Integrity Experiments for Geological Carbon Storage (GCS) in Depleted Hydrocarbon Reservoirs: Wellbore Components under Cyclic CO 2 Injection Conditions

Taofik H. Nassan, Carsten Freese, Dirk Baganz, Hakan Alkan, Oleksandr Burachok, Jonas Solbakken, Nematollah Zamani, Morten Gunnar Aarra and Mohd Amro ()
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Taofik H. Nassan: Institute of Drilling Engineering and Fluid Mining, TU Bergakademie Freiberg, Agricolastr. 22, 09599 Freiberg, Germany
Carsten Freese: Institute of Drilling Engineering and Fluid Mining, TU Bergakademie Freiberg, Agricolastr. 22, 09599 Freiberg, Germany
Dirk Baganz: Institute of Drilling Engineering and Fluid Mining, TU Bergakademie Freiberg, Agricolastr. 22, 09599 Freiberg, Germany
Hakan Alkan: Institute of Drilling Engineering and Fluid Mining, TU Bergakademie Freiberg, Agricolastr. 22, 09599 Freiberg, Germany
Oleksandr Burachok: Wintershall Dea AG, Friedrich-Ebert-Str. 160, 34119 Kassel, Germany
Jonas Solbakken: Norwegian Research Centre (NORCE), Nygårdsgaten 112, 5008 Bergen, Norway
Nematollah Zamani: Norwegian Research Centre (NORCE), Nygårdsgaten 112, 5008 Bergen, Norway
Morten Gunnar Aarra: Norwegian Research Centre (NORCE), Nygårdsgaten 112, 5008 Bergen, Norway
Mohd Amro: Institute of Drilling Engineering and Fluid Mining, TU Bergakademie Freiberg, Agricolastr. 22, 09599 Freiberg, Germany

Energies, 2024, vol. 17, issue 12, 1-26

Abstract: Integrity of wellbores and near wellbore processes are crucial issues in geological carbon storage (GCS) projects as they both define the confinement and injectivity of CO 2 . For the proper confinement of CO 2 , any flow of CO 2 along the wellbore trajectory must be prevented using engineered barriers. The effect of cyclic stimuli on wellbore integrity, especially in the context of GCS projects, has been given less attention. In this study, the effect of pressure- and temperature-cycling on two types of wellbore composites (i.e., casing-cement and cement-caprock) have been investigated experimentally in small- and large-scale laboratory setups. The experiments have been carried out by measuring the effective permeability of the composites under pressure and thermal cyclic conditions. Furthermore, the permeability of individual samples (API class G and HMR+ cement and caprock) was measured and compared to the permeability of the composites. The results indicate that the permeability of API class G cement when exposed to CO 2 is in the order of 10 −20 m 2 (10 −5 mD) as a result of the chemical reaction between the cement and CO 2 . In addition, the tightness of the composite cement–rock has been confirmed, while the permeability of the composite casing–cement falls within the acceptable range for tight cement and the CO 2 flow was identified to occur through or close to the interface casing–cement. Results from thermal cycling within the range −9 to 14 °C revealed no significant effect on the integrity of the bond casing–cement. In contrast, pressure cycling experiments showed that the effective pressure has a larger influence on the permeability. The potential creation of micro-cracks under pressure variations may require some time for complete closing. In conclusion, the pressure and temperature cycling from this study did not violate the integrity of the casing–cement composite sample as the permeability remained low and within the acceptable range for wellbore cement.

Keywords: cyclic CO 2 injection; casing–cement; cement–rock; geological carbon storage (GCS); depleted hydrocarbon reservoirs; wellbore integrity (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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