--> Abstract: Suitability of the Dryland Fluvial-Aeolian Sediments and Its Depositional System for CO2 Sequestration, Analogues Study from Umbum Creek, Lake Eyre, Central Australia, by Saju Menacherry, Simon Lang, Tobias Payenberg, and John Kaldi; #90082 (2008)

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Suitability of the Dryland Fluvial-Aeolian Sediments and Its Depositional System for CO2 Sequestration, Analogues Study from Umbum Creek, Lake Eyre, Central Australia

Saju Menacherry1, Simon Lang2, Tobias Payenberg3, and John Kaldi4
1Australian School of Petroleum, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia
2Woodside Energy Ltd, Perth, WA, Australia
3Chevron Energy Technology Pty Ltd, Perth, WA, Australia
4Australian School of Petroleum, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia

The efficiency of CO2 geological storage is determined by the depositional system of the sedimentary basins, in which the storage reservoir qualities of subsurface reservoir rocks are primarily controlled by their composition, texture and grain size. The ability to quantifiably predict such porosity and permeability is a significant factor in storage reservoir quality forward modeling
The degree of reaction, reaction rates and mineralogical storage of CO2 are dependent on mineral assemblage, concentration of CO2 in the gas and CO2-water ratios. Immediately after injection, the CO2 will be stored as a free phase within the host rock. Over time, it will dissolve into the local formation water and initiate a variety of geochemical reactions.

Sediments from the modern dryland fluvial-aeolian Umbum Creek, western Lake Eyre Basin, Central Australia reflect the nature of the hinterland region, drainage basin and depositional environment. Initial rock compositions such as mineralogy, texture and grain size are the main influence on geochemical processes to become permanently trapped in the sedimentary basin by ‘ionic’ or ‘mineral’ trapping.

In the case of the Umbum Creek sands, the medium to coarse grain size, 88-92% of quartz, less than 2% of feldspar and less than 10% of lithic fragments, together with subrounded to rounded grains, moderately well sorting and very little in clay content, leads to a suitable candidate for good storage reservoir quality, if buried. However, the high evaporation conditions in the terminal splay complex environment lead to the growth of gypsum, anhydrite and salt in the sands. A similar analysis of a sedimentary basin could lead to a better assessment of CO2 geological storage quality prior to sequestration.

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