--> Abstract: Progress in CO<sub>2</sub> Storage Assurance Research, Development and Deployment, by Imbus, Scott; Dodds, Kevin; Brignoli, Marco; Dino, Rodolfo; Otto, Claus; and Duncan, Grant; #90166 (2013)

Datapages, Inc.Print this page

Progress in CO2 Storage Assurance Research, Development and Deployment

Imbus, Scott1; Dodds, Kevin; Brignoli, Marco; Dino, Rodolfo; Otto, Claus; and Duncan, Grant
1[email protected]

The future of CO2 capture and storage (CCS) as a GHG mitigation technology hinges both on the economic feasibility of the process and public acceptance of CO2 storage. Whereas economics may be improved via "utilization" (CCUS) for enhanced hydrocarbon recovery, containment security will be achieved through rigorous site assessment, monitoring and, if needed, intervention. The CO2 Capture Project (CCP), a consortium of six integrated oil and gas companies, has addressed these issues along the lines of well integrity, subsurface processes, monitoring and contingency planning since 2000.

CCP’s landmark well integrity study illustrated the importance of well cement placement as opposed to cement formulation and that geomechanical stress field changes associated with prior well operations are prerequisite to chemical degradation of well materials. Subsurface processes at the reservoir / seal system to pore scale are critical to understanding CO2 storage capacity, trapping rate and physicochemical interactions that could impact fluid flow and containment of CO2 and displaced brine. CCP’s experimental results appear to challenge current assumptions about residual trapping of CO2 and reliance on capillary entry pressure (Pc) determinations to assess top seal containment. The CCP has developed and field-trialed monitoring technologies at several storage sites. These include through-casing resistivity at the Otway depleted gas field (Victoria, Australia), borehole gravity at the Cranfield Field (Mississippi, USA), interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) at the Decatur demonstration site (Illinois, USA) and an integrated, single completion modular borehole apparatus including pressure, temperature, seismic acquisition and fluid sampling capability at Citronelle Dome (Alabama, USA). These successful deployments will help optimize the cost-effectiveness of both novel and integrated established technologies to achieve storage project assurance objectives.

A well-developed contingency plan to detect and intervene in an unexpected CO2 or brine migration event is the final layer of assurance in CO2 storage projects. CCP has developed an integrated approach to modeling and simulation of such events, assessing existing mitigation techniques and identifying further technology development needs. A detailed design and engineering plan for a "fracture-sealing" experiment at an underground lab is under development in the current phase of the program.

 

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90166©2013 AAPG International Conference & Exhibition, Cartagena, Colombia, 8-11 September 2013