Monitoring carbon dioxide storage using passive seismic techniques

Verdon, James P.; Kendall, J.‐M.; White, Don

doi:10.1680/ener.10.00018

Cited by 6 publications

(3 citation statements)

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“…When a CCS project is undertaken a microseismic array should be deployed that can be used to track the CO 2 footprint using any seismic activity and also that is able to detect unexpected seismic activity at some distance from the injection point. For an overview of recommendations for microseismic array deployments at CCS sites see Verdon et al (2012). Good coverage of the focal sphere also allows the computation of focal mechanism solution and hence an understanding of the type of deformation taking place.…”

Section: Importance Of Experimental Set-upmentioning

confidence: 99%

The microseismic response at the In Salah Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) site

Stork

Verdon

Kendall

2015

International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control

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a b s t r a c tIn 2004, injection of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) to be stored at depth began at the In Salah Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) site and a pilot microseismic monitoring array was installed in 2009. The In Salah project presents an unusual dataset since it is the first major non-Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) CCS project to be monitored for microseismicity. This paper outlines an extensive seismological study using a range of techniques, relying mainly on data from a single three-component geophone. Important information is derived from the data, such as event locations, event magnitudes and fracture characteristics, that could be used in real-time to regulate the geomechanical response of a site to CO 2 injection. The event rate closely follows the CO 2 injection rate, with a total of 9506 seismic events detected. The locations for a carefully selected subset of events are estimated to occur at or below the injection interval, thereby ruling out fault or fracture activation caused by CO 2 migration at shallow depths. A very small number of events (11) with less well-constrained locations may have occurred above the injection interval. However, there is no microseismic evidence that these events are correlated with CO 2 injection and we suggest they are caused by stress transfer rather than CO 2 migration into the caprock. The observed maximum moment magnitude, M w = 1.7, is consistent with estimated fracture dimensions at the injection depth. Fracture orientation estimated using shear-wave splitting analysis is approximately NW-SE, in agreement with fracture orientations inferred from logging data. During periods of high injection rates the degree of anisotropy increases slightly and then falls back to original values when injection rates fall. This implies the CO 2 is opening pre-existing fractures which then close as pressure decreases.This an important proof-of-concept study that proves the value of microseismic monitoring of CCS projects, even with a limited array. We thus recommend that microseismic monitoring arrays are installed prior to CO 2 injection at future CCS sites to enhance our understanding by making baseline and comparative studies possible. This would also provide real-time monitoring of the geomechanical response to injection, allowing operators to modify injection parameters and to help ensure the safe operation of a project.

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Section: Importance Of Experimental Set-upmentioning

confidence: 99%

The microseismic response at the In Salah Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) site

Stork

Verdon

Kendall

2015

International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…This suggests that monitoring data can provide an 'early warning' system of surface carbon dioxide leakage, better understanding of leakage pathways and the nature of leaks in order that appropriate mitigation measures may be put in place. Verdon et al (2012) employ synthetically modelled data to examine one specific leakage risk -injection-induced pressure increases that may lead to fractures in the caprock and, therefore, the leakage of buoyant carbon dioxide. Passive seismic monitoring (PSM), using 'geophones' placed in boreholes around a reservoir or in Energy Volume 165 Issue EN2 Editorial Hammond larger arrays at ground level, is then shown to yield a relatively inexpensive means of permanently surveying this type of phenomenon.…”

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confidence: 99%

“…The papers in this issue make an important contribution to the discourse on carbon dioxide capture and geological storage. They address the critical issues of the legislative framework (Agus and Foy, 2012), capture-readiness of CCGT plants (Lucquiaud and Gibbins, 2012), the monitoring of geological storage sites (Hannis, 2012;Verdon et al, 2012) and full CCS chain risk assessment (Carpenter and Braute, 2012;Kimmance and Rogers, 2012). The limitations of the CCS strategy as adopted by various UK governments have been discussed by Scrase and Watson (2009).…”

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confidence: 99%