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Title: LBNL deliverable to the Tricarb carbon sequestration partnership: Final report on experimental and numerical modeling activities for the Newark Basin

Abstract

This report presents findings for hydrological and chemical characteristics and processes relevant to large-scale geologic CO 2 sequestration in the Newark Basin of southern New York and northern New Jersey. This work has been conducted in collaboration with the Tri-Carb Consortium for Carbon Sequestration — comprising Sandia Technologies, LLC; Conrad Geoscience; and Schlumberger Carbon Services.

Authors:
 [1];  [1];  [1];  [1];  [1];  [1];  [1]
+ Show Author Affiliations
  1. Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Ernest Orlando Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE Office of Science (SC)
OSTI Identifier:
1167568
Report Number(s):
LBNL-6901E
DOE Contract Number:
AC02-05CH11231
Resource Type:
Technical Report
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
58 GEOSCIENCES

Citation Formats

Mukhopadhyay, Sumit, Spycher, Nicolas, Pester, Nick, Saldi, Giuseppe, Beyer, John, Houseworth, Jim, and Knauss, Kevin. LBNL deliverable to the Tricarb carbon sequestration partnership: Final report on experimental and numerical modeling activities for the Newark Basin. United States: N. p., 2014. Web. doi:10.2172/1167568.
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Mukhopadhyay, Sumit, Spycher, Nicolas, Pester, Nick, Saldi, Giuseppe, Beyer, John, Houseworth, Jim, & Knauss, Kevin. LBNL deliverable to the Tricarb carbon sequestration partnership: Final report on experimental and numerical modeling activities for the Newark Basin. United States. doi:10.2172/1167568.
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Mukhopadhyay, Sumit, Spycher, Nicolas, Pester, Nick, Saldi, Giuseppe, Beyer, John, Houseworth, Jim, and Knauss, Kevin. Thu . "LBNL deliverable to the Tricarb carbon sequestration partnership: Final report on experimental and numerical modeling activities for the Newark Basin". United States. doi:10.2172/1167568. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1167568.
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@article{osti_1167568,
title = {LBNL deliverable to the Tricarb carbon sequestration partnership: Final report on experimental and numerical modeling activities for the Newark Basin},
author = {Mukhopadhyay, Sumit and Spycher, Nicolas and Pester, Nick and Saldi, Giuseppe and Beyer, John and Houseworth, Jim and Knauss, Kevin},
abstractNote = {This report presents findings for hydrological and chemical characteristics and processes relevant to large-scale geologic CO2 sequestration in the Newark Basin of southern New York and northern New Jersey. This work has been conducted in collaboration with the Tri-Carb Consortium for Carbon Sequestration — comprising Sandia Technologies, LLC; Conrad Geoscience; and Schlumberger Carbon Services.},
doi = {10.2172/1167568},
journal = {},
number = ,
volume = ,
place = {United States},
year = {Thu Sep 04 00:00:00 EDT 2014},
month = {Thu Sep 04 00:00:00 EDT 2014}
}
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Technical Report:
View Technical Report (11.35 MB)
DOI:  10.2172/1167568
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  • ; ; ; ...

  • Within the Southwest Regional Partnership on Carbon Sequestration (SWP), three demonstrations of geologic CO{sub 2} sequestration are being performed -- one in an oilfield (the SACROC Unit in the Permian basin of west Texas), one in a deep, unmineable coalbed (the Pump Canyon site in the San Juan basin of northern New Mexico), and one in a deep, saline reservoir (underlying the Aneth oilfield in the Paradox basin of southeast Utah). The Pump Canyon CO{sub 2}-enhanced coalbed methane (CO{sub 2}/ECBM) sequestration demonstration project plans to demonstrate the effectiveness of CO{sub 2} sequestration in deep, unmineable coal seams via a small-scalemore » geologic sequestration project. The site is located in San Juan County, northern New Mexico, just within the limits of the high-permeability fairway of prolific coalbed methane production. The study area for the SWP project consists of 31 coalbed methane production wells located in a nine section area. CO{sub 2} was injected continuously for a year and different monitoring, verification and accounting (MVA) techniques were implemented to track the CO{sub 2} movement inside and outside the reservoir. Some of the MVA methods include continuous measurement of injection volumes, pressures and temperatures within the injection well, coalbed methane production rates, pressures and gas compositions collected at the offset production wells, and tracers in the injected CO{sub 2}. In addition, time-lapse vertical seismic profiling (VSP), surface tiltmeter arrays, a series of shallow monitoring wells with a regular fluid sampling program, surface measurements of soil composition, CO{sub 2} fluxes, and tracers were used to help in tracking the injected CO{sub 2}. Finally, a detailed reservoir model was constructed to help reproduce and understand the behavior of the reservoir under production and injection operation. This report summarizes the different phases of the project, from permitting through site closure, and gives the results of the different MVA techniques.« less

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    The relative merits of the seismic, gravity, and electromagnetic (EM) geophysical techniques are examined as monitoring tools for geologic sequestration of CO{sub 2}. This work does not represent an exhaustive study, but rather demonstrates the capabilities of a number of geophysical techniques on two synthetic modeling scenarios. The first scenario represents combined CO{sub 2} enhance oil recovery (EOR) and sequestration in a producing oil field, the Schrader Bluff field on the north slope of Alaska, USA. EOR/sequestration projects in general and Schrader Bluff in particular represent relatively thin injection intervals with multiple fluid components (oil, hydrocarbon gas, brine, and CO{submore » 2}). This model represents the most difficult end member of a complex spectrum of possible sequestration scenarios. The time-lapse performance of seismic, gravity, and EM techniques are considered for the Schrader Bluff model. The second scenario is a gas field that in general resembles conditions of Rio Vista reservoir in the Sacramento Basin of California. Surface gravity, and seismic measurements are considered for this model.« less

  • ; ;
    Many effective techniques for evaluation if in-situ stress and geomechanical formation properties have been developed over the years but detailed understanding of these parameters in-situ, and standard characterization and monitoring protocols for carbon dioxide storage sites are lacking. A case study is performed in the northern Newark Basin, a candidate carbon dioxide-storage site located near the New York Metropolitan area. Possible impacts of seismic hazard and carbon dioxide leakage are particularly important due to a high population density across the basin. As one of the best-studied Mesozoic rift basins, the Newark Basin represents a great type locality for similar basinsmore » along the east coast and the results established in this project provide a robust tool for comparison to other Mesozoic basin data sets and locations (e.g., Georgia Rift Basin), where similar comprehensive core data sets and well testing results are not available. The project leveraged existing core samples to characterize and measure the strength of a series of differing lithologies and formations in the basin, with 28 samples fully tested. The orientation and magnitude of in-situ stresses were measured in an existing test well using a novel wireline tool set-up. This new methodology employed a “pre-stress” packer module to attempt to create an initial formation break using the force of the packer itself against the borehole wall. This enhancement in the testing methodology can be used in places where traditional methods are insufficient to break down a formation. Following the pre-stress packer sets, the improved Schlumberger Modular Formation Dynamics Tester tool-string was then used to perform traditional straddled formation breakdown testing of selected intervals. Testing indicated that formation breakdown was successfully achieved at two of the six test intervals, with an additional two tests sets indicating re-opening and propagation of pre-existing breaks out into the formation. New laboratory strength data acquired by this project, coupled with an updated basin-specific compressional acoustic velocity to unconfined compressional strength (Vp-UCS) relationship, was used for evaluation of the state of stress in the northern Newark Basin. Formation breakdown testing in the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory Test Well No. 3 allows for the determination of the full stress field at this location. The evaluation indicates that the natural fractures in the depth range of 244 to 457 meters (800 to 1,500 feet) are not critically stressed, however, they are close to their failure limit. Therefore, they likely could not withstand significant pore pressure increases anticipated with industrial scale geologic carbon sequestration. Failure modeling with the updated formation strength data shows that in-situ stresses must be at the frictional failure limit in the reverse-faulting stress regime at all depths in the northern portion of the basin, where borehole breakouts are observed. The disappearance of breakouts below a depth of 1,372 meters (4,500 feet) in the northern portion of the basin coincides with a significant increase in formation strength. In this deeper section, the apparent higher stress gradient would place existing fractures further away from their failure limit, making them more suitable for injection. Forward modeling of the effective stresses under increased pore pressure conditions suggest that a mere 2,758 kPa (400 psi) change in pore pressure could bring select fractures to failure. This is a fairly small-change in expected pore pressure increases at industrial scale injection operations. Therefore, given the presence of nearly critically stressed fractures located just a few hundred meters above these depths, large-volume fluid injections appear to increase geological risk in the northern portion of the Newark Basin.« less