An Integrated Assessment Approach for Underground Gas Storage in Multi-Layered Water-Bearing Gas Reservoirs

Junyu You, Ziang He, Xiaoliang Huang (), Ziyi Feng, Qiqi Wanyan, Songze Li and Hongcheng Xu
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Junyu You: School of Petroleum and Natural Gas Engineering, Chongqing University of Science and Technology, Chongqing 401331, China
Ziang He: School of Petroleum and Natural Gas Engineering, Chongqing University of Science and Technology, Chongqing 401331, China
Xiaoliang Huang: School of Petroleum and Natural Gas Engineering, Chongqing University of Science and Technology, Chongqing 401331, China
Ziyi Feng: School of Petroleum and Natural Gas Engineering, Chongqing University of Science and Technology, Chongqing 401331, China
Qiqi Wanyan: Underground Storage Research Center, PetroChina Research Institute of Petroleum Exploration & Development, Beijing 100083, China
Songze Li: School of Petroleum and Natural Gas Engineering, Chongqing University of Science and Technology, Chongqing 401331, China
Hongcheng Xu: Underground Storage Research Center, PetroChina Research Institute of Petroleum Exploration & Development, Beijing 100083, China

Sustainability, 2025, vol. 17, issue 14, 1-24

Abstract: In the global energy sector, water-bearing reservoir-typed gas storage accounts for about 30% of underground gas storage (UGS) reservoirs and is vital for natural gas storage, balancing gas consumption, and ensuring energy supply stability. However, when constructing the UGS in the M gas reservoir, selecting suitable areas poses a challenge due to the complicated gas–water distribution in the multi-layered water-bearing gas reservoir with a long production history. To address this issue and enhance energy storage efficiency, this study presents an integrated geomechanical-hydraulic assessment framework for choosing optimal UGS construction horizons in multi-layered water-bearing gas reservoirs. The horizons and sub-layers of the gas reservoir have been quantitatively assessed to filter out the favorable areas, considering both aspects of geological characteristics and production dynamics. Geologically, caprock-sealing capacity was assessed via rock properties, Shale Gouge Ratio (SGR), and transect breakthrough pressure. Dynamically, water invasion characteristics and the water–gas distribution pattern were analyzed. Based on both geological and dynamic assessment results, the favorable layers for UGS construction were selected. Then, a compositional numerical model was established to digitally simulate and validate the feasibility of constructing and operating the M UGS in the target layers. The results indicated the following: (1) The selected area has an SGR greater than 50%, and the caprock has a continuous lateral distribution with a thickness range from 53 to 78 m and a permeability of less than 0.05 mD. Within the operational pressure ranging from 8 MPa to 12.8 MPa, the mechanical properties of the caprock shale had no obvious changes after 1000 fatigue cycles, which demonstrated the good sealing capacity of the caprock. (2) The main water-producing formations were identified, and the sub-layers with inactive edge water and low levels of water intrusion were selected. After the comprehensive analysis, the I-2 and I-6 sub-layer in the M 8 block and M 14 block were selected as the target layers. The numerical simulation results indicated an effective working gas volume of 263 million cubic meters, demonstrating the significant potential of these layers for UGS construction and their positive impact on energy storage capacity and supply stability.

Keywords: UGS construction; multi-layered water-bearing gas reservoir; geomechanical-hydraulic assessment; numerical modeling (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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