Complex fluid flow revealed by monitoring CO<sub>2</sub> injection in a fluvial formation

Lu, Jiemin; Cook, Paul; Hosseini, Seyyed A.; Yang, Changbing; Romanak, Katherine; Zhang, Tongwei; Freifeld, Barry; Smyth, Rebecca C.; Zeng, Hongliu; Hovorka, Susan

doi:10.1029/2011jb008939

Cited by 65 publications

(69 citation statements)

References 36 publications

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“…The Cranfield Enhanced Oil Recovery field in Mississippi is home to a large-scale CO 2 injection and observation survey from a natural source (Jackson Dome), which has been used for data collection and monitoring (Hovorka et al, 2013). Lu et al (2012) carried out CO 2 and tracer fluid sampling in two observation wells, located 100 and 200 ft. horizontally from the CO 2 injection well in the same reservoir formation. This was undertaken in the water leg of an isolated down-dip portion of the reservoir during CO 2 injection in 2009 and 2010.…”

Section: How Do These Results Compare To Reservoir Scale Test Sites?mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Such tracers include synthetic chemicals such as SF 6 and perfluorocarbon tracers (PFTs), isotopic labelled gases and noble gases. Such tracers have been used to track the movement and fate of injected CO 2 in a variety of CO 2 injection experiments, injecting Frio, Otway and Cranfield (McCallum et al, 2005;Jenkins et al, 2012;Lu et al, 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Experimental determination of noble gases and SF6, as tracers of CO2 flow through porous sandstone

et al. 2018

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A B S T R A C TIn order to label the CO 2 injected underground for geological storage and allow it to be differentiated from natural sources, a panoply of additive chemical tracers have been proposed. Yet, the transport of these tracers relative to CO 2 in pore space is currently poorly constrained. This leads to uncertainty as to whether tracers will act as an early warning of CO 2 arrival, or be preferentially retained in the pore space making them ineffective. Here, we present the factors affecting transport of noble gases and SF 6 relative to CO 2 in a porous rock. Using a porous sandstone core, each of the tracers were loaded into a sample loop and injected as discrete gas pulses into a CO 2 carrier stream at five different experiment pressures (10-50 kPag upstream to ambient pressure downstream). Tracer arrival profiles were measured using a quadrupole mass spectrometer. Significantly, our results show that peak arrival times of helium were slower than the other noble gases at each pressure gradient. The differences in peak arrival times between helium and other noble gases increased as the pressure gradient along the system decreased and the curve profiles for each noble gas differ significantly. The heavier noble gases (Kr and Xe) along with SF 6 show an earlier arrival time and a wider curve profile compared to He and Ne curves through the CO 2 carrier gas stream. This shows that Kr and Xe could be substituted for SF 6 , a potent greenhouse gas, in tracer applications. For comparison, CO 2 pulses were passed through a N 2 carrier gas resulting in significantly slower peak arrival times compared to those of noble gases and SF 6 . Hence, all investigated tracers when co-injected with CO 2 could potentially act as early warning tracers of CO 2 arrival, though we find that Kr, Xe and SF 6 will provide the most robust advance warning. Analysis of our experimental results shows that they cannot be explained by a simple one dimensional flow model through a porous medium. We outline a conceptual model that incorporates different preferential flow paths depending on flow velocities of individual gas streams. This model can explain the observed dataset and shows that the flow of noble gases and SF 6 tracers is influenced by pore-scale heterogeneity.

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Section: How Do These Results Compare To Reservoir Scale Test Sites?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Experimental determination of noble gases and SF6, as tracers of CO2 flow through porous sandstone

et al. 2018

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“…Architectures of sedimentary facies can exhibit sharp discontinuities across boundaries between depositional features, for instance across the sandstone-shale contacts that are common in fluvial deposits. The complex patterns in such fluvial architectures30 exist in many candidate aquifers for CO 2 sequestration93132 and result in variable connectivity and tortuous flow pathways33. Representing such discontinuous, correlated heterogeneity in reservoir simulations is non-trivial34, and its influence on the characteristics of density-driven flow has not been studied in detail.…”

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confidence: 99%

Critical Dynamics of Gravito-Convective Mixing in Geological Carbon Sequestration

Soltanian

Amooie

Dai

et al. 2016

Sci Rep

100

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When CO2 is injected in saline aquifers, dissolution causes a local increase in brine density that can cause Rayleigh-Taylor-type gravitational instabilities. Depending on the Rayleigh number, density-driven flow may mix dissolved CO2 throughout the aquifer at fast advective time-scales through convective mixing. Heterogeneity can impact density-driven flow to different degrees. Zones with low effective vertical permeability may suppress fingering and reduce vertical spreading, while potentially increasing transverse mixing. In more complex heterogeneity, arising from the spatial organization of sedimentary facies, finger propagation is reduced in low permeability facies, but may be enhanced through more permeable facies. The connectivity of facies is critical in determining the large-scale transport of CO2-rich brine. We perform high-resolution finite element simulations of advection-diffusion transport of CO2 with a focus on facies-based bimodal heterogeneity. Permeability fields are generated by a Markov Chain approach, which represent facies architecture by commonly observed characteristics such as volume fractions. CO2 dissolution and phase behavior are modeled with the cubic-plus-association equation-of-state. Our results show that the organization of high-permeability facies and their connectivity control the dynamics of gravitationally unstable flow. We discover new flow regimes in both homogeneous and heterogeneous media and present quantitative scaling relations for their temporal evolution.

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“…Electrical resistance tomography (ERT) was conducted daily over a year, and changes in the response can be related to the evolution of the plume; Doetsch et al, 2013). Natural tracers (isotopically distinctive CO 2 ) and dissolved methane in reservoir brine and emplaced pulses of SF 6 , PFT, and noble gas tracers provided data on fluid flow not available from imaging (Lu et al, 2012a). A well-bore gravity tool was deployed and was able to detect changes due to substitution of CO 2 in relatively thin intervals (Dodds et al, 2013).…”

Section: Secarb Cranfield Early Testmentioning

confidence: 99%

The state of the art in monitoring and verification—Ten years on

Jenkins

Chadwick

Hovorka

2015

International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control

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183

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a b s t r a c tIn the ten years since publication of the IPCC Special Report on CCS, there has been considerable progress in monitoring and verification (M&V). Numerous injection projects, ranging from small injection pilots to much larger longer-term commercial operations, have been successfully monitored to the satisfaction of regulatory agencies, and technologies have been adapted and implemented to demonstrate containment, conformance, and no environmental impact. In this review we consider M&V chiefly from the perspective of its ability to satisfy stakeholders that these three key requirements are being met. From selected project examples, we show how this was done, and reflect particularly on the nature of the verification process. It is clear that deep-focussed monitoring will deliver the primary requirement to demonstrate conformance and containment and to provide early warning of any deviations from predicted storage behaviour. Progress in seismic imaging, especially offshore, and the remarkable results with InSAR from In Salah are highlights of the past decade. A wide range of shallow monitoring techniques has been tested at many sites, focussing especially on the monitoring of soil gas and groundwater. Quantification of any detected emissions would be required in some jurisdictions to satisfy carbon mitigation targets in the event of leakage to surface: however, given the likely high security of foreseeable storage sites, we suggest that shallow monitoring should focus mainly on assuring against environmental impacts. This reflects the low risk profile of well selected and well operated storage sites and recognizes the over-arching need for monitoring to be directed to specific, measureable risks. In particular, regulatory compliance might usefully involve clearer articulation of leakage scenarios, with this specificity making it possible to demonstrate "no leakage" in a more objective way than is currently the case. We also consider the monitoring issues for CO 2 -EOR, and argue that there are few technical problems in providing assurance that EOR sites are successfully sequestering CO 2 ; the issues lie largely in linking existing oil and gas regulations to new greenhouse gas policy. We foresee that, overall, monitoring technologies will continue to benefit from synergies with oil and gas operations, but that the distinctive regulatory and certification environments for CCS may pose new questions. Overall, while there is clearly scope for technical improvements, more clearly posed requirements, and better communication of monitoring results, we reiterate that this has been a decade of significant achievement that leaves monitoring and verification well placed to serve the wider CCS enterprise.Crown

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Complex fluid flow revealed by monitoring CO₂ injection in a fluvial formation

Cited by 65 publications

References 36 publications

Experimental determination of noble gases and SF6, as tracers of CO2 flow through porous sandstone

Experimental determination of noble gases and SF6, as tracers of CO2 flow through porous sandstone

Critical Dynamics of Gravito-Convective Mixing in Geological Carbon Sequestration

The state of the art in monitoring and verification—Ten years on

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Complex fluid flow revealed by monitoring CO2 injection in a fluvial formation

Cited by 65 publications

References 36 publications

Experimental determination of noble gases and SF6, as tracers of CO2 flow through porous sandstone

Experimental determination of noble gases and SF6, as tracers of CO2 flow through porous sandstone

Critical Dynamics of Gravito-Convective Mixing in Geological Carbon Sequestration

The state of the art in monitoring and verification—Ten years on

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Complex fluid flow revealed by monitoring CO₂ injection in a fluvial formation