Assessment of the potential for geological storage of carbon dioxide in Ireland and Northern Ireland

Lewis, D.R.; Bentham, Michelle; Cleary, Tom; Vernon, Richard; O'Neill, Nick; Kirk, Karen; Chadwick, Andy; Hilditch, David; Michael, Karsten; Allinson, Guy; Neal, Peter; Ho, Minh T.

doi:10.1016/j.egypro.2009.02.033

Cited by 26 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 3 publications

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“…The Röt Halite Member forms the primary seal to hydrocarbons in the Esmond Gas Field Complex (Ketter, 1991), but is absent in the vicinity of the Hewett Fields where anhydritic mudstones form an effective top seal (Cooke-Yarbrough, 1991). Lewis et al (2009) provide an overview of possible CO2 storage sites for Ireland and the UK. Off the West coast of Britain, the Permo-Triassic deposits of the Central Irish Sea and East Irish Sea Basins are of particular interest (Lewis et al, 2009).…”

Section: Stratigraphic Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

Stress controls on transport properties of the Mercia Mudstone Group: Importance for hydrocarbon depletion and CO2 injection

Harrington

Graham

Tamayo-Mas

et al. 2018

Marine and Petroleum Geology

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The physical properties of the Mercia Mudstone Group (MMG) are of interest to Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) in the UK, both in terms of the sealing capacity of certain horizons and in order to assess scenarios involving CO2 migration in the overburden above potential CCS sites. In this study, the hydromechanical properties of MMG samples from the Larne Basin, Northern Ireland, were directly measured under steady-state conditions. Test samples were found to be good seals, with hydraulic permeabilities ranging from ≈2.1x10-18 to 8.4x10-21 m 2 (2.1x10-3 to 8.5x10-6 mD). A detailed examination of the consolidation behaviour of the material yielded values for compressibility, hydraulic permeability and specific storage, as a function of effective pressure. Consolidation testing also provided preconsolidation pressure values of between 30 and 37 MPa. Test data were fitted to a linear elastic model using a two-dimension finite element approach, yielding hydraulic permeability and Young's Modulus, as a function of effective pressure. Findings suggest localisation of flow, due to small-scale heterogeneity, may play a role even in relatively large test samples. Results also highlight the impact of methodology on resulting permeabilities and the importance of using values measured at boundary conditions appropriate for the specific application. Critical state envelopes were derived from test data and used to conduct a scenario analysis, considering a range of stress paths, to examine the impacts of depletion and reinflation during CO2 injection. Initial stress conditions, stress path gradient and caprock heterogeneity were all found to be influencing factors on the potential for yield during depletion and the resulting deformation mode. The response to CO2 injection is less clear, but will be impacted by the initial caprock permeability and resulting drainage response. An awareness of these controls on caprock performance during stress path changes may aid in the selection of depleted CCS sites with geomechanically favourable characteristics for reinjection.

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Section: Stratigraphic Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

Stress controls on transport properties of the Mercia Mudstone Group: Importance for hydrocarbon depletion and CO2 injection

Harrington

Graham

Tamayo-Mas

et al. 2018

Marine and Petroleum Geology

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“…The atlas assesses a large number of geological formations individually and then groups formations into several aquifers whose qualities have been assessed with regard to CO 2 storage potential. Similar atlases have been compiled in other parts of the world, see e.g., [16,17,18,19,20,21].…”

Section: Large-scale Carbon Storage In the North Seamentioning

confidence: 99%

A Simulation Workflow for Large-scale CO2 Storage in the Norwegian North Sea

et al. 2014

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Large-scale CO 2 injection problems have revived the interest in simple models, like percolation and vertically-averaged models, for simulating fluid flow in reservoirs and aquifers. A series of such models have been collected and implemented together with standard reservoir simulation capabilities in a high-level scripting language as part of the open-source MATLAB Reservoir Simulation Toolbox (MRST) to give a set of simulation methods of increasing computational complexity. Herein, we outline the methods and discuss how they can be combined to create a flexible tool-chain for investigating CO 2 storage on a scale that would have significant impact on European CO 2 emissions. In particular, we discuss geometrical methods for identifying structural traps, percolation-type methods for identifying potential spill paths, and vertical-equilibrium methods that can efficiently simulate structural, residual, and solubility trapping in a thousand-year perspective. The utility of the overall workflow is demonstrated using real-life depth and thickness maps of two geological formations from the recent CO 2 Storage Atlas of the Norwegian North Sea.

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“…Aside from untested structures associated with this conventional petroleum system, future exploration might focus on prospective Palaeozoic targets such as the potential Carboniferous plays recently identified by Pharaoh et al (2016;in press). The EISB is also of interest in terms of its potential for carbon capture and storage (Armitage et al 2013;Lewis et al 2009), whereby emissions are captured from anthropogenic sources such as power plants, and injected to subsurface reservoirs for long-term storage. In addition, the EISB also offers the potential for natural gas storage, both in porous sandstones and in solution-mined salt caverns (Evans & Holloway 2009).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of in situ stress and fault reactivation on seal integrity in the East Irish Sea Basin, UK

Williams

Gent

Fellgett

et al. 2018

Marine and Petroleum Geology

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Despite having been affected by several stages of exhumation during the Cretaceous and Cenozoic, the contemporary stress state of the East Irish Sea (EISB) is poorly characterised. As the basin is mature in terms of exploitation of hydrocarbons, future exploration beyond the conventional Sherwood Sandstone Group reservoir (Triassic) necessitates a greater understanding of the in situ stress field, while proposed natural gas storage and carbon sequestration schemes also require detailed stress field information. Using petroleum well data, the in situ stress field of the EISB has been characterised to assess the mechanical seal integrity. A strike-slip stress regime most-likely prevails in the basin, meaning the Maximum Horizontal Stress (SHmax) is the greatest of the principal stresses. Interpretation of stress orientation data suggests that SHmax is oriented 152˚ ± 12˚, consistent with mean stress orientations across the wider region associated with plate boundary forces. Some degree of structural control appears to influence the orientation of SHmax, with orientations locally aligned sub-parallel to major Permo-Triassic basin-bounding faults. Fault reactivation risk is evaluated through modelling the pore pressure increase required to induce failure on pre-existing faults. Vertical faults striking 30˚ from SHmax are optimally-oriented to become reactivated under elevated pore pressure conditions. For any project relying on an element of fault seal for the containment of buoyant fluids at the average reservoir depth of 800 m, pore pressure increase should be less than 3.3 MPa to avoid reactivating pre-existing optimally-oriented faults. Higher pressure increases would be required to initiate reactivation of faults with other orientations. Vertical faults striking perpendicular to SHmax are least likely to become reactivated, and in the absence of halite, seal integrity would instead be limited by caprock strength and capillary-entry pressure. Major faults affecting the basin have been analysed for their slip tendency (ratio of shear to normal stress), which provides an indication of their susceptibility to become reactivated. Although the analysis is limited due to lack of an accurate 3D representation of the fault network, the results suggest that many of the fault orientations observed in the EISB exhibit high slip tendencies, including N-S striking faults to the north and west of the East Deemster Fault, where the SHmax orientation is NW-SE. Faults striking perpendicular to SHmax, such as the Lagman Fault, are least likely to become reactivated due to higher normal stresses that inhibit frictional sliding, while faults striking parallel or very close to SHmax also exhibit low slip tendency as they are not subjected to significant shear stresses.

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Assessment of the potential for geological storage of carbon dioxide in Ireland and Northern Ireland

Cited by 26 publications

References 3 publications

Stress controls on transport properties of the Mercia Mudstone Group: Importance for hydrocarbon depletion and CO2 injection

Stress controls on transport properties of the Mercia Mudstone Group: Importance for hydrocarbon depletion and CO2 injection

A Simulation Workflow for Large-scale CO2 Storage in the Norwegian North Sea

Impact of in situ stress and fault reactivation on seal integrity in the East Irish Sea Basin, UK

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