Feasibility of Carbon Dioxide as Cushion Gas in Depleted Gas Reservoirs: An Experiment Study on CO 2 –CH 4 Dispersion during Flow Alternation

Jinhui Yang, Binshan Ju (), An Yang, Zixian Cui, Meng Wang, Yapeng Tian and Hengchen Qi
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Jinhui Yang: School of Energy Resources, China University of Geosciences, Beijing 100083, China
Binshan Ju: School of Energy Resources, China University of Geosciences, Beijing 100083, China
An Yang: China Oil & Gas Pipeline Network Corporation, Beijing 100013, China
Zixian Cui: Sinopec Star Petroleum Co., Ltd., Beijing 100083, China
Meng Wang: China Oil & Gas Pipeline Network Corporation, Beijing 100013, China
Yapeng Tian: College of Petroleum Engineering, Xi’an Shiyou University, Xi’an 710065, China
Hengchen Qi: School of Petroleum and Natural Gas Engineering, Changzhou University, Changzhou 213164, China

Energies, 2024, vol. 17, issue 18, 1-16

Abstract: This study investigates the feasibility of utilizing carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) as a cushion gas in depleted reservoirs for enhanced gas storage efficiency and carbon sequestration against the backdrop of rising natural gas stable supply demand and climate change concerns. Simulations of gas storage reservoir scenarios require accurate dispersion parameters at flow alternation conditions to quantify the size of the miscible displacement front. Several experimental studies using core-flooding equipment aimed at measuring related parameters have been reported over the last decade but did not take flow alternation into consideration. We simulated directionally variable displacements to mimic the cyclic injection and extraction processes in gas storage, focusing on the dispersion characteristics of CO 2 and methane (CH 4 ) during flow alternation. Key findings were observed using Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) imaging, which provided real-time data on the spatial distribution and temporal changes of CH 4 signals in rock cores. The results revealed that dispersion, influenced predominantly by dispersion coefficients rather than molecular diffusion, was significantly higher during alternating flow compared to concurrent displacement. Additionally, CO 2 exhibited a greater dispersion effect when displacing CH 4 than the reverse. This enhanced mixing efficiency during flow alternation supports the potential of CO 2 as a cost-effective and efficient cushion gas, offering both improved storage performance and the added benefit of CO 2 sequestration. These findings contribute valuable insights for the numerical simulation and operational adaptation of CO 2 in gas storage reservoirs, emphasizing the importance of understanding fluid interactions under varying flow conditions to optimize storage efficiency and environmental benefits.

Keywords: carbon dioxide; methane; cushion gas; depleted gas reservoir; dispersion (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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