Injectivity of carbon dioxide in the St. Lawrence Platform, Quebec (Canada): A sensitivity study

Abstract

Injectivity of CO2 in the Bécancour deep saline aquifers, St. Lawrence Platform (Québec), was investigated using 2D radial numerical simulations with TOUGH2/ECO2N. In order to have an appropriate choice for the CO2 injection rate and the duration of injection, sensitivity analyses were carried out, considering different values of hydrodynamic, chemical‐petrophysical, and geometric parameters affecting CO2 injection in a brine reservoir. The parameterization analysis for capillary pressure and relative permeability models indicated large uncertainty for this case study. Simulations took into account Bécancour reservoir conditions in which the maximum pressure was limited to the fracturing pressure. The sensitivity analysis provides guidance on potential injection scenarios. To remain below fracturing pressure, intermittent 5‐year injection periods can be used, with a mass injection rate up to ∼ 20 kg/s, alternating with half‐year periods without injection. This scenario could give maximum CO2 storage in the aquifer. CO2 storage capacities in different phases were calculated versus time. This study shows that the northeastern reservoir block of the Bécancour area could host about 10 Mt CO2, which represents 15% to 50% of regional yearly CO2 emissions during about 60 and 20 years for the case of the injection formation permeability of 0.89 × 10−15 m2 and 4.17 × 10−15 m2, respectively. Finally, this modeling study will also be the basis for the design of a pilot CO2 injection test at the study site. © 2013 Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd

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

“…The plume for the Bécancour‐like scenario is limited to a few hundred meters around the well due to its low permeabilities and porosity. The results are consistent with those obtained by Tran Ngoc et al . using TOUGH2 …”

“…The model simulates injection of in the Potsdam formations over 15 years at an injection rate of 45 t/day. This rate is comparable to the average rate for injection at Ketzin and is consistent with the injectivity sensitivity study of Tran Ngoc et al . of the Bécancour deep saline aquifers.…”

The Role of Water Flow and Dispersive Fluxes in the Dissolution of CO2 in Deep Saline Aquifers

“…However, in many cases this assumption is incorrect since groundwater velocity is indeed small (between 1 to 10 cm/yr), but not zero (e.g., Alberta Basin, Canada, Bachu et al, 1994; the Frio formation, Texas, USA, Szulczewski et al, 2012). Furthermore, most previous research ignored the hydrodynamic dispersion associated with water movement, driven by convective mixing and background flow (Fagerlund et al, 2013; Pruess & Nordbotten, 2011; Tran Ngoc et al, 2013). Hydrodynamic dispersion is an important mechanism in solute transport in porous media and may be much larger than molecular diffusion (Bear, 1972).…”

Research Progress and Prospect of Carbon Dioxide Utilization and Storage Based on Unconventional Oil and Gas Development

“…The decrease of porosity and permeability caused by precipitation and the increase of porosity and permeability caused by mineral corrosion should be considered. The issue is an open one, and no technology has been fully recognized as universal or proven to be a "perfect" enhancement technology [133]. The fourth consideration is volatile oil price.…”