Spill-point analysis and structural trapping capacity in saline aquifers using MRST-co2lab

Abstract

Geological carbon storage represents a substantial challenge for the subsurface geosciences. Knowledge of the subsurface can be captured in a quantitative form using computational methods developed within petroleum production. However, to provide good estimates of the likely outcomes over thousands of years, traditional 3D simulation methods should be combined with other techniques developed specifically to study large-scale, long-term migration problems, e.g., in basin modeling. A number of such methods have been developed as a separate module in the open-source Matlab Reservoir Simulation Toolbox (MRST).In this paper, we present a set of tools provided by this module, consisting of geometrical and percolation type methods for computing structural traps and spill paths below a sealing caprock. Using concepts from water management, these tools can be applied on large-scale aquifer models to quickly estimate potential for structural trapping, determine spill paths from potential injection points, suggest optimal injection locations, etc. We demonstrate this by a series of examples applied on publicly available datasets. The corresponding source code is provided along with the examples.

Robust simulation of sharp-interface models for fast estimation of CO2 trapping capacity in large-scale aquifer systems

“…To contribute to this and to accelerate transfer of knowledge developed in academic research projects to end-users in industry and the public sector, we have started developing a community software called MRST-co2lab [4][5][6][7][8] implemented on top of the open-source Matlab Reservoir Simulation Toolbox (MRST) [9][10][11][12]. Both MRST and its CO 2 module can be freely downloaded and used under the GNU General Public License v3.0.…”

“…In [5], we discuss tools for fast and interactive estimation of structural trapping and potential migration paths under the assumption that CO 2 is injected at an infinitesimal rate. These tools do not account for temporal aspects, but will nevertheless reveal important information such as accessible structural traps, spill points and migration paths, good injection locations, points where the CO 2 may leak out through open boundaries, etc.…”

Reexamining CO2 Storage Capacity and Utilization of the Utsira Formation

“…In (Nilsen et al, 2014c) we describe how we generate an aquifer model of Utsira from the data provided in (Halland et al, 2011), using functionality available in the open-source Matlab Reservoir Simulation Toolbox (MRST). In addition to providing simple access to the CO 2 Storage Atlas data, the next release of MRST-co2lab will include column-based storage estimates, geometrical analysis of the caprock (Nilsen et al, 2014c), vertical equilibrium simulators (Nilsen et al, 2014a,b), and optimization of well placement and injection rates (Lie et al, 2014).…”

“…In addition to providing simple access to the CO 2 Storage Atlas data, the next release of MRST-co2lab will include column-based storage estimates, geometrical analysis of the caprock (Nilsen et al, 2014c), vertical equilibrium simulators (Nilsen et al, 2014a,b), and optimization of well placement and injection rates (Lie et al, 2014).…”

“…We further assume long-term thermal equilibrium, with ambient temperature given by the thermal gradient and reference (seabed) temperature. Structural traps are identified and their volume assessed by geometric analysis of the caprock shape using the algorithms described in (Nilsen et al, 2014c). For dissolution trapping, the value for CO 2 solubility is taken from (Chadwick et al, 2008).…”