depth for seismic monitoring of CO2 storage within an unconsolidated reservoir is between 1,000 and 2,500 m. Higher reservoir temperature is also preferred so that free CO2 will resemble a vapour.

scholarly journals Research and Development of a Permanent OBC System for Time-lapse Seismic Survey and Microseismic Monitoring at the Offshore CO2 Storage Sites

2017 ◽  
Vol 114 ◽  
pp. 3778-3785 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ziqiu Xue ◽  
Tetsuma Toshioka ◽  
Naoshi Aoki ◽  
Yoshiaki Kawabe ◽  
Daiji Tanase
Keyword(s):  
Research And Development ◽  
Co2 Storage ◽  
Time Lapse ◽  
Microseismic Monitoring ◽  
Seismic Survey

scholarly journals Seismic time-lapse imaging using interferometric least-squares migration: Case study

2018 ◽  
Vol 66 (8) ◽  
pp. 1457-1474 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mrinal Sinha ◽  
Gerard T. Schuster
Keyword(s):  
Least Squares ◽  
Time Lapse ◽  
Time Lapse Imaging ◽  
Least Squares Migration

Time-lapse electromagnetic and gravity methods in carbon storage monitoring

2021 ◽  
Vol 40 (6) ◽  
pp. 442-446
Author(s):  
Erika Gasperikova ◽  
Yaoguo Li
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Storage ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Joint Inversion ◽  
Cost Savings ◽  
Time Lapse ◽  
Monitoring Networks ◽  
Seismic Methods ◽  
Monitoring Tools ◽  
Reliable Monitoring ◽  
Subsurface Monitoring

For geologic carbon storage (GCS), monitoring of the storage reservoir and detection of secondary plumes if they accumulate outside of the reservoir are important to confirm that the injected CO2 stays where intended. Seismic methods are most often applied but are expensive. Due to cost considerations, especially for long-term monitoring, less expensive techniques play a role when designing monitoring networks. In this article, the merits of gravity and electromagnetic (EM) methods as monitoring tools for GCS are presented. Many of the technologies are well established, and several new technologies are on the horizon. EM and gravity techniques are complementary to seismic methods and together provide better subsurface monitoring. Time-lapse multiphysics joint inversion, including seismic, EM, and gravity, could be a game changer for carbon storage monitoring. The trade-off between the sensitivity or resolution to a given plume size and the associated costs will be an important factor in selecting efficient and reliable monitoring arrays at GCS sites. Complex digital models representing geology encountered at storage sites can be used for this purpose and present another cost savings.

scholarly journals Passive seismic reflection interferometry: A case study from the Aquistore CO2 storage site, Saskatchewan, Canada

Geophysics ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 82 (3) ◽  
pp. B79-B93 ◽  
Author(s):  
Saeid Cheraghi ◽  
Donald J. White ◽  
Deyan Draganov ◽  
Gilles Bellefleur ◽  
James A. Craven ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Seismic Reflection ◽  
Ambient Noise ◽  
Co2 Storage ◽  
Time Lapse ◽  
Body Waves ◽  
Time Range ◽  
Storage Site ◽  
Passive Seismic ◽  
Forming Analysis ◽  
Time Lapse Imaging

Seismic reflection interferometry has recently been tested in a few resource-exploration applications. We have evaluated passive seismic interferometry results for data from the Aquistore [Formula: see text] storage site, Saskatchewan, Canada, with the objective of testing the method’s ability to image the subsurface geology and its potential for time-lapse imaging. We analyzed passive seismic data recorded along two perpendicular geophone lines for two time periods that include 23 days in June 2014 and 13 days in February 2015. Beam-forming analysis showed that a nearby power plant is the dominant source of ambient noise. We retrieved virtual shot gathers not only by correlating long noise panels (1 h) for both recording periods, but also by correlating shorter noise panels (10 s) from two days of each recording period. We applied illumination diagnosis to the noise panels from the two chosen days for each period to help suppress the surface waves. Comparisons of the common-midpoints stacked sections, resulting from the virtual shot gathers, with colocated active-source images and log-based synthetic seismograms showed that the best ambient-noise images were obtained for the longest recording periods. The application of illumination diagnosis revealed that only a small percentage of the noise panels are dominated by body waves. Thus, images formed using only this subset of noise panels failed to improve the images obtained from the 23 and 13 days of noise recording. To evaluate the passive images, we performed log-based correlations that showed moderate correlation ranging from approximately 0.5–0.65 in the two-way time range of 0.8–1.5 s. For the 13 to 23 days of noise used in our analysis, the resulting images at the reservoir depth of 3200 m or [Formula: see text] are unlikely to be suitable for time-lapse imaging at this site. This is most likely due to the limited directional illumination and dominance of surface-wave noise.

Feasibility of Monitoring Gas-Hydrate Production With Time-Lapse Vertical Seismic Profiling

SPE Journal ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 15 (03) ◽  
pp. 634-645 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael B. Kowalsky ◽  
Seiji Nakagawa ◽  
George J. Moridis
Keyword(s):  
Gas Hydrate ◽  
Geophysical Methods ◽  
Rock Physics ◽  
Time Lapse ◽  
Time Interval ◽  
Scale Production ◽  
Seismic Profiling ◽  
Vertical Seismic Profiling ◽  
Seismic Methods ◽  
Geophysical Surveys

Summary Many studies involving the application of geophysical methods in the field of gas hydrates have focused on determining rock-physics relationships for hydrate-bearing sediments, with the goal being to delineate the boundaries of gas-hydrate accumulations and to estimate the quantities of gas hydrate that such accumulations contain using remote-sensing techniques. However, the potential for using time-lapse geophysical methods to monitor the evolution of hydrate accumulations during production and, thus, to manage production has not been investigated. In this work, we begin to examine the feasibility of using time-lapse seismic methods—specifically, the vertical-seismic-profiling (VSP) method—for monitoring changes in hydrate accumulations that are predicted to occur during production of natural gas. A feasibility study of this nature is made possible through the coupled simulation of large-scale production in hydrate accumulations and time-lapse geophysical (seismic) surveys. We consider a hydrate accumulation in the Gulf of Mexico that may represent a promising target for production. Although the current study focuses on one seismic method (VSP), this approach can be extended easily to other geophysical methods, including other seismic methods (e.g., surface seismic or crosshole measurements) and electromagnetic surveys. In addition to examining the sensitivity of seismic attributes and parameters to the changing conditions in hydrate accumulations, our long-term goals in this work are to determine optimal sampling strategies (e.g., source frequency, time interval for data acquisition) and measurement configurations (e.g., source and receiver spacing for VSP), while taking into account uncertainties in rock-physics relationships. The numerical-modeling strategy demonstrated in this study may be used in the future to help design cost-effective geophysical surveys to track the evolution of hydrate properties. Here, we describe the modeling procedure and present some preliminary results.

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