| Salt Precipitation at an Active CO2 Injection Site | Publication | 2020-08-05 | Stephen James Talman, Alireza Rangriz Shokri, Richard John Chalaturnyk, "Erik Nickel" |
| Non-isothermal Injectivity Considerations for Effective Geological Storage of CO2 at the Aquistore Site, Saskatchewan, CanadaMonitoring data of episodic transient heat and flow conditions, caused by intermittent cold CO2 injection in Aquistore, has shown a linkage between injectivity index and downhole injection temperature. Taking leverage access to invaluable field performance data collected from this highly instrumented Canadian CCS demonstration project, the focus of this paper is to understand and quantify the potential non-isothermal mechanisms involved in cold CO2 injection. Understanding this phenomenon is important as it has serious implications on containment, conformance, and injectivity technologies for effective geological CO2 storage.
To account for transient heat and fluid transport during cold CO2 injection in Aquistore, a non-isothermal EOS-based fluid flow simulation, of a high-resolution detailed geological model built based on an extensive characterization program, was calibrated with periodic monitoring data of downhole pressure, temperature, and injected mass rate. Due to the possibility of non-isothermal effects on near-wellbore stress fields, local induced fractures, and permeability alterations, in addition to dynamics of CO2-brine interactions, coupled reservoir geomechanical modeling techniques were then employed for further calibration. The uncertainties associated with the subsurface geological modeling, leaking aquifer boundaries, reservoir heterogeneity, rock thermal, petrophysical, and geomechanical properties were considered for both isothermal and non-isothermal conditions.
Processing of DTS (Distributed Temperature Sensing) data from both injection and observation wells indicated dynamic perturbations in subsurface temperature due to injection operations. Geological characterization, performed through high-resolution 3D seismic images, core, and log data, and the existence of a leaking aquifer, were found to have significant impacts on CO2 plume evolution. Through history matching process of non-isothermal flow simulation, for both injector and observation wells, the extent of the cold region was estimated, and found to be mainly controlled by rock thermal properties, permeability, and injection rate. Our analysis suggested that cold temperature front was limited to near-wellbore region due to substantial heat loss by conduction, besides radial decay of convective flow. Further non-isothermal coupled simulations indicated a large, but near-wellbore-limited reduction in effective horizontal stresses, induced by cold CO2 injection. Employing different values of thermal expansion coefficients, local potential open-mode fractures were observed; however, fracturing of entire formation was not experienced. This phenomenon was associated with local permeability enhancement, and potential improvement in CO2 injectivity. A comparison of isothermal and non-isothermal analyses on reservoir performance during CO2 injection was lastly provided.
Our analysis of subsurface injection and coupled processes in relation to geologic CO2 sequestration delivers critical insights on how and under what conditions these non-isothermal effects are generated. This ultimately provides a predictive tool to better characterize the reservoir behaviour, injectivity issues, and spatial location of a subsurface CO2 plume. | Publication | 2019-10-01 | Alireza Rangriz Shokri, Richard John Chalaturnyk, "Erik Nickel" |
| Petrophysical and Thermo-Hydro-Mechanical Study of a deep hypersaline CO2 reservoir | Publication | 2022-11-22 | Noga Vaisblat, Nathan Lee Deisman, Richard John Chalaturnyk |
| Salt Precipitation at an Active CO2 Injection SiteThe Aquistore research is part of SaskPower’s Boundary Dam Integrated Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) Demonstration project. Carbon dioxide, captured from the flue gas of Unit Three of the Boundary Dam coal-fired power generation station, is injected into a 3400 m deep injection well drilled specifically for CO2 injection. The target aquifer is highly saline (TDS 330 g/L) with injection through four distinct perforation zones extending over about 200 m.
Drying-induced salt precipitation within the target reservoir has been identified as having the potential to cause formation damage in CO2 injection operations. Key parameters in assessing the possible severity are the initial salinity of the formation water and the residual water saturation under drainage. However, a second mechanism for reducing CO2 injectivity was observed at the Aquistore site. Downhole images from the injection well, together with recovered samples reveal that scales of simple salts have formed on the inside of a CO2 injection well. These are developed by evaporation of formation water to near complete dryness in the CO2 dominated wellbore fluids. The timing of the water backflow into the well and the mechanism driving it are uncertain, but the very high salinity of the formation water means that the total volume of scale observed could be due to minor volumes of flow back fluid. Since large salt build-ups are associated with what is very likely small volumes of inflow, the salts precipitated in the wellbore may threaten to CO2 injectivity. This observation suggests that an effort should be made prior to the onset of CO2 injection to reduce the likelihood of such a scale development. This requires a better understanding of the conditions responsible for any flow-back of water into the injection well.
Images and other descriptions of the salt deposits will be presented along with an interpretation of their mechanisms of formation and preservation.
| Publication | 2019-09-25 | Stephen James Talman, Alireza Rangriz Shokri, Richard John Chalaturnyk, "Erik Nickel" |
| Advances in Reservoir Geomechanical Testing Program at High TemperaturesPoster | Activity | 2018-10-03 | Nathan Lee Deisman, Richard John Chalaturnyk, Stephen James Talman, Nathalia Ardila |
| Geological Storage of CO2 | Activity | 2018-04-05 | Richard John Chalaturnyk |
| Geomechanical Thermal Considerations for Modeling Geological Storage of CO2Aquistore Modeling Workshop
PTRC Boadroom (main floor)
6 Research Drive
Regina, SK
Time: 8:00-6:00pm tentatively
Date: Thursday April 5th, 2018 | Activity | 2018-04-05 | Alireza Rangriz Shokri |
| Integrated Analysis of Downhole Camera Videos, Salt Precipitation and Geochemistry at Aquistore | Activity | 2022-10-04 | Stephen James Talman, Alireza Rangriz Shokri, Richard John Chalaturnyk |
| Rock Mechanics in the Geological Storage of CO2 through the lens of the Aquistore CO2 Storage Project | Activity | 2022-08-10 | Richard John Chalaturnyk |
| Thermo‐Mechanical Creep Behavior of Clearwater Caprock | Publication | 2020-12-31 | Susan Lizeth Sarmiento Navas |
| An update on Thermal Impacts for Geological Storage of CO2Presentation | Activity | 2019-03-21 | Nathan Lee Deisman, Alireza Rangriz Shokri, Richard John Chalaturnyk, Donald Lawton |
| Measurement, Monitoring, Verification and Modelling at the Aquistore CO2 Storage Site | Publication | 2021-05-26 | "Zeinab Movahedzadeh", Alireza Rangriz Shokri, Richard John Chalaturnyk, "Erik Nickel", "Norm Sacuta" |
| Stress-Dependent Pore Deformation Effects on Multiphase Flow Properties of Porous Media | Publication | 2019-10-18 | A H Haghi,, Richard John Chalaturnyk, Stephen James Talman |
