Benchmarking CO 2 Storage in Barendrecht HOLLAND INNOVATION TEAM Leo Alblas Peter van der Gaag Remco Hoogma Nella Sapulette 1
History in CO 2 studies In 1992-1997 HIT advised to investigate underground CO 2 disposal Mixed reactions from Shell/NAM 2
What did we do in the mean time with analoguous geological work Studied Lake Nyos (Cameroun), performed injections in Vancouver (Canada), predicted collapse of building in Ibiza (Spain), made water from rock in the Sahara (Mauretania) and monitored shallow acid injection in NL. In 2009 we were asked to work on CO 2 storage in the Netherlands by University Utrecht on behalf of Ministry of Economic Affairs 3
Parameters/thresholds handed to HIT in 2009 Ramirez, A., Hagedoorn, S., Kramers, L., Wildenborg, T. and Hendriks, C.. Screening CO2 storage options in the Netherlands. International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control, In Press, Corrected Proof, Available online 27 November 2009 Assignment: evaluate screening parameters, improve and rank selected fields Parameter Threshold Capacity 4 Mt for gas/oil and 2 Mt for aquifers Thickness aquifer >10m Depth top reservoir 800m Porosity reservoir >10% Permeability reservoir An expected permeability of > 200mD Thickness seal 10m Seal composition Salt, anhydrite, shale or claystones Reservoir composition Sandstones for aquifers; Reservoir (hydrocarbon field) Sandstones limestone and siltstone) Initial pressure Overpressure areas excluded Salt domes - relevant for aquifers. Traps located alongside/near salt domes/ walls have been excluded because there is a high risk of salt cementation. 4
HIT analyses and conclusions We agree with porosity and permeability thresholds. We advise not to use limestone. We prefer overpressure because integrity is secured. We discard a lot of subreservoirs (more wells/faults). We think that reservoirs with overpressure, with one well, covered by salt and with as few faults as possible, are most favourable. Furthermore we advise to look at the interaction of parameters, change of parameters during production, compaction, decrease of permeability and porosity. 5
Selection and ranking of fields We think CO 2 can be stored in almost any depleted oil and gas field, without risk. We find that the Botlek field looks very promising, because there is only one well, permeability is good, structure of the field is well defined and CO 2 sources are very nearby in this industrial area. However Botlek is not depleted 6
The Barendrecht field - data From environmental impact statement MER 2008 7
More data about Barendrecht Initial pressure 176bar, depth ca.1700m below surface, well perforation 20m Permeability: 14 samples ranging 200mD (1), 100 md (1), <20mD (12) Production figures CH 4 during 85 months: 193.500,915 million Nm3 Average: 228.000 m3 CH 4 per day from 1-1-2003 till 1-1-2010 Month of highest production January 2004 11.000.000 Nm 3 or 355.000 Nm 3 /day, reservoir pressure being 154 bar We estimate permeability to be 5-20 milli Darcy Permeability according to Delft University studies is 17 milli Darcy Permeability of gas field < 20 milli Darcy is considered as poor 8
De Lier sandstone member In the study area a producing gas field is present in a small anticlinal structure. Based on log data the lower part of the sequence consists of a 15 to 20 m thick transgressive coastal barrier sandstone, followed by a 30 to 40 m thick fluvial sequence of clay and sandstone (50%) and on top of that an 80 m thick claystone. Log correlations between the wells clearly show the heterogeneous character of the fluvial part of the structure (reference TNO 2005). 9
Faults in the Barendrecht field Faults are closed and probably filled with clay (clay smeering). Fault continues through Holland Marl but ends in Greensand member. Fault zone is probably filled (clay smeering)? 10
Does Barendrecht qualify? According to our evaluation of the parameters presented to us (Holland Innovation Team), Barendrecht - being a poor reservoir - did not qualify as a good CO 2 storage location in a large scale demonstration: 1) Low permeability reservoir <200 milli Darcy 2) Fault through the claystone caprock 3) Small capacity 0.8 Mton (2 Mton together with 2 nd field Ziedewij) 4) Less favourable for gas storage than for example Botlek However we did not say that CO 2 injection is impossible. We advised to perform an injectivity test, because an injectivity tests may provide answers to open questions. 11
Questions any independent geologist would ask about Barendrecht as a CO 2 storage location What will happen in a multi-layered poor reservoir with large variation in permeability? What will happen if CO 2 enters quickly into the fault zone following preferential flow in a narrow layer with 200 md permeability? Which kind of rock is present in the fault zone? Clay and/or calcite? What is the effect of compaction: 10% reduction of permeability? What else can reduce effective permeability: condensates, clay swelling, capillary force of remnant water? How differently acts supercritical CO 2 in a small closed multilayer system compared to natural gas? 12
What is the CO 2 storage capacity? A: 1 billion Nm 3 gas out = 2.5 Mton CO 2 (TNO 2009) B: 1 Nm 3 CH 4 out = 2 Nm 3 CO 2 in (Hughes 2009) Case A: max. 625,000 tons Case B: max 925,000 tons BUT: What has changed during production? What about injection time/rate and difference in viscosity and mobility? 13
The million dollar question: what is capacity in 2.5 years? Production of 200-250,000 m 3 CH 4 in 8 years, injection of 800,000 tons of supercritical CO 2 in 2.5 years, in three periods (1x 3 months 2 x 6 months) Can it be done? Density (kg/m 3 ) Viscosity (µpa s) Gases 1 10 Supercritical Fluids 100-1000 50-100 Mobility of CO 2 = permeability x viscosity Density of CO 2 > density of CH 4 Mobility of CO2 is less than mobility of CH 4 14
How much can be injected in Barendrecht? According to capacity calculations: 1,000,000 CH 4 out = 2,500 ton CO 2 in (TNO report October 2009 page 12). Considering highest production of 355,000 m 3 /day out this means that 887.5 ton CO 2 can be injected, or 36 ton per hour. Average 228,000 m 3 = means 24 ton CO 2 injection per hour, but mobility of supercritical CO 2 is lower than CH 4 and how did the reservoir parameters change during production? Considering maximum pressure at well head 125 bar as set by Staatstoezicht op de Mijnen, plus end reservoir pressure will be 8 bars below 176 bar initial reservoir pressure! Can 800,000 tons CO 2 be injected in Barendrecht within 3 years? What should we do to estimate capacity under the prescribed conditions? 15
What is normal in oil and gas industry pumping fluids 16
Recent articles (2010) give rise to more questions: can CO 2 be injected faster than CH 4 is produced? Ursula Lengler, Marco De Lucia and Michael Kühn: Numerical simulation of CO 2 storage at Ketzin: evaluation of model approaches (2010) -------- whereas the arrival of the CO 2 at the second observation well, 112 m from injection notably later than predicted. The study concluded that the heterogeinity within the sandstone channel cannot be the only reason for the late CO 2 arrival. The decisive factor is possibly the heterogenity of the geometry and location of the fluviatile sandy channel and the small scale heterogenity emphasizes this effect. Christine Ehlig-Economides, Michael J. Economides: Sequestering carbon dioxide in a closed underground volume (2010) Our calculations suggest that the volume of liquid or supercritical CO 2 to be disposed cannot exceed more than 1% of pore space. [ conceptual model for deep saline aquifer with minor adjustments would apply to depleted gas reservoirs ] Takumi Onuma, Kinya Okada, Shiro Ohkawa: Detection of surface deformation related with CO 2 injection by Dinsar at In Salah, Algeria The result of stacking shows that surface upheaval rate up to 8mm/year was detected around all of the the three injection wells, whereas a subsidence rate of 2mm/year for the gas-producing wells. 17
Conclusions and recommendations Injecting CO 2 in a depleted poor gas reservoir under a densely populated area needs utmost attention. If the estimated and expected 800,000 tons of CO 2 can not be injected within 2.5 years, the project will (further) damage public acceptance of future CO 2 storage projects in the Netherlands. Therefore we advise to perform a small scale injectivity test, show population what you are doing, discuss the results and depending on the results- decide to continue or select another location. To avoid large investments, CO 2 should be brought in by trucks. A 6,000 tons test of one month would need 10 trucks a day. 18
Ideas to combat CO 2 emissions effectively 1) Geoboiler: fill depleted gas reservoirs with excess (flood) waters and cooling water from coal power plants and let nature heat the water for our geoboilers of the future (even if you can use the hot water once in 30 years, you still achieve more CO 2 reduction than one time use of underground CO 2 storage) 2) Forbid methane emissions from coal handling at terminals and certainly combat methane emissions from coal powdering installations for coal power plants 3) Forbid flaring at oil fields and install small scale LNG plants 4) Capture and store CO 2 from biomass plants carbon-negative solutions 5) Stop abuse of CCS to legitimize operation and construction of coal power plants (no carts before the horses please!) 19
Thank you for your attention! What tunnel vision? We can easily turn around! 20