Carbon Sequestration
in Sedimentary Basins
Module 4: Sleipner Project
Maurice Dusseault
Department of Earth Sciences
University of Waterloo
Geological Sequestration of C
Most of these slides are from a presentation by:
Tore A Torp, Dr.ing., Adviser CO2 Storage,
StatoilHydro ASA, Norway
Time Magazine,
17. May 2004
Sleipner CO2
injection:
- Decided in 1992
- In operation since
1996
- 1 million tonne
CO2/year
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Geological Sequestration of C
Tore A Torp
North Sea, Sleipner
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About 2,800 tonnes of carbon dioxide
are separated daily from Sleipner
West's gas production and injected into
the Utsira sandstone formation
(aquifer), rather than released to the
air.
Why? Purely economics from the gov’t…
But… Good Politics as well (Norway, EU,
StatoilHydro, joint funding…)
Geological Sequestration of C
Sleipner
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9.5% CO2 in the produced gas
They would …
Be penalized a bit by having less pure gas
 Have to pipeline it at extra cost


So…
It is better to separate on platform
 And re-inject the CO2 into a shallow
stratum, the Utsira Sandstone

Geological Sequestration of C
Experience with CO2 & Injection
Enhanced Oil Recovery (Texas,
Hungary, Turkey, Brazil, Croatia)
 Natural gas cleaning
 Transport – Pipelines & Ships
 Natural gas re-injection
 Natural gas underground storage
 But, SLEIPNER is the first project to
massively inject CO2 without EOR
application - Sequestration

Geological Sequestration of C
CO2-tankers, 1500 m3 capacity
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Geological Sequestration of C
Tore A Torp
Sleipner Facility 2004
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Geological Sequestration of C
Tore A Torp
Sleipner Facility
Geological Sequestration of C
Injection into the Utsira Fmn.
CO2 Injection Well
in "Utsira"
Sleipner
A
0
Sleipner T
500m
CO2 Injection Well
1000m
CO2
Utsira
Formation
1500m
Wells
Sleipner Øst
Production and
Injection
2000m
0
500
m
1000
m
1500
m
2500m
Heimdal Formation
Geological Sequestration of C
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Tore A Torp
The Utsira Formation
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Geological Sequestration of C
Tore A Torp
The Utsira Formation

High porosity sandstone
~30% porosity
 Permeabilities > 1 D (up to +10 D)
 H2O saturated, no gas or oil…
 200 m thick, with a modest central shale
zone that appears continuous


Large volumes available
Regionally continuous
3
2
 50-60 million m capacity per km
 Excellent lateral transmissivity!

Geological Sequestration of C
SALINE AQUIFER CO2 STORAGE PROJECT
Statoil
BP
ExxonMobil
Total
Norsk Hydro
Vattenfall
BGS
BRGM
GEUS
IFP
NITG-TNO
SINTEF
IEA Greenhouse Gas R&D Programme
Schlumberger Research
NO, DK, NL, FR & UK Authorities
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Geological Sequestration of C
CO2 Zone Growth
Geological Sequestration of C
Time-lapse seismic datasets of CO2 stored in Utsira
formation
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Geological Sequestration of C
Tore A Torp
Plume extension & top Utsira time map
CO2 distribution June 2006
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8,4 million tonnes injected over 10 years
Plume area: 2,8 km2 (1,3 km2 in 2001)
Plume long axis: 3760 m
Maximum distance from injection point: 2560m
Maximum speed of front since 2004: 250 m/year,
Distance from CO2 to wells:

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saddle
Exploration well 15/9-13: 430m, decreasing about 12 m/year
D-template: about 2 km straight west of northern plume
15/9-19 wells: about 4,5 km north of plume
Injection
point
15/9-13
430m
Plume
outline June
2006
Plume
outline Oct
2001
Amplitude maps of the uppermost horizon, in
15 2004 (middle) and 2006 (right).
2001 (left),
Hot colours represent higher amplitudes and
thicker CO2 accumulation.
Geological Sequestration of C
1 km
Tore A Torp
Simulated picture of the distribution of CO2 after three years.
Radius of largest bubble 800 m and the total plume 200 m high.
Ref: SINTEF Petroleum 2001
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Geological Sequestration of C
Tore A Torp
Dissolution of CO2 in the Utsira Brine
Year 2412
Year 2021
Year 2621
Year 5019
Year 7018
Source: Gemini No. 1, 2004 (NTNU and Sintef)
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Geological Sequestration of C
Tore A Torp
SACS Project 1998-2002
WHAT WAS ACHIEVED:
• 3D Seismic proven, Gravimetry tested
• Reservoir simulation tools partly proven
• Geology and Geochemistry of “Utsira” mapped
• Reason to expect the CO2 to stay for thousands of years
DOCUMENTATION
• “SACS Best Practice Manual, 1.version.”
• Download from www.co2store.org, see page “SACS”.
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Geological Sequestration of C
Tore A Torp
Demonstrations of CO2 storage
SNØHVIT
SLEIPNER
KETZIN
WEYBURN
IN SALAH
FRIO BRINE
Nagaoka
K12B
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Geological Sequestration of C
GORGON
Source: IEA GHG
Sleipner CO2 Injection
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Geological Sequestration of C
What is keeping the CO2 there?
Trapping Mechanisms
 Closure - from day one – faults?
 Micro-pore trapping - during injection lasting
 Dissolution in water - sinking to the
bottom – centuries
 Mineral binding
- precipitating solids –
centuries/millennia
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Geological Sequestration of C
Tore A Torp
Possible Leakage?
Leakage paths?
WELLS - Corrosion of cement & steel
 Faults/Cracks – Overpressure critical
 Underground fluid mobility – Site specific

Prevention
Detection
 Remediation

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Geological Sequestration of C
Tore A Torp
Monitoring: Safety Over TIME?
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Before start: Site selection, Planning and
Risk assessment
=>licence
During injection: Monitoring – “Watch the
barn doors” => report
Closure: Monitoring and long-term risk =>
agreement
Post-closure: Monitoring gradually less =>
hand-over
 Safety against leakage will be better
over time!
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Geological Sequestration of C
Tore A Torp
CO2 Capture and Storage (CCS)
Leg 1: TRUST in Storage
Leg 2: COST of Capture
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Methods from oil and gas industry
 Geology varies from place to place
 More demonstrations
Energy use
 Costs
 Better technologies
Pace: CO2 Transport
•
•
Pipeline
Ship
 Large projects
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Geological Sequestration of C
Tore A Torp
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Geological Sequestration of C
Total Lacq Project (~60 MM €)
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Gas processing plant
Steam needs, to be done with CH4 + O2
This results in almost pure CO2 + H2O
So, they plan to inject the CO2 into the
Lacq natural gas reservoir, displace a
little bit more gas
150,000 t in 2 yrs, starting in 2008

…the first integrated CO2 capture system
using oxy-fuel combustion combined with
storage in a depleted hydrocarbon field.
Geological Sequestration of C
SUMMARY…
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First genuine sequestration project
High permeability, high porosity
reservoir for the CO2, good seal, etc.
Not fully driven by economics (gov’t
subsidy)
A model for future sequestration
projects…
Geological Sequestration of C