Highlights of the 2009 SEG Summer Research Workshop on CO₂ Sequestration

Abstract

The 2009 SEG Summer Research Workshop on “CO2 Sequestration Geophysics” was held 23–27 August 2009 in Banff, Canada. The event was attended by over 100 scientists from around the world, which proved to be a remarkably successful turnout in the midst of the current global financial crisis and severe corporate travel restrictions. Attendees included SEG President Larry Lines (University of Calgary) and CSEG President John Downton (CGG Veritas), who joined SRW Chairman David Lumley in giving the opening welcome remarks at the Sunday Icebreaker. The workshop was organized by a committee of technical experts representing a good mix of industry, academic, and government research organizations (see box). The format consisted of four days of technical sessions with over 60 talks and posters, plus an optional preworkshop field trip to the Columbia Ice Fields to view firsthand the effects of global warming on the Athabasca glacier (Figures 1–2). Group technical discussion was encouraged by requiring each presenter to limit themselves to 15 minutes of presentation followed by a 15–minute open discussion period. Technical contributions focused on the current and future role of geophysics in CO2 sequestration, highlighting new research and field-test results with regard to site selection and characterization, monitoring and surveillance, using a wide variety of geophysical techniques. While there are too many excellent contributions to mention all individually here, in this paper, we summarize some of the key workshop highlights in order to propagate new developments to the SEG community at large.

Sensitivity of seismic response for monitoring storage in a low porosity reservoir of the St Lawrence Lowlands, Québec, Canada: Part 1 – Laboratory measurements

“…Indeed, most jurisdictions involved in CCS projects require more or less elaborated monitoring, verification, and accounting (MVA) programs . Seismic methods were shown to be efficient for MVA due to their high resolution and their sensitivity to porosity and fluid saturation . Nevertheless, there can be a great deal of ambiguity in the quantitative interpretation of observed seismic responses.…”

Sensitivity of seismic response for monitoring storage in a low porosity reservoir of the St Lawrence Lowlands, Québec, Canada: Part 2 – Synthetic modeling

“…However, to date, active source seismic methods remain the principal geophysical method of all monitoring programs. Indeed, seismic methods were shown to be efficient for MVA due to their high resolution and their sensitivity to porosity and fluid saturation . Nevertheless, there can be a great deal of ambiguity in the quantitative interpretation of observed seismic responses.…”

Numerical analysis of wave-induced fluid flow effects on seismic data: Application to monitoring of CO2storage at the Sleipner field

“…This operation was the world's first industrial scale CO 2 injection project designed specifically as a greenhouse gas mitigation measure [ Chadwick et al , 2005]. Since then, a number of other sequestration sites were selected and CO 2 is currently being injected at various places worldwide, including either depleted hydrocarbon reservoirs or deep saline aquifers, as in the case of the Utsira Sand [ Lumley et al , 2010; Lumley , 2010].…”