Using Pressure and Volumetric Approaches to Estimate CO2 Storage Capacity in Deep Saline Aquifers
Abstract
Various approaches are used to evaluate the capacity of saline aquifers to store CO2, resulting in a wide range of capacity estimates for a given aquifer. The two approaches most used are the volumetric “open aquifer” and “closed aquifer” approaches. We present four full-scale aquifer cases, where CO2 storage capacity is evaluated both volumetrically (with “open” and/or “closed” approaches) and through flow modeling. These examples show that the “open aquifer” CO2 storage capacity estimation can strongly exceed the cumulative CO2 injection from the flow model, whereas the “closed aquifer” estimates are a closer approximation to the flow-model derived capacity. An analogy to oil recovery mechanisms is presented, where the primary oil recovery mechanism is compared to CO2 aquifer storage without producing formation water; and the secondary oil recovery mechanism (water flooding) is compared to CO2 aquifer storage performed simultaneously with extraction of water for pressure maintenance. This analogy supports the finding that the “closed aquifer” approach produces a better estimate of CO2 storage without water extraction, and highlights the need for any CO2 storage estimate to specify whether it is intended to represent CO2 storage capacity with or without water extraction.
- Authors:
-
- Total, Pau (France)
- Alberta Innovates Technology Futures, Edmonton (Canada)
- Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
- British Geological Survey, Nottingham (United Kingdom)
- TNO, Utrecht (Netherlands)
- Publication Date:
- Research Org.:
- Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
- Sponsoring Org.:
- USDOE
- OSTI Identifier:
- 1207904
- Grant/Contract Number:
- AC02-05CH11231
- Resource Type:
- Journal Article: Accepted Manuscript
- Journal Name:
- Energy Procedia (Online)
- Additional Journal Information:
- Journal Volume: 63; Journal Issue: C; Journal ID: ISSN 1876-6102
- Publisher:
- Elsevier
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
- Subject:
- 58 GEOSCIENCES; carbon dioxide geological storage; saline aquifer; capacity estimation; storage efficiency; Basal Cambrian Sandstone; Mount Simon Sandstone; Bunter Sandstone; Rotliegend Sandstone
Citation Formats
Thibeau, Sylvain, Bachu, Stefan, Birkholzer, Jens, Holloway, Sam, Neele, Filip, and Zhou, Quanlin. Using Pressure and Volumetric Approaches to Estimate CO2 Storage Capacity in Deep Saline Aquifers. United States: N. p., 2014.
Web. doi:10.1016/j.egypro.2014.11.560.
Thibeau, Sylvain, Bachu, Stefan, Birkholzer, Jens, Holloway, Sam, Neele, Filip, & Zhou, Quanlin. Using Pressure and Volumetric Approaches to Estimate CO2 Storage Capacity in Deep Saline Aquifers. United States. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.egypro.2014.11.560
Thibeau, Sylvain, Bachu, Stefan, Birkholzer, Jens, Holloway, Sam, Neele, Filip, and Zhou, Quanlin. 2014.
"Using Pressure and Volumetric Approaches to Estimate CO2 Storage Capacity in Deep Saline Aquifers". United States. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.egypro.2014.11.560. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1207904.
@article{osti_1207904,
title = {Using Pressure and Volumetric Approaches to Estimate CO2 Storage Capacity in Deep Saline Aquifers},
author = {Thibeau, Sylvain and Bachu, Stefan and Birkholzer, Jens and Holloway, Sam and Neele, Filip and Zhou, Quanlin},
abstractNote = {Various approaches are used to evaluate the capacity of saline aquifers to store CO2, resulting in a wide range of capacity estimates for a given aquifer. The two approaches most used are the volumetric “open aquifer” and “closed aquifer” approaches. We present four full-scale aquifer cases, where CO2 storage capacity is evaluated both volumetrically (with “open” and/or “closed” approaches) and through flow modeling. These examples show that the “open aquifer” CO2 storage capacity estimation can strongly exceed the cumulative CO2 injection from the flow model, whereas the “closed aquifer” estimates are a closer approximation to the flow-model derived capacity. An analogy to oil recovery mechanisms is presented, where the primary oil recovery mechanism is compared to CO2 aquifer storage without producing formation water; and the secondary oil recovery mechanism (water flooding) is compared to CO2 aquifer storage performed simultaneously with extraction of water for pressure maintenance. This analogy supports the finding that the “closed aquifer” approach produces a better estimate of CO2 storage without water extraction, and highlights the need for any CO2 storage estimate to specify whether it is intended to represent CO2 storage capacity with or without water extraction.},
doi = {10.1016/j.egypro.2014.11.560},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1207904},
journal = {Energy Procedia (Online)},
issn = {1876-6102},
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}
}
Web of Science
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Works referencing / citing this record:
Response surface modeling of CO 2 dynamic storage efficiency factor in high permeability thick sandstones
journal, August 2019
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- Greenhouse Gases: Science and Technology, Vol. 9, Issue 5
Cost Implications of Uncertainty in CO2 Storage Resource Estimates: A Review
journal, August 2016
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Assessment of CO2 storage capacity based on sparse data: Skade Formation
journal, December 2018
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