Importance of 3-Way Coupled Modelling for Carbon Dioxide Sequestration in Depleted Reservoir

Abstract Carbon sequestration is the process of capturing and storage of atmospheric carbon dioxide. The objective of any carbon sequestration project is to store CO2 safely for hundreds or thousands of years with a goal of reducing global climate change. A depleted hydrocarbon reservoir is one of the potential storage sites being considered for long-term CO2 storage. The dynamic, geochemical, and geomechanics changes that occur during CO2 injection are inter-related. For example, when injected CO2 causes dissolution of reservoir rock, on one hand, porosity increases while rock strength decreases. On the other hand, reduced rock strength could cause additional compaction thus reducing porosity, whereas increase in pressure due to injection could cause dilation. Hence, it is critical to have an integrated model that captures effect of all changes on the storage capacity and integrity of the reservoir. Three major depleted gas reservoirs in Central Luconia field, located offshore Sarawak, are being evaluated for future CO2 storage. A 3-way coupled modelling approach that integrates dynamic model, geochemistry model, and geomechanics model is utilized to obtain cumulative effect of all three changes. This integrated model provides a more accurate estimate of 1) CO2 storage capacity, 2) Caprock integrity evaluation, 3) CO2 plume migration path, and 4) Volume of CO2 stored through different storage mechanisms (viz. hydrodynamic trapping, capillary trapping, solubility trapping, and mineral trapping). Apart from providing storage capacity, this model also provides inputs for evaluating integrity of caprock, fault reactivation study, MMV (Measurement, Monitoring, and Verification) planning, and estimating potential leak rates through plugged and abandoned wells. Using a 3-way coupled model, it is estimated that there is an average reduction in porosity of 5-10% (of initial porosity). This translates to an equivalent reduction in CO2 storage capacity of 5-10% compared to dynamic model. It is observed that pore collapse as a result of pressure depletion is primarily responsible for this reduction in porosity. It has also been observed that the injection can be continued till initial reservoir pressure is reached without breaching caprock integrity. CO2 plume migration path significantly affects MMV planning. Potential leak rate estimation is critical in mitigation and contingency planning.

Download Full-text

Numerical Simulation of Geological Carbon Sequestration in Saline Aquifers: Three Case Studies

ASME 2013 7th International Conference on Energy Sustainability ◽

10.1115/es2013-18025 ◽

2013 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Zheming Zhang ◽

Ramesh Agarwal

Keyword(s):

Carbon Sequestration ◽

Numerical Simulations ◽

History Matching ◽

Large Scale ◽

Co2 Storage ◽

Economic Feasibility ◽

Saline Aquifers ◽

Saline Aquifer ◽

Geological Carbon Sequestration ◽

Plume Migration

Geological carbon sequestration (GCS) is one of the most promising technologies to address the issue of excessive anthropogenic CO2 emissions in the atmosphere due to fossil fuel combustion for electricity generation. For GCS, the saline aquifer geological carbon sequestration is considered very attractive compared to other options because of their huge sequestration capacity in U.S. and other parts of the world. However, in order to fully exploit their potential, the injection strategies need to be investigated that can address the issues of both the CO2 storage efficiency and safety along with their economic feasibility. Numerical simulations can be used to determine these strategies before the deployment of full scale sequestration in saline aquifers. This paper presents the numerical simulations of CO2 sequestration in three large identified saline aquifers (Mt. Simon, Frio, Utsira) where the sequestration is currently underway or has recently been completed (in case of Frio). The numerical simulations are in acceptable agreement with the seismic data available for plume migration. The results of large scale history-matching simulation in Mt. Simon, Frio, and Utsira formations provide important insights in the uncertainties associated with the numerical modeling of saline aquifer GCS.

Download Full-text

Optimization Wells Placement Policy for Enhanced CO2 Storage Capacity in Mature Oil Reservoirs

Energies ◽

10.3390/en13164054 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 13 (16) ◽

pp. 4054

Author(s):

Michał Kuk ◽

Edyta Kuk ◽

Damian Janiga ◽

Paweł Wojnarowski ◽

Jerzy Stopa

Keyword(s):

Carbon Dioxide ◽

Carbon Dioxide Emissions ◽

Storage Capacity ◽

Co2 Storage ◽

Oil Field ◽

Ecological Effect ◽

Co2 Injection ◽

Reservoir Properties ◽

Injection Wells ◽

Co2 Eor

One of the possibilities to reduce carbon dioxide emissions is the use of the CCS method, which consists of CO2 separation, transport and injection of carbon dioxide into geological structures such as depleted oil fields for its long-term storage. The combination of the advanced oil production method involving the injection of carbon dioxide into the reservoir (CO2-EOR) with its geological sequestration (CCS) is the CCS-EOR process. To achieve the best ecological effect, it is important to maximize the storage capacity for CO2 injected in the CCS phase. To achieve this state, it is necessary to maximize recovery factor of the reservoir during the CO2-EOR phase. For this purpose, it is important to choose the best location of CO2 injection wells. In this work, a new algorithm to optimize the location of carbon dioxide injection wells is developed. It is based on two key reservoir properties, i.e., porosity and permeability. The developed optimization procedure was tested on an exemplary oil field simulation model. The obtained results were compared with the option of arbitrary selection of injection well locations, which confirmed both the legitimacy of using well location optimization and the effectiveness of the developed optimization method.

Download Full-text

The realities of storing carbon dioxide - A response to CO2 storage capacity issues raised by Ehlig-Economides & Economides

Nature Precedings ◽

10.1038/npre.2010.4500.1 ◽

2010 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Andy Chadwick ◽

Dan Smith ◽

Chris Hodrien ◽

Sue Hovorka ◽

Eric Mackay ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Carbon Dioxide ◽

Storage Capacity ◽

Co2 Storage

Download Full-text

Different Flow Behaviors of Low-Pressure and High-Pressure Carbon Dioxide in Shales

SPE Journal ◽

10.2118/191121-pa ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 23 (04) ◽

pp. 1452-1468 ◽

Cited By ~ 25

Author(s):

Bao Jia ◽

Jyun-Syung Tsau ◽

Reza Barati

Keyword(s):

Carbon Dioxide ◽

High Pressure ◽

Storage Capacity ◽

Co2 Storage ◽

Low Pressure ◽

Apparent Porosity ◽

Apparent Permeability ◽

Adsorbed Phase ◽

Wide Range ◽

Shale Reservoirs

Summary Understanding carbon dioxide (CO2) storage capacity and flow behavior in shale reservoirs is important for the performance of both CO2-related improved oil recovery (IOR) and enhanced gas recovery (EGR) and of carbon sequestration. However, the literature lacks sufficient experimental data and a deep understanding of CO2 permeability and storage capacity in shale reservoirs under a wide range of pressure. In this study, we aimed to fill this gap by investigating and comparing CO2-transport mechanisms in shale reservoirs under low- and high-pressure conditions. Nearly 40 pressure-pulse-transmission tests were performed with CO2, helium (He), and nitrogen (N2) for comparison. Tests were conducted under constant effective stress with multistage increased pore pressures (0 to 2,000 psi) and constant temperature. The gas-adsorption capacity for CO2 and N2 was measured in terms of both Gibbs and absolute adsorption. Afterward, the gas apparent permeability was calculated incorporating various flow mechanisms before the adsorption-free permeability was estimated to evaluate the adsorption contribution to the gas-transport efficiency. The results indicate that He permeability is the highest among the three types of gas, and the characteristic of CO2 petrophysical properties differs from the other two types of gas in shale reservoirs. CO2 apparent porosity and apparent permeability both decline sharply across the phase-change region. The adsorbed phase significantly increases the apparent porosity, which is directly measured from the pulse-decay experiment; it contributes positively to the low-pressure CO2 permeability but negatively to the high-pressure CO2 permeability.

Download Full-text

Effect of the number of water alternating CO2 injection cycles on CO2 trapping capacity

The APPEA Journal ◽

10.1071/aj18191 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 59 (1) ◽

pp. 357 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Emad A. Al-Khdheeawi ◽

Stephanie Vialle ◽

Ahmed Barifcani ◽

Mohammad Sarmadivaleh ◽

Stefan Iglauer

Keyword(s):

Storage Capacity ◽

Co2 Storage ◽

Storage Period ◽

Co2 Injection ◽

Co2 Leakage ◽

Storage Efficiency ◽

Reservoir Model ◽

Plume Migration ◽

The Impact ◽

Injection Cycle

The CO2 storage capacity is greatly affected by CO2 injection scenario – i.e. water alternating CO2 (WACO2) injection, intermittent injection, and continuous CO2 injection – and WACO2 injection strongly improves the CO2 trapping capacity. However, the impact of the number of WACO2 injection cycles on CO2 trapping capacity is not clearly understood. Thus, we developed a 3D reservoir model to simulate WACO2 injection in deep reservoirs testing different numbers of WACO2 injection cycles (i.e. one, two, and three), and the associated CO2 trapping capacity and CO2 plume migration were predicted. For all different WACO2 injection cycle scenarios, 5000 kton of CO2 and 5000 kton of water were injected at a depth of 2275m and 2125m respectively, during a 10-year injection period. Then, a 100-year CO2 storage period was simulated. Our simulation results clearly showed, after 100 years of storage, that the number of WACO2 cycles affected the vertical CO2 leakage and the capacity of trapped CO2. The results showed that increasing the number of WACO2 cycles decreased the vertical CO2 leakage. Furthermore, a higher number of WACO2 cycles increased residual trapping, and reduced solubility trapping. Thus, the number of WACO2 cycles significantly affected CO2 storage efficiency, and higher numbers of WACO2 cycles improved CO2 storage capacity.

Download Full-text

Body carbon dioxide storage capacity in exercise

Journal of Applied Physiology ◽

10.1152/jappl.1979.46.4.811 ◽

1979 ◽

Vol 46 (4) ◽

pp. 811-815 ◽

Cited By ~ 29

Author(s):

N. L. Jones ◽

J. E. Jurkowski

Keyword(s):

Carbon Dioxide ◽

Power Output ◽

Storage Capacity ◽

Co2 Storage ◽

Progressive Increase ◽

Co2 Output ◽

Higher Power ◽

Venous Pco2 ◽

End Tidal ◽

Mixed Venous

Body CO2 storage capacity was measured in nine subjects at two levels of exercise, approximating 30 and 60% VO2max, by measuring the excess CO2 output associated with hyperventilation at constant end-tidal PCO2, and the change in mixed venous PCO2 (PVCO2) measured by rebreathing. CO2 output was measured during 20-s periods and monitored throughout the procedure; hyperventilation was continued until CO2 output had returned to control values. Washout of CO2 was more rapid than previously found at rest, 90% of the change following an increase in ventilation occurring within 4 min. CO2 storage capacity was 1.83 +/- 0.552 (SD) ml-kg--1.Torr--1 at the lower power output and 1.19 +/- 0.490 ml-kg--1.Torr--1 at the higher power output. The CO2 storage capacity was inversely related to PVCO2. It was concluded that the body's capacity to store CO2 decreases with increasing PVCO2; this may be one factor leading to the progressive increase in pulmonary CO2 output at high levels of exercise.

Download Full-text