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Technical Subsurface Workflows for Geological Carbon Sequestration

Description: 

Like a traditional oil and gas project, a geologic carbon sequestration project passes through the stages of prospecting, development, and operation. Details, of course, will differ. In the scoping and evaluation phase (“prospecting”), we identify depleted fields or saline formations, map the spatial extent and thickness of their reservoir and seal formations, create and simulate simple models, and identify key risks and uncertainties such as storage capacity, seal adequacy or the presence of legacy wells. During technical maturation (“development”), we characterize both reservoir and seal by determining properties and their distributions, build and simulate a detailed reservoir model, plan appraisal and injector wells, further assess risks, and define a monitoring program. During operation, we inject CO2, execute our monitoring campaigns for 1) containment, 2) conformance, and 3) confidence. Containment means that the injected CO2 plume is safely stored in the subsurface. Conformance means that CO2 and pressure evolve as modeled. Lastly, confidence means learning and understanding the system for optimization, step outs, or future projects.

In this presentation, we will discuss some subsurface workflows with an emphasis on geophysics and geosciences in general, examine some differences to traditional oil and gas workflows, and outline some gaps and needs.

Session: Seismology for the Energy Transition

Type: Oral

Date: 4/18/2023

Presentation Time: 04:30 PM (local time)

Presenting Author: Matthias G. Imhof

Student Presenter: No

Invited Presentation: Yes

Authors