Experimental rig to improve the geophysical and geomechanical understanding of CO2 reservoirs

We intend to perform experiments that simulate real Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) conditions in the laboratory, and hence provide the necessary knowledge to interpret field seismic surveys. Primarily, our research is focused on determining seismic rock properties (i.e., wave velocities and attenuation) of real and artificial 50 mm diameter brine-CO2-bearing sandstone and sand samples that are representative host rocks of real CCS scenarios. Accordingly, we have integrated into a new triaxial cell system both an ultrasonic pulse-echo method for accurate velocity (± 0.3%) and attenuation (± 0.1 dB cm-1) measurements, and an electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) method to monitor homogeneity of pore fluid distribution within the samples. The use of ERT provides calibration data for field scale techniques (such as marine controlled source electromagnetic surveying) but also allows measurements of bulk resistivity, fluid diffusion monitoring, flow pathway characterization, and determination of the relative permeability for different brine/brine-CO2 ratios. By simultaneously measuring ultrasonic P- and S-wave velocities and electrical resistivity, we also provide data for joint inversion of seismic and electric field data. Furthermore, the stress-strain behaviour of the sample is continuously monitored with the aid of electrical gauges, so that we deal consistently and simultaneously with the geophysical and geomechanical response of the reservoir when submitted to CO2 injections

Pressure-varying CO 2 distribution affects the ultrasonic velocities of synthetic sandstones

We performed a novel experiment in which three synthetic sandstones – manufactured using a common method but having different porosities – were saturated with brine and progressively flooded with CO2 under constant confining pressure. The fluid pressure was varied around the critical pressure of CO2 and repeated measurements were made of resistivity, in order to assess the saturation, and elastic wave velocity during the flood. The measured saturated bulk moduli were higher than those predicted by the Gassmann–Wood theory, but were consistent with behaviour described by a recently derived poroelastic model which combines “patch” and “squirt” effects. Measurements on two of the samples followed a patch-based model while those on the highest porosity sample showed evidence of squirt-flow behaviour. Our analysis suggests that the appropriate fluid mixing law is pressure dependent, which is consistent with the notion that the effective patch size decreases as fluid pressure is increased. We derive simple empirical models for the patch dependence from fluid pressure which may be used in seismic modelling and interpretation exercises relevant to monitoring of CO2 injection

Integrated geophysical and hydromechanical assessment for CO2 storage: shallow low permeable reservoir sandstones

Geological reservoirs can be structurally complex and can respond to CO2 injection both geochemically and geomechanically. Hence, predicting reservoir formation behaviour in response to CO2 injection and assessing the resulting hazards are important prerequisites for safe geological CO2 storage. This requires a detailed study of thermal-hydro-mechanical-chemical coupled phenomena that can be triggered in the reservoir formation, most readily achieved through laboratory simulations of CO2 injection into typical reservoir formations. Here, we present the first results from a new experimental apparatus of a steady-state drainage flooding test conducted through a synthetic sandstone sample, simulating real CO2 storage reservoir conditions in a shallow (?1 km), low permeability ?1mD, 26% porosity sandstone formation. The injected pore fluid comprised brine with CO2 saturation increasing in steps of 20% brine/CO2 partial flow rates up to 100% CO2 flow. At each pore fluid stage, an unload/loading cycle of effective pressure was imposed to study the response of the rock under different geomechanical scenarios. The monitoring included axial strains and relative permeability in a continuous mode (hydromechanical assessment), and related geophysical signatures (ultrasonic P-wave and S-wave velocities Vp and Vs, and attenuations Qp?1 and Qs?1, respectively, and electrical resistivity). On average, the results showed Vp and Vs dropped ?7% and ?4% respectively during the test, whereas Qp?1 increased ?55% and Qs?1 decreased by ?25%. From the electrical resistivity data, we estimated a maximum CO2 saturation of ?0.5, whereas relative permeability curves were adjusted for both fluids. Comparing the experimental results to theoretical predictions, we found that Gassmann's equations explain Vp at high and very low CO2 saturations, whereas bulk modulus yields results consistent with White and Dutta–Odé model predictions. This is interpreted as a heterogeneous distribution of the two pore fluid phases, corroborated by electrical resistivity tomography images. The integration of laboratory geophysical and hydromechanical observations on representative shallow low-permeable sandstone reservoir allowed us to distinguish between pure geomechanical responses and those associated with the pore fluid distribution. This is a key aspect in understanding CO2 injection effects in deep geological reservoirs associated with carbon capture and storage practices

The influence of gas hydrate morphology on reservoir permeability and geophysical shear wave remote sensing

We show that direct estimates of the permeability of hydrate-bearing geological formations are possible from remote measurements of shear wave velocity (Vs) and attenuation (Qs−1). We measured Vs, Qs−1 and electrical resistivity at time intervals during methane hydrate formation in Berea sandstone using a laboratory ultrasonic pulse-echo system. We observed that Vs and Qs−1 both increase with hydrate saturation Sh, with two peaks in Qs−1 at hydrate saturations of around 6% and 20% that correspond to changes in gradient of Vs. We implemented changes in permeability with hydrate saturation into well-known Biot-type poro-elastic models for two- and three-phases for low (Sh 12%) hydrate saturations respectively. By accounting for changes in permeability linked to hydrate morphology, the models were able to describe the Vs and Qs−1 observations. We found that the first Qs−1 peak is caused by a reduction of permeability during hydrate formation associated with a transition from pore-floating to pore-bridging hydrate morphology; similarly, the second Qs−1 peak is caused by a permeability reduction associated with a transition from pore-bridging hydrate morphology to an interlocking network of hydrate in the pores. We inverted for permeability using our poro-elastic models from Vs and Qs−1. This inverted permeability agrees with permeability obtained independently from electrical resistivity. We demonstrate a good match of our models to shear wave data at 200 Hz and 2 kHz frequencies from the literature, indicating the general applicability of the models

Water saturation effects on P-wave anisotropy in synthetic sandstone with aligned fractures

The seismic properties of rocks are known to be sensitive to partial liquid or gas saturation, and to aligned fractures. P-wave anisotropy is widely used for fracture characterization and is known to be sensitive to the saturating fluid. However, studies combining the effect of multiphase saturation and aligned fractures are limited even though such conditions are common in the subsurface. An understanding of the effects of partial liquid or gas saturation on P-wave anisotropy could help improve seismic characterization of fractured, gas bearing reservoirs. Using octagonal-shaped synthetic sandstone samples, one containing aligned penny-shaped fractures and the other without fractures, we examined the influence of water saturation on P-wave anisotropy in fractured rocks. In the fractured rock, the saturation related stiffening effect at higher water saturation values is larger in the direction across the fractures than along the fractures. Consequently, the anisotropy parameter ‘?’ decreases as a result of this fluid stiffening effect. These effects are frequency dependent as a result of wave-induced fluid flow mechanisms. Our observations can be explained by combining a frequency-dependent fractured rock model and a frequency-dependent partial saturation model

Experimental assessment of the stress-sensitivity of combined elastic and electrical anisotropy in shallow reservoir sandstones

Seismic and electromagnetic properties are generally anisotropic, depending on the microscale rock fabric and the macroscale stress field. We have assessed the stress-dependent anisotropy of poorly consolidated (porosity of approximately 0.35) sandstones (broadly representative of shallow reservoirs) experimentally, combining ultrasonic (0.6 MHz P-wave velocity, VP, and attenuation 1/QP) and electrical resistivity measurements. We used three cores from an outcrop sandstone sample extracted at 0°, 45°, and 90° angles with respect to the visible geologic bedding plane and subjected them to unloading/loading cycles with variations of the confining (20–35 MPa) and pore (2–17 MPa) pressures. Our results indicate that stress field orientation, loading history, rock fabric, and the measurement scale, all affect the elastic and electrical anisotropies. Strong linear correlations (R2 > 0.9) between VP, 1/QP, and resistivity in the three considered directions suggest that the stress orientation similarly affects the elastic and electrical properties of poorly consolidated, high-porosity (shallow) sandstone reservoirs. However, resistivity is more sensitive to pore pressure changes (effective stress coefficients n > 1), whereas P-wave properties provide simultaneous information about the confining (from VP, with n slightly less than 1) and pore pressure (from 1/QP, with n slightly greater than 1) variations. We found n is also anisotropic for the three measured properties because a more intense and rapid grain rearrangement occurs when the stress field changes result from oblique stress orientations with respect to rock layering. Altogether, our results highlighted the potential of joint elastic-electrical stress-dependent anisotropy assessments to enhance the geomechanical interpretation of reservoirs during production or injection activities

Geophysical early warning of salt precipitation during geological carbon sequestration

Sequestration of industrial carbon dioxide (CO2) in deep geological saline aquifers is needed to mitigate global greenhouse gas emissions; monitoring the mechanical integrity of reservoir formations is essential for effective and safe operations. Clogging of fluid transport pathways in rocks from CO2-induced salt precipitation reduces injectivity and potentially compromises the reservoir storage integrity through pore fluid pressure build-up. Here, we show that early warning of salt precipitation can be achieved through geophysical remote sensing. From elastic P- and S-wave velocity and electrical resistivity monitoring during controlled laboratory CO2 injection experiments into brine-saturated quartz-sandstone of high porosity (29%) and permeability (1660 mD), and X-ray CT imaging of pore-scale salt precipitation, we were able to observe, for the first time, how CO2-induced salt precipitation leads to detectable geophysical signatures. We inferred salt-induced rock changes from (i) strain changes, (ii) a permanent ~ 1.5% decrease in wave velocities, linking the geophysical signatures to salt volume fraction through geophysical models, and (iii) increases of porosity (by ~ 6%) and permeability (~ 7%). Despite over 10% salt saturation, no clogging effects were observed, which suggests salt precipitation could extend to large sub-surface regions without loss of CO2 injectivity into high porosity and permeability saline sandstone aquifers

CO2‐Brine substitution effects on ultrasonic wave propagation through sandstone with oblique fractures

Seismic monitoring of injected CO2 plumes in fractured storage reservoirs relies on accurate knowledge of the physical mechanisms governing elastic wave propagation, as described by appropriate, validated rock physics models. We measured laboratory ultrasonic velocity and attenuation of P and S waves, and electrical resistivity, of a synthetic fractured sandstone with obliquely aligned (penny‐shaped) fractures, undergoing a brine‐CO2 flow‐through test at simulated reservoir pressure and temperature. Our results show systematic differences in the dependence of velocity and attenuation on fluid saturation between imbibition and drainage episodes, which we attribute to uniform and patchy fluid distributions, respectively, and the relative permeability of CO2 and brine in the rock. This behavior is consistent with predictions from a multifluid rock physics model, facilitating the identification of the dispersive mechanisms associated with wave‐induced fluid flow in fractured systems at seismic scales

Modelling ultrasonic laboratory measurements of the saturation dependence of elastic modulus: new insights and implications for wave propagation mechanisms

Seismic time-lapse techniques are a valuable tool used to estimate the mobilization and distribution of stored CO2 in depleted reservoirs. The success of these techniques depends on knowing the seismic properties of partially saturated rocks with accuracy. It is commonplace to use controlled laboratory-scale experiments to determine how the fluid content impacts on their properties. In this work, we measure the ultrasonic P- and S-wave velocities of a set of synthetic sandstones of about 30% porosity. Using an accurate method, we span the entire saturation range of an air-water system. We show that the rocks’ elastic behaviour is consistent with patchy saturation and squirt flow models but observe a discontinuity at around 90% gas saturation which can be interpreted in two very different ways. In one interpretation, the responsible mechanism is frequency-dependent squirt-flow that occurs in narrow pores that are preferentially saturated. An equally plausible mechanism is the change of the mobile fluid in the pores once they are wetted. Extrapolated to seismic frequencies, our results imply that the seismic properties of rocks may be affected by the wetting effect with an impact on the interpretation of field data but would potentially be unaffected by the squirt flow effect. This provides strong motivation to conduct laboratory-scale experiments with partially saturated samples at lower frequency or, ideally, a range of frequencies in the seismo-acoustic range