Experiments and modeling of variably permeable carbonate reservoir samples in contact with CO₂-acidified brines
Abstract
Reactive experiments were performed to expose sample cores from the Arbuckle carbonate reservoir to CO₂-acidified brine under reservoir temperature and pressure conditions. The samples consisted of dolomite with varying quantities of calcite and silica/chert. The timescales of monitored pressure decline across each sample in response to CO₂ exposure, as well as the amount of and nature of dissolution features, varied widely among these three experiments. For all samples cores, the experimentally measured initial permeability was at least one order of magnitude or more lower than the values estimated from downhole methods. Nondestructive X-ray computed tomography (XRCT) imaging revealed dissolution features including “wormholes,” removal of fracture-filling crystals, and widening of pre-existing pore spaces. In the injection zone sample, multiple fractures may have contributed to the high initial permeability of this core and restricted the distribution of CO₂-induced mineral dissolution. In contrast, the pre-existing porosity of the baffle zone sample was much lower and less connected, leading to a lower initial permeability and contributing to the development of a single dissolution channel. While calcite may make up only a small percentage of the overall sample composition, its location and the effects of its dissolution have an outsized effect on permeability responses tomore »
- Authors:
-
- Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
- Publication Date:
- Research Org.:
- Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
- Sponsoring Org.:
- USDOE
- OSTI Identifier:
- 1201549
- Resource Type:
- Accepted Manuscript
- Journal Name:
- Energy Procedia (Online)
- Additional Journal Information:
- Journal Name: Energy Procedia (Online); Journal Volume: 63; Journal Issue: C; Journal ID: ISSN 1876-6102
- Publisher:
- Elsevier
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
- Subject:
- 58 GEOSCIENCES; carbon storage; carbonate reservoirs; carbonate permeability; Arbuckle
Citation Formats
Smith, Megan M., Hao, Yue, Mason, Harris E., and Carroll, Susan A. Experiments and modeling of variably permeable carbonate reservoir samples in contact with CO₂-acidified brines. United States: N. p., 2014.
Web. doi:10.1016/j.egypro.2014.11.337.
Smith, Megan M., Hao, Yue, Mason, Harris E., & Carroll, Susan A. Experiments and modeling of variably permeable carbonate reservoir samples in contact with CO₂-acidified brines. United States. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.egypro.2014.11.337
Smith, Megan M., Hao, Yue, Mason, Harris E., and Carroll, Susan A. Wed .
"Experiments and modeling of variably permeable carbonate reservoir samples in contact with CO₂-acidified brines". United States. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.egypro.2014.11.337. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1201549.
@article{osti_1201549,
title = {Experiments and modeling of variably permeable carbonate reservoir samples in contact with CO₂-acidified brines},
author = {Smith, Megan M. and Hao, Yue and Mason, Harris E. and Carroll, Susan A.},
abstractNote = {Reactive experiments were performed to expose sample cores from the Arbuckle carbonate reservoir to CO₂-acidified brine under reservoir temperature and pressure conditions. The samples consisted of dolomite with varying quantities of calcite and silica/chert. The timescales of monitored pressure decline across each sample in response to CO₂ exposure, as well as the amount of and nature of dissolution features, varied widely among these three experiments. For all samples cores, the experimentally measured initial permeability was at least one order of magnitude or more lower than the values estimated from downhole methods. Nondestructive X-ray computed tomography (XRCT) imaging revealed dissolution features including “wormholes,” removal of fracture-filling crystals, and widening of pre-existing pore spaces. In the injection zone sample, multiple fractures may have contributed to the high initial permeability of this core and restricted the distribution of CO₂-induced mineral dissolution. In contrast, the pre-existing porosity of the baffle zone sample was much lower and less connected, leading to a lower initial permeability and contributing to the development of a single dissolution channel. While calcite may make up only a small percentage of the overall sample composition, its location and the effects of its dissolution have an outsized effect on permeability responses to CO₂ exposure. The XRCT data presented here are informative for building the model domain for numerical simulations of these experiments but require calibration by higher resolution means to confidently evaluate different porosity-permeability relationships.},
doi = {10.1016/j.egypro.2014.11.337},
journal = {Energy Procedia (Online)},
number = C,
volume = 63,
place = {United States},
year = {Wed Dec 31 00:00:00 EST 2014},
month = {Wed Dec 31 00:00:00 EST 2014}
}
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Works referencing / citing this record:
An Experimental Study of Matrix Dissolution and Wormhole Formation Using Gypsum Core Flood Tests: 2. Dissolution Kinetics and Modeling
journal, November 2019
- Li, Wei; Einstein, Herbert H.; Germaine, John T.
- Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, Vol. 124, Issue 11
An Experimental Study of Matrix Dissolution and Wormhole Formation Using Gypsum Core Flood Tests: 1. Permeability Evolution and Wormhole Geometry Analysis
journal, November 2019
- Li, Wei; Einstein, Herbert H.; Germaine, John T.
- Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, Vol. 124, Issue 11