Impact of Mineral Reactive Surface Area on Forecasting Geological Carbon Sequestration in a CO2-EOR Field

Abstract

Mineral reactive surface area (RSA) is one of the key factors that control mineral reactions, as it describes how much mineral is accessible and can participate in reactions. This work aims to evaluate the impact of mineral RSA on numerical simulations for CO2 storage at depleted oil fields. The Farnsworth Unit (FWU) in northern Texas was chosen as a case study. A simplified model was used to screen representative cases from 87 RSA combinations to reduce the computational cost. Three selected cases with low, mid, and high RSA values were used for the FWU model. Results suggest that the impact of RSA values on CO2 mineral trapping is more complex than it is on individual reactions. While the low RSA case predicted negligible porosity change and an insignificant amount of CO2 mineral trapping for the FWU model, the mid and high RSA cases forecasted up to 1.19% and 5.04% of porosity reduction due to mineral reactions, and 2.46% and 9.44% of total CO2 trapped in minerals by the end of the 600-year simulation, respectively. The presence of hydrocarbons affects geochemical reactions and can lead to net CO2 mineral trapping, whereas mineral dissolution is forecasted when hydrocarbons are removed from the system.

Field‐scale reactive transport assessment of CO2 storage in the Farnsworth unit through enhanced oil recovery practices

“…The initial mineral composition (i.e., primary mineral abundances) of the Morrow B Sandstone was derived from Munson 63 and Gallagher 25 and is shown in Table 3. Also listed are secondary minerals that are expected to have the potential to precipitate due to CO 2 injection, based on previous reaction path and reactive transport modeling studies 37,39,42,48,49,70 . Included in Table 3 are mineral‐specific kinetic reaction data following Kutsienyo et al 42 …”

“…Also listed are secondary minerals that are expected to have the potential to precipitate due to CO 2 injection, based on previous reaction path and reactive transport modeling studies. 37,39,42,48,49,70 Included in Table 3 are mineral-specific kinetic reaction data following Kutsienyo et al 42 The boundary conditions for the model were governed by the observation that the Morrow B Sandstone reservoir pinches out into adjacent shales…”

Forecasting CO2 Sequestration with Enhanced Oil Recovery

“…Wei at al. [17] present a simplified model used to screen representative cases from many mineral reactive surface area (RSA) combinations to reduce computational cost. Three selected cases with low, mid, and high RSA values were used for the FWU model.…”

Control of Cement Timing, Mineralogy, and Texture on Hydro-chemo-mechanical Coupling from CO2 Injection into Sandstone: A Synthesis

“…Carrol et al (2013) identified the critical role of iron-rich clay minerals in a CO 2 storage environment, and the dissolution of iron-rich clay minerals can modify fracture and pore networks by clogging pores via secondary precipitation of Fe carbonates, clays, hydroxides, and amorphous silica [24]. Research found that medium to high reactive surface area minerals in CO 2 -EOR fields reduce the porosity and enhance the CO 2 trapping mechanism [25]. Tutolo et al (2015) found that the precipitation of aluminum-rich secondary minerals in feldspar-rich sandstone can significantly affect the chemical kinetics and reduce permeability [26].…”