Keeping CO2 Safely Stored
Sarah Gasda, Uni Research CIPR
CLIMIT Summit
7-8 March 2017
Outline
• Risk Management: inputs, methods and challenges
• Contributions: PROTECT project
• Case studies: Utsira/Skade, Smeaheia
• Outlook
Motivation:
IEA Road Map for CCS
12.2 Gt stored by 2050
EU Commission, 2014
Managing the risk profile
Pre-injection
Injection
Post-injection
Risk
Graphic: S. Benson, Stanford University
Challenges of CCS scale-up
Small scale ~~ 11Mt/y
Small
Mt/y
Safe storage capabilities
demonstrated
Pressure impacts are local
Focus on CO2 plume migration
Pressure footprint >> plume
Higher overpressures
Large scale ~ 10 Mt/y
Greater stress on caprock
Higher risk for leakage
Reach capacity faster
Expensive monitoring
Uncertainty increases
Large, complex simulations
Field and
Laboratory
Data
Modeling and
Simulation
Monitoring
and
Verification
New tools and datasets are
needed to assess the risks to
caprock during high-pressure
CO2 injection
Field and
Laboratory
Data
Pressure
impacts and
geomechanics
Modeling and
Simulation
Multi-scale,
upscaling,
coupling
Monitoring
and
Verification
Reliability and
efficiency
PROTECT: Protection of caprock integrity for large-scale CO storage
2
Objective: Understand the impact of
geomechanics, flow and chemistry on
caprock integrity in order to:
• ensure injectivity
• maximize storage capacity
• protect against CO2 leakage.
WP1 - Data needs and process
understanding
WP2 - Detailed models for flow,
reaction and deformation
WP3 - Large-scale coupled
modeling and upscaling
Website: www.protect.b.uib.no
Industry partners:
WP4 - Integration & application
WP5 - Best practice guidelines &
reporting
Geomechanical Data
Valuable
mechanical
data
State-of-the-art
mechanical
testing
Direct shear apparatus
Rurikfjellet shale samples
(Longyearbyen CO2 Lab)
Preserved
caprock core
Field and
Laboratory
Data
Geophysical Data Inversion
Monitoring
and
Verification
• Adding value to seismic by joint inversion with CSEM
• Improved saturation and pressure monitoring
• Verfiy CO2 injection and monitor for leakage
saturation
Standard seismic
inversion
pressure
CSEM monitoring
saturation
Joint inversion with
CSEM as prior
pressure
Fine-scale models
Modeling and
Simulation
Increase understanding of
potential for leakage along
fractures
Multi-dimensional fracture-matrix modeling
Hydraulic fracture modeling of LYBCO2
Reactive transport
Lattice-Boltzmann
Large-scale
Geomechanical
Models
COMSOL Multiphysics
Mixed-dimensional
Multi-phase flow
Geomechanics
Modeling and
Simulation
VESA Model
Multi-phase flow
2D vertical equil.
Analytical uplift
Hydromechanics
Conservative (fractures)
Single-phase flow
Large-scale
Simulating overpressure
and comparing results for
relevant field cases
Case Study: Utsira
What is practically achievable
storage capacity?
• Prevent leakage by maintaining
a safe pressure both during and
after injection
15 Gt storage
capacity
Two-step approach:
1. Simple analytical model
2. Large-scale simulations
Kirby et al. 2001
Pressure-limited capacity of the Utsira
Δpmax (bar)
CO2 mass (Mt)
5 Gt storage
in south Utsira
Zhou et al.
Closed system
dV = Vf (βw + αB/ϕ) dp
Compressible
sand
Max dp
15 bar
8.3 Gt storage
~50% NPD
Pressure-limited capacity of the Utsira
CO2 mass (Mt)
12.2 Gt stored by 2050
5 Gt storage
in south Utsira
8.3 Gt storage
~50% NPD
5 Gt CO2 in 50 years (100 Mt/y)
Is it sustainable?
Maintain local injectivity
Plumes are localized
Case Study: Smeaheia
• Candidate for first ever full-
scale CCS
• Statoil feasibility study
• 1.5 Mt/y injection
• Safe storage within local
structural traps
• Capacity for larger injection?
• Planned study in SUCCESS:
• Pressure buildup around sensitive
faults and anticlines.
• Analysis of data and uncertainty
Outlook
• Keys to safe storage
• global vs local pressure
management
• limiting overpressure in
sensitive shallow regions
• water production in postinjection can be effective
• data-driven simulation
• impact of data uncertainty
• Future direction
• more testing, lab experiments,
field data collection,
• interpretation of existing data
• develop open databases
• upscaled fault models
• benchmarking
People and Info
• CIPR
• Trond Mannseth
• Svenn Tveit
• Maria Elenius
• Ivar Aavatsmark
• IFE
• Magnus Wangen
• Rainier Van Noort
• NGI
• Bahman Bohloli
• Tore Bjørnarå
• Joonsang Park
• UiO
• Helge Hellevang
• Hossein Fazeli
• UiB
• Jan Nordbotten
• Wietse Boon
Website: www.protect.b.uib.no
Poster Session
• PROTECT
• SUCCESS Integration
(M. Elenius)