Simulation of CO2 Sequestration at Rock Spring Uplift, Wyoming: Heterogeneity and Uncertainties in Storage Capacity, Injectivity and Leakage
- Los Alamos National Laboratory
- Wyoming State Geological Survey
Many geological, geochemical, geomechanical and hydrogeological factors control CO{sub 2} storage in subsurface. Among them heterogeneity in saline aquifer can seriously influence design of injection wells, CO{sub 2} injection rate, CO{sub 2} plume migration, storage capacity, and potential leakage and risk assessment. This study applies indicator geostatistics, transition probability and Markov chain model at the Rock Springs Uplift, Wyoming generating facies-based heterogeneous fields for porosity and permeability in target saline aquifer (Pennsylvanian Weber sandstone) and surrounding rocks (Phosphoria, Madison and cap-rock Chugwater). A multiphase flow simulator FEHM is then used to model injection of CO{sub 2} into the target saline aquifer involving field-scale heterogeneity. The results reveal that (1) CO{sub 2} injection rates in different injection wells significantly change with local permeability distributions; (2) brine production rates in different pumping wells are also significantly impacted by the spatial heterogeneity in permeability; (3) liquid pressure evolution during and after CO{sub 2} injection in saline aquifer varies greatly for different realizations of random permeability fields, and this has potential important effects on hydraulic fracturing of the reservoir rock, reactivation of pre-existing faults and the integrity of the cap-rock; (4) CO{sub 2} storage capacity estimate for Rock Springs Uplift is 6614 {+-} 256 Mt at 95% confidence interval, which is about 36% of previous estimate based on homogeneous and isotropic storage formation; (5) density profiles show that the density of injected CO{sub 2} below 3 km is close to that of the ambient brine with given geothermal gradient and brine concentration, which indicates CO{sub 2} plume can sink to the deep before reaching thermal equilibrium with brine. Finally, we present uncertainty analysis of CO{sub 2} leakage into overlying formations due to heterogeneity in both the target saline aquifer and surrounding formations. This uncertainty in leakage will be used to feed into risk assessment modeling.
- Research Organization:
- Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- Wyoming State Geological Survey
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC52-06NA25396
- OSTI ID:
- 1011475
- Report Number(s):
- LA-UR-11-10385; TRN: US201109%%451
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: 10th Annual CCS conference ; 2011-05-02 - 2011-05-05 ; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
Energy Sciences
Environmental Sciences (54)
Geosciences (58)
Mathematics & Computing (97)
BRINES
CAP ROCK
CAPACITY
GEOTHERMAL GRADIENTS
HYDRAULIC FRACTURING
INJECTION WELLS
MULTIPHASE FLOW
PERMEABILITY
PLUMES
POROSITY
PROBABILITY
PUMPING
RESERVOIR ROCK
RISK ASSESSMENT
SALINE AQUIFERS
SIMULATORS
STORAGE
TARGETS
THERMAL EQUILIBRIUM