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The Influence of Hydraulic Fracturing on Carbon Storage Performance: Hydraulic Fracturing in Carbon Storage

Journal Article · · Journal of Geophysical Research. Solid Earth
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1002/2017JB014942· OSTI ID:1458680
 [1];  [1];  [1];  [1];  [1]
  1. Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States). Atmospheric, Earth, and Energy Division
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We report that conventional principles of the design and operation of geologic carbon storage (GCS) require injecting CO2 below the caprock fracturing pressure to ensure the integrity of the storage complex. In nonideal storage reservoirs with relatively low permeability, pressure buildup can lead to hydraulic fracturing of the reservoir and caprock. While the GCS community has generally viewed hydraulic fractures as a key risk to storage integrity, a carefully designed stimulation treatment under appropriate geologic conditions could provide improved injectivity while maintaining overall seal integrity. A vertically contained hydraulic fracture, either in the reservoir rock or extending a limited height into the caprock, provides an effective means to access reservoir volume far from the injection well. Employing a fully coupled numerical model of hydraulic fracturing, solid deformation, and matrix fluid flow, we study the enabling conditions, processes, and mechanisms of hydraulic fracturing during CO2 injection. A hydraulic fracture's pressure-limiting behavior dictates that the near-well fluid pressure is only slightly higher than the fracturing pressure of the rock and is insensitive to injection rate and mechanical properties of the formation. Although a fracture contained solely within the reservoir rock with no caprock penetration, would be an ideal scenario, poroelastic principles dictate that sustaining such a fracture could lead to continuously increasing pressure until the caprock fractures. We also investigate the propagation pattern and injection pressure responses of a hydraulic fracture propagating in a caprock subjected to heterogeneous in situ stress. In conclusion, the results have important implications for the use of hydraulic fracturing as a tool for managing storage performance.

Research Organization:
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)
Grant/Contract Number:
AC52-07NA27344
OSTI ID:
1458680
Report Number(s):
LLNL-JRNL--738072; 891040
Journal Information:
Journal of Geophysical Research. Solid Earth, Journal Name: Journal of Geophysical Research. Solid Earth Journal Issue: 12 Vol. 122; ISSN 2169-9313
Publisher:
American Geophysical UnionCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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58 GEOSCIENCES
Caprock integrity
geologic carbon sequestration
hydraulic fracture