scholarly journals Numerical Simulation and Optimization of CO2 Sequestration in Saline Aquifers

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.

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.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pankaj Kumar Tiwari ◽  
Debasis Priyadarshan Das ◽  
Parimal Arjun Patil ◽  
Prasanna Chidambaram ◽  
Zoann Low ◽  
...  

Abstract CO2 sequestration is a process for eternity with a possibility of zero-degree failure. Monitoring, Measurement and Verification (MMV) planning of CO2 sequestration is crucial along with geological site selection, transportation and injection process. Several geological formations have been evaluated in the past for potential storage site which divulges the containment capacity of identified large, depleted gas reservoirs as well as long term conformance. Offshore environment makes MMV plan challenging and demands rigorous integration of monitoring technologies to optimize project economic and involved logistics. The role of MMV is critical for sustainability of the CO2 storage project as it ensures that injected CO2 in the reservoir is intact and safely stored for hundreds of years post-injection. Field specific MMV technologies for CO2 plume migration with proactive approach were identified after exercising pre-defined screening criteria. Marine CO2 dispersion study is carried out to confirm the impact of any potential leakage along existing wells and faults, and to understand the CO2 behavior in marine environment in the event of leakage. Study incorporates integration of G&G subsurface and Meta-Ocean & Environment data along with other leakage character information. Multi-Fiber Optic Sensors System (M-FOSS) to be installed in injector wells for monitoring well & reservoir integrity, overburden integrity and monitoring of early CO2 plume migration by acquiring & analyzing the distributed sensing data (DTS/DPS/DAS/DSS). Based on 3D couple modeling, a maximum injection rate of approximately 200 MMscfd of permeate stream produced from a high CO2 contaminated gas field can be achieved. Injectivity studies indicate that over 100 MMSCFD of CO2 injection rates into depleted gas reservoir is possible from a single injector. Injectivity results are integrated with dynamic simulation to determine number and location of injector wells. 3D DAS-VSP simulation results show that a subsurface coverage of approximately 3 km2 per well is achievable, which along with simulated CO2 plume extent help to determine the number of wells required to get maximum monitoring coverage for the MMV planning. As planned injector wells are field centric and storage site area is large, DAS-VSP find limited coverage to monitor the CO2 plume. To overcome this challenge, requirement of surface seismic acquisition survey is recommended for full field monitoring. An integrated MMV plan is designed for cost-effective long-term offshore monitoring of CO2 plume migration. The present study discusses the impacting parameters which make the whole process environmentally sustainable, economically viable and adhering to national and international regulations.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Changqing Yao ◽  
Hongquan Chen ◽  
Akhil Datta-Gupta ◽  
Sanjay Mawalkar ◽  
Srikanta Mishra ◽  
...  

Abstract Geologic CO2 sequestration and CO2 enhanced oil recovery (EOR) have received significant attention from the scientific community as a response to climate change from greenhouse gases. Safe and efficient management of a CO2 injection site requires spatio-temporal tracking of the CO2 plume in the reservoir during geologic sequestration. The goal of this paper is to develop robust modeling and monitoring technologies for imaging and visualization of the CO2 plume using routine pressure/temperature measurements. The streamline-based technology has proven to be effective and efficient for reconciling geologic models to various types of reservoir dynamic response. In this paper, we first extend the streamline-based data integration approach to incorporate distributed temperature sensor (DTS) data using the concept of thermal tracer travel time. Then, a hierarchical workflow composed of evolutionary and streamline methods is employed to jointly history match the DTS and pressure data. Finally, CO2 saturation and streamline maps are used to visualize the CO2 plume movement during the sequestration process. The power and utility of our approach are demonstrated using both synthetic and field applications. We first validate the streamline-based DTS data inversion using a synthetic example. Next, the hierarchical workflow is applied to a carbon sequestration project in a carbonate reef reservoir within the Northern Niagaran Pinnacle Reef Trend in Michigan, USA. The monitoring data set consists of distributed temperature sensing (DTS) data acquired at the injection well and a monitoring well, flowing bottom-hole pressure data at the injection well, and time-lapse pressure measurements at several locations along the monitoring well. The history matching results indicate that the CO2 movement is mostly restricted to the intended zones of injection which is consistent with an independent warmback analysis of the temperature data. The novelty of this work is the streamline-based history matching method for the DTS data and its field application to the Department of Engergy regional carbon sequestration project in Michigan.


2011 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 318-326 ◽  
Author(s):  
Toyokazu Ogawa ◽  
Shigetaka Nakanishi ◽  
Takumi Shidahara ◽  
Tadahiko Okumura ◽  
Eiji Hayashi

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.


2019 ◽  
Vol 59 (2) ◽  
pp. 762
Author(s):  
Mohammad B. Bagheri ◽  
Matthias Raab

Carbon capture utilisation and storage (CCUS) is a rapidly emerging field in the Australian oil and gas industry to address carbon emissions while securing reliable energy. Although there are similarities with many aspects of the oil and gas industry, subsurface CO2 storage has some unique geology and geophysics, and reservoir engineering considerations, for which we have developed specific workflows. This paper explores the challenges and risks that a reservoir engineer might face during a field-scale CO2 injection project, and how to address them. We first explain some of the main concepts of reservoir engineering in CCUS and their synergy with oil and gas projects, followed by the required inputs for subsurface studies. We will subsequently discuss the importance of uncertainty analysis and how to de-risk a CCUS project from the subsurface point of view. Finally, two different case studies will be presented, showing how the CCUS industry should use reservoir engineering analysis, dynamic modelling and uncertainty analysis results, based on our experience in the Otway Basin. The first case study provides a summary of CO2CRC storage research injection results and how we used the dynamic models to history match the results and understand CO2 plume behaviour in the reservoir. The second case study shows how we used uncertainty analysis to improve confidence on the CO2 plume behaviour and to address regulatory requirements. An innovative workflow was developed for this purpose in CO2CRC to understand the influence of each uncertainty parameter on the objective functions and generate probabilistic results.


2020 ◽  
Vol 60 (2) ◽  
pp. 662
Author(s):  
Saira ◽  
Furqan Le-Hussain

Oil recovery and CO2 storage related to CO2 enhance oil recovery are dependent on CO2 miscibility. In case of a depleted oil reservoir, reservoir pressure is not sufficient to achieve miscible or near-miscible condition. This extended abstract presents numerical studies to delineate the effect of alcohol-treated CO2 injection on enhancing miscibility, CO2 storage and oil recovery at immiscible and near-miscible conditions. A compositional reservoir simulator from Computer Modelling Group Ltd. was used to examine the effect of alcohol-treated CO2 on the recovery mechanism. A SPE-5 3D model was used to simulate oil recovery and CO2 storage at field scale for two sets of fluid pairs: (1) pure CO2 and decane and (2) alcohol-treated CO2 and decane. Alcohol-treated CO2 consisted of a mixture of 4 wt% of ethanol and 96 wt% of CO2. All simulations were run at constant temperature (70°C), whereas pressures were determined using a pressure-volume-temperature simulator for immiscible (1400 psi) and near-miscible (1780 psi) conditions. Simulation results reveal that alcohol-treated CO2 injection is found superior to pure CO2 injection in oil recovery (5–9%) and CO2 storage efficiency (4–6%). It shows that alcohol-treated CO2 improves CO2 sweep efficiency. However, improvement in sweep efficiency with alcohol-treated CO2 is more pronounced at higher pressures, whereas improvement in displacement efficiency is more pronounced at lower pressures. The proposed methodology has potential to enhance the feasibility of CO2 sequestration in depleted oil reservoirs and improve both displacement and sweep efficiency of CO2.


2018 ◽  
Vol 154 ◽  
pp. 9-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vahab Honari ◽  
Jim Underschultz ◽  
Xingjin Wang ◽  
Andrew Garnett ◽  
Xiangzeng Wang ◽  
...  

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