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Monitoring & Modelling Meeting

1 February 2017
Event Proceedings
Storage

The combined meeting of the IEAGHG Monitoring and Modelling Networks took place at the Edinburgh Centre for Carbon Innovation from the 6-8th July 2016. The meeting brought together leading experts from research and industry to discuss the latest work and developments, with around 60 participants from 11 countries participating.The theme for this meeting was ‘using the modelling-monitoring loop to demonstrate storage performance more effectively’. Sessions on monitoring included induced seismicity, novel monitoring techniques, monitoring costs, near-surface natural variability, monitoring CO2-EOR, wellbore integrity issues, modelling environmental conditions, updates from ongoing and closed projects, lessons from other industries, modelling reservoirs and overburden, pressure measurements and conformance in the monitoring modelling loop.

Technical Report

Case Studies of CO₂ Storage in Depleted Oil and Gas Fields

1 January 2017
Storage

CO₂ storage has now been tested at a number of demonstration sites around the world, including some depleted oil and gas reservoirs. The use of depleted reservoirs can offer some advantages because the geological characteristics that are pertinent to CO₂ storage, such as the distribution of porosity and permeability, have been pre-determined. Although depleted hydrocarbon fields can show strong evidence of fluid retention, there are risks associated with existing wellbores and the possibility of caprock deterioration. The aim of this study is to highlight key factors that influence CO2 storage in depleted oil and gas fields based on four detailed examples. Comparisons were made between storage operations in depleted fields (with or without enhanced hydrocarbon recovery) and storage in saline aquifers with the approaches required in modelling, monitoring, reporting, economics, and operational strategies. Fundamental differences in the reservoir pressure and risk profiles between the different storage sites have been explored. These studies have also allowed a comparative assessment to be made of the requirements for CO₂ storage projects from different geographic and regulatory regimes. The work was led by the British Geological Survey with support from the Gulf Coast Carbon Center based at the University of Texas at Austin.

Technical Review

Review of CO₂ Storage Basalts

1 January 2017
Storage

This technical review has been undertaken with the aim of providing a high level overview of the current status of basalts as an option for the geological storage of CO₂. The review also includes a short section on the storage potential of ultramafic rocks. Two high profile sites, CarbFix in Iceland and the Wallula project in Washington State have both injected and monitored CO₂ storage in basalts since 2012 and research has recently been published for both sites. Basalts are important storage sites to consider for CCS as they comprise approximately 10% of the Earth’s surface and are often located in areas where no other storage options exist. Basalts have a high weight percentage of Ca, Mg and Fe rich minerals which react with CO₂ to form carbonates. At the pilot projects Wallula and CarbFix, in-situ carbonisation has been proven to occur and within much shorter timescales than initially predicted. In conventional deep sandstone aquifer storage sites, CO₂ remains buoyant for 1,000s to 100,000s of years and consequently this form of storage relies predominately on structural and solution trapping within the reservoirs to prevent CO₂ leakage.

Technical Report

RESERVED CO₂EOR Accounting JK

1 October 2016
Policy & Regulation
Storage

The report attempts to review issues associated with greenhouse gas emissions accounting where anthropogenic carbon dioxide is captured and used for enhanced oil recovery (CO₂-EOR) in conjunction with long-term geological storage of CO₂. Whilst this suggests a fairly narrow scope of research, it in fact opens up several lines of complex enquiry, requiring a strong understanding of global oil production, trade, supply and demand. This is a topic to which countless hours of debate and consideration are made on an ongoing basis, generally without any clear consensus in respect of matters such as ‘peak oil’, ‘carbon lock-in’ and fossil fuel ‘demand destruction’. It is also a topic that is highly political, with oil being at the heart of economic activity and life-style behaviour. As such, the analysis presented herein has required some simplifying assumptions in order to provide limits to the discussions presented. This has been carried out to the best of the authors’ capacity, commensurate with the time and resources available for the study. The report does not claim to provide a definitive view on how to resolve issues of greenhouse gas emissions accounting for CO₂- EOR, but rather provides a source of ideas on how to establish a framework for considering the issues at hand, and food for thought in respect of further discussion and debate.

Technical Report

Regional assessment of the economic barriers to carbon dioxide enhanced oil recovery in the North Sea, Russia and GCC States

1 October 2016
Storage

The objective of this study is to explore the economic conditions that would be necessary for a CO2 EOR project in the North Sea and in the Middle East. Traditional oil production can recover up to 20-40% of the original oil in place (OOIP). The application of an EOR technique, typically performed towards what is normally perceived to be the end of the life of an oilfield, can increase the cumulative recovery by an additional 5-15%. The investment decision for a CO2 EOR project hinges on key factors relating to geological site suitability, capital and operational costs. A number of identified success factors for the well-established CO2 EOR industry in the U.S. are listed below:   <ul> <li>Depth and oil composition can enable CO2 to form miscibility lowering viscosity</li> <li>There is sufficient unrecovered oil after primary and secondary recovery (usually water flooding)</li> <li>There is sufficient access to a reliable supply of CO2</li> <li>Operator knowledge and experience can be applied</li> <li>Tax incentives to promote profitable implementation</li> </ul>

Technical Report

Fault Permeability

1 October 2016
Storage

The present review adds to an earlier report (IEAGHG, 2015a) by using the published literature to examine how fault permeability is modified by fault zone and host rock properties and in situ stresses of anthropogenic or geological origins. The primary goal of the report is to use publically available literature to examine when, where and how faults may negatively or positively impact the storage and migration of injected CO2. In particular, four key tasks have been undertaken and are outlined below. TASK 1 - Provide a brief summary of the key parameters that influence the mechanical and hydraulic properties of fault zones including a summary of CO2 flow data along faults at natural seeps. TASK 2 - Review current oil industry practices that are used to assess and control the unwanted migration of hydrocarbons along faults. Use the experience of different industry/academic teams to assess and model fault leakage from potential CO2 storage sites. TASK 3 - Review the approaches used by other industries (e.g. waste disposal, hydrocarbons, civil engineering) to assess the properties, permeabilities, and leakage thresholds of faults and examine how these approaches might be useful for CO2 storage sites. TASK 4 - Identify the knowledge gaps in current understanding of fluid migration along faults. Identify the challenges in modelling fault permeability, and monitoring fluid migration (including CO2), along and across faults. Recommend the direction of future research and development that is directly related to a better understanding of fault permeability. The principal objective of this report is to provide a review and synthesis of international research and current understanding of fault permeability, with emphasis on how it could influence (positively or negatively) CO2 storage. To address this principal aim and the four key tasks outlined above, the report contains 10 main sections. These main sections are summarized below.

Technical Review

National Storage CO₂ Assessment Guidance

1 October 2016
Storage

This guide provides information on where to find the material required to undertake initial national scale storage assessments. It is designed to help government bodies and policy makers with limited prior carbon capture and storage (CCS) experience find information regarding the methodology of conducting an assessment. A nationwide storage estimate is fundamental to progress CCS as a climate mitigation technology as it will determine how suitable the regional geology is for CO₂ storage and provide an initial indication of capacity.

Technical Report

RMNER Network Meeting

1 June 2016
Event Proceedings
Storage

The three day meeting included themes on risk assessment methodologies, risk communication and mitigation strategies as well as environmental research. There was an emphasis on potential impacts of CO2 in marine environments, natural variability and the unscheduled release of CO2 from pipelines. Coverage also included formation fluid release, overburden features, international initiatives and environmental impact assessments notably the Peterhead – Goldeneye project.

Technical Report

Can CO₂ Capture and Storage Unlock 'Unburnable Carbon'?

1 May 2016
Capture
Storage

This study has undertaken an initial assessment on the relevance of CCS in terms of the unburnable carbon issues. This consisted of the following tasks: <ol> <li>Undertake a comprehensive literature review to identify and assess those studies done to date which are relevant to, include or comment upon the role of CCS in the issues of unburnable carbon.</li> <li>Assess the assumptions, methodologies, any contentious subjects, and understand differences in these studies.</li> <li>Identify and assess sources of information on the global potential for CCS deployment, including storage potential.</li> <li>Potential issues that would contribute to better understanding and assessment of this topic (which are of a technical nature and thus IEAGHG could address), will be identified and recommendations made for further work, including whether any work is necessary relating to global storage capacity and CCS global potential.</li> </ol>

Technical Review

International Workshop on Offshore Geological CO₂ Storage

1 May 2016
Event Proceedings
Storage

The aims of the workshop were to undertake a global needs assessment for offshore geological CO₂ storage, to initiate a discussion about the various aspects of offshore transport and storage, and to build an international community of parties interested in offshore storage. This was achieved by bringing together those who are doing offshore CCS to share knowledge with those who are interested in doing, and by facilitating countries to identify their specific issues, challenges, opportunities, and then to identify synergies, common gaps and goals, and define common action items.

Technical Review

Review of Project Permits Under the London Protocol - As Assessment of the Proposed P18-4 CO₂ Storage Sites

1 May 2016
Policy & Regulation
Storage

The London Convention and Protocol is one of the first global agreements to protect the marine environment. The Protocol promotes the protection of the marine environment by prohibiting the dumping of wastes and other matter into the sea. Under the Protocol all dumping is prohibited, with the exception of a limited number of selected wastes. In 2007, an amendment entered into force which permitted CO₂ streams to be considered for dumping under the London Protocol. The amendment was shortly followed up with a set of “Specific Guidelines for Assessment of Carbon Dioxide Streams for Disposal into Sub-seabed Geological Formations”, developed to support the National Authorities of Contracting Parties in evaluating permit applications for CO₂ disposal activities in their marine territories. As few offshore CO₂ storage sites have been permitted in the territories of Contracting Parties, there is no evidence of the application of the above mentioned guidelines to actual permitting processes. The P18-4 field is a near-depleted gas field at a depth of 3.5 km under the seabed, located approximately 20 km off the Dutch coast in the North Sea. The operator of the gas field applied for a CO₂ storage permit to the Dutch authorities in 2011, for the storage of a maximum of 8 Mton CO₂. An irrevocable storage permit for P18-4 was provided to the operator in September 2013, however the project has been postponed indefinitely due to economic constraints. The objective of this report is to assess to what extent the proposed P18-4 storage site, originally part of the ROAD CCS Project, complies with the London Protocol’s 2012 Specific Guidelines for Assessment of Carbon Dioxide Streams for Disposal into Sub-seabed Geological Formations, and therefore the 1996 London Protocol itself. The assessment has been achieved through a simple, but systematic, cross-check of the requirements of the Specific Guidelines against the contents of the application material provided by the operator to the National Authority. This involves the appraisal of approximately 1100 pages of submitted material in order to identify evidence of compliance

Technical Report

Operational Flexibility of CO₂ Transport and Storage

1 March 2016
Storage
Transport

This study has reviewed different transport and storage scenarios to reflect the range of full-scale commercial operations. In addition to a wide ranging literature review a survey of industrial, utility, pipeline and CO2-EOR operators was also conducted to obtain their insights of CO2 transport and storage. Owing to the sensitivity of these commercial operations it has not been possible to attribute background information to either individuals or their companies. Anonymity has not prevented the inclusion of real world data on exhaust gas composition from different sources including power generation (coal and natural gas), oil refining, gas processing, cement, hydrogen production, and ethanol production. It also includes background information on actual CO2 pipeline operation, including network hubs, and CO2 CO2-EOR experience in the United States. Experience from different industrial scale injection projects such as Sleipner, Snøhvit and In Salah, has been included. The study has investigated how flexible operation affects CO2 storage and the measures adopted to accommodate intermittent supply. There are a series of prioritized recommendations based on the gaps in knowledge.

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