3D Hydro-Mechanical Modeling of Shaly Caprock Response to CO2 Long-Term Periodic Injection Experiment (CO2LPIE)
Carbon capture and storage in deep geological formations is necessary to achieve a meaningful reduction of anthropogenic CO2 emissions into the atmosphere. Given the buoyancy of the injected CO2, it is essential to adequately characterize the sealing caprocks commonly comprised of clay-rich formations, including shales. If the inherent anisotropy of shales is not considered, model prediction errors will propagate with time and space. To limit errors, the accurate experimental laboratory measurements should be scaled up and the in-situ behavior of the caprock should be studied in detail. Underground rock laboratories (URLs) offer a unique opportunity to investigate the caprock sealing capacity at a few meters scale in a well-defined and well-monitored environment. This perspective applies to the CO2 Long-term Periodic Injection Experiment (CO2LPIE) at the Swiss Mont Terri URL. In the experiment, it is planned to inject gaseous CO2 into Opalinus Clay, which is considered as a representative caprock for underground storage. Opalinus Clay shows large-scale anisotropic behavior due to the presence of bedding planes and heteorogeneities. We numerically simulate the CO2LPIE experiment using a 3D hydro-mechanical model and assuming linear poroelastic transverse isotropic behavior of the rock. We find that the CO2 is unlikely to penetrate the rock in free phase, while the diffusive front of dissolved CO2 in resident brine hardly propagates half a meter after two years of injection. The overpressure and induced deformation and stress changes preferentially develop along the bedding planes, although not sufficiently to lead to shear failure.
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | comunicación de congreso biblioteca |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
ARMA-2022-0704
2022-06
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| Subjects: | Long-Term Periodic Injection Experiment, Carbon capture, Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all, |
| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/10261/303690 |
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| Summary: | Carbon capture and storage in deep geological formations is necessary to achieve a meaningful reduction of anthropogenic CO2 emissions into the atmosphere. Given the buoyancy of the injected CO2, it is essential to adequately characterize the sealing caprocks commonly comprised of clay-rich formations, including shales. If the inherent anisotropy of shales is not considered, model prediction errors will propagate with time and space. To limit errors, the accurate experimental laboratory measurements should be scaled up and the in-situ behavior of the caprock should be studied in detail. Underground rock laboratories (URLs) offer a unique opportunity to investigate the caprock sealing capacity at a few meters scale in a well-defined and well-monitored environment. This perspective applies to the CO2 Long-term Periodic Injection Experiment (CO2LPIE) at the Swiss Mont Terri URL. In the experiment, it is planned to inject gaseous CO2 into Opalinus Clay, which is considered as a representative caprock for underground storage. Opalinus Clay shows large-scale anisotropic behavior due to the presence of bedding planes and heteorogeneities. We numerically simulate the CO2LPIE experiment using a 3D hydro-mechanical model and assuming linear poroelastic transverse isotropic behavior of the rock. We find that the CO2 is unlikely to penetrate the rock in free phase, while the diffusive front of dissolved CO2 in resident brine hardly propagates half a meter after two years of injection. The overpressure and induced deformation and stress changes preferentially develop along the bedding planes, although not sufficiently to lead to shear failure. |
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