Study on the applicability of a horizontal well in compressed air energy storage in aquifer

Tianjiao Bi, Bin Zhang, Wei Chen, Jian Li, Zhiwei Yang, Yupeng Wang, Xuelin Zhang and Xiaodai Xue

Energy, 2025, vol. 329, issue C

Abstract: Depleted hydrocarbon reservoir is a suitable gas storage system for compressed air energy storage in aquifer (CAESA), presenting a solution for managing the variability of renewable energy. Utilizing an existing horizontal well instead of drilling a new one is key to reducing CAESA costs, though research on horizontal well applications in CAESA is limited. This study models CAESA with a horizontal well and analyzes its operational characteristics, including air volume fraction, pressure distribution, temporal pressure variation, and energy recovery efficiency, comparing it to a vertical well over a year. The air volume fraction and pressure in the CAESA with horizontal well are similar to those in the CAESA with vertical well, except near the well. During initial gas bubble formation, horizontal well pressure trends align with that of the vertical well. In daily operations, the horizontal well averages 10.24 MPa pressure versus 10.15 MPa for the vertical well. The horizontal well achieves a stable input exergy rate of 780 kW and an output of 774 kW, resulting in about 99.2 % energy recovery efficiency, compared to 99.5 % for the vertical well. Overall, CAESA with a horizontal well shows comparable operational characteristics to a vertical well, demonstrating its substantial applicability.

Keywords: Compressed air energy storage in aquifer; Horizontal well; Vertical well; Operational characteristics (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:energy:v:329:y:2025:i:c:s036054422502420x

DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2025.136778

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