Impact of 3D capillary heterogeneity and bedform architecture at the sub-meter scale on CO2 saturation for buoyant flow in clastic aquifers

Trevisan, Luca; Krishnamurthy, P.; Meckel, Timothy A.

doi:10.1016/j.ijggc.2016.12.001

Cited by 64 publications

(47 citation statements)

References 84 publications

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“…As well as deriving equivalent relative permeabilities, the measured j i distribution can be used to evaluate mm scale absolute permeabilities. These distributions could in turn inform small-scale geological upscaling procedures as in Pickup and Stephen (2000) and Trevisan et al (2017a). The permeability of each voxel K i can be readily determined through the Leverett J-function relationship at JðS w 51Þ, i.e., K i 5 K / i =j 2 i /.…”

Section: Beyond Conventional Core Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

Characterizing Drainage Multiphase Flow in Heterogeneous Sandstones

Jackson

Agada

Reynolds

et al. 2018

Water Resources Research

117

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In this work, we analyze the characterization of drainage multiphase flow properties on heterogeneous rock cores using a rich experimental data set and mm-m scale numerical simulations. Along with routine multiphase flow properties, 3-D submeter scale capillary pressure heterogeneity is characterized by combining experimental observations and numerical calibration, resulting in a 3-D numerical model of the rock core. The uniqueness and predictive capability of the numerical models are evaluated by accurately predicting the experimentally measured relative permeability of N 2 -DI water and CO 2 -brine systems in two distinct sandstone rock cores across multiple fractional flow regimes and total flow rates. The numerical models are used to derive equivalent relative permeabilities, which are upscaled functions incorporating the effects of submeter scale capillary pressure. The functions are obtained across capillary numbers which span four orders of magnitude, representative of the range of flow regimes that occur in subsurface CO 2 injection. Removal of experimental boundary artifacts allows the derivation of equivalent functions which are characteristic of the continuous subsurface. We also demonstrate how heterogeneities can be reorientated and restructured to efficiently estimate flow properties in rock orientations differing from the original core sample. This analysis shows how combined experimental and numerical characterization of rock samples can be used to derive equivalent flow properties from heterogeneous rocks.

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Section: Beyond Conventional Core Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

Characterizing Drainage Multiphase Flow in Heterogeneous Sandstones

Jackson

Agada

Reynolds

et al. 2018

Water Resources Research

117

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show abstract

“…With this, 1000s of realisations of different P e , λ and S wirr zones could be very quickly simulated using sensitivity packages such as CMG CMOST TM , to derive the equivalent relative permeabilities for these systems at varying N c . Similarly, small-scale geological upscaling as in Pickup and Stephen (2000) and Trevisan et al (2017a) could make direct use of the experimentally derived κ i and P e distributions to link directly with larger numerical upscaling. Using statistical properties of the κ i distributions, such as variograms and PDFs, these models could generate many realisations of this physically realistic dataset to evaluate sensitivity of the reservoir to slight changes in P c (S w ) distributions.…”

Section: Beyond Conventional Core Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

Characterising Drainage Multiphase Flow in Heterogeneous Sandstones

Jackson¹,

Agada²,

Reynolds³

et al. 2017

Preprint

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In this work, we analyse the characterisation of drainage multiphase flow properties on heterogeneous rock cores using a rich experimental dataset and mm-m scale numerical simulations. Along with routine multiphase flow properties, 3D sub-metre scale capillary pressure heterogeneity is characterised by combining experimental observations and numerical calibration, resulting in a 3D numerical model of the rock core. The uniqueness and predictive capability of the numerical models are demonstrated by accurately predicting the experimentally measured relative permeability of N 2 -DI water and CO 2 -brine systems in two distinct sandstone rock cores across multiple fractional flow regimes and total flow rates. The numerical models are used to derive equivalent relative permeabilities, which are upscaled functions incorporating the effects of sub-metre scale capillary pressure. The functions are obtained across capillary numbers which span four orders of magnitude, representative of the range of flow regimes that occur in subsurface CO 2 injection. Removal of experimental boundary artefacts allows the derivation of equivalent functions which are characteristic of the continuous subsurface. We also demonstrate how heterogeneities can be re-orientated and restructured efficiently to obtain large amounts of information about expected flow regimes through different small-scale rock structures. This analysis shows how combined experimental and numerical characterisation of rock samples can be used to derive equivalent flow properties from heterogeneous rocks.

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“…In general, the action of capillarity on immiscible fluid displacement manifests itself via two major phenomena, namely hysteresis and capillary barrier, causing occurrence of nonwetting phase (NWP) at different saturations across the porous medium. The importance of these phenomena has been pointed out by several numerical modeling studies focusing on a variety of specific aspects at the field scale [ Bryant et al ., ; Deng et al ., ; Doughty and Pruess , ; Flett et al ., ; Saadatpoor et al ., ] and at the sub‐meter scale [ Kuo and Benson , ; Li and Benson , ; Ritzi et al ., ; Trevisan et al ., ]. For example, spatial correlation of the permeability ( k ) field as well as interconnectivity of high‐ k preferential flow pathways have a critical impact on CO 2 migration and trapping in saline aquifers [ Gershenzon et al ., ; Han et al ., ; Ide et al ., ; Lengler et al ., ; Tian et al ., ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Imaging and quantification of spreading and trapping of carbon dioxide in saline aquifers using meter‐scale laboratory experiments

Trevisan

Pini

Cihan

et al. 2017

Water Resources Research

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The role of capillary forces during buoyant migration of CO2 is critical toward plume immobilization within the postinjection phase of a geological carbon sequestration operation. However, the inherent heterogeneity of the subsurface makes it very challenging to evaluate the effects of capillary forces on the storage capacity of these formations and to assess in situ plume evolution. To overcome the lack of accurate and continuous observations at the field scale and to mimic vertical migration and entrapment of realistic CO2 plumes in the presence of a background hydraulic gradient, we conducted two unique long‐term experiments in a 2.44 m × 0.5 m tank. X‐ray attenuation allowed measuring the evolution of a CO2‐surrogate fluid saturation, thus providing direct insight into capillarity‐dominated and buoyancy‐dominated flow processes occurring under successive drainage and imbibition conditions. The comparison of saturation distributions between two experimental campaigns suggests that layered‐type heterogeneity plays an important role on nonwetting phase (NWP) migration and trapping, because it leads to (i) longer displacement times (3.6 months versus 24 days) to reach stable trapping conditions, (ii) limited vertical migration of the plume (with center of mass at 39% versus 55% of aquifer thickness), and (iii) immobilization of a larger fraction of injected NWP mass (67.2% versus 51.5% of injected volume) as compared to the homogenous scenario. While these observations confirm once more the role of geological heterogeneity in controlling buoyant flows in the subsurface, they also highlight the importance of characterizing it at scales that are below seismic resolution (1–10 m).

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Impact of 3D capillary heterogeneity and bedform architecture at the sub-meter scale on CO2 saturation for buoyant flow in clastic aquifers

Cited by 64 publications

References 84 publications

Characterizing Drainage Multiphase Flow in Heterogeneous Sandstones

Characterizing Drainage Multiphase Flow in Heterogeneous Sandstones

Characterising Drainage Multiphase Flow in Heterogeneous Sandstones

Imaging and quantification of spreading and trapping of carbon dioxide in saline aquifers using meter‐scale laboratory experiments

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