Discontinuities in CO2 Storage Reservoirs

Project Information

DISCO2 STORE

Grant agreement ID: 101007851

DOI

10.3030/101007851

Project closed

EC signature date 27 October 2020

Start date 1 February 2021

End date 30 September 2025

Funded under

• EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions

Total cost

€ 1 186 800,00

EU contribution

€ 1 186 800,00

Coordinated by

UNIVERSITE DU MANS
France

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - DISCO2 STORE (Discontinuities in CO2 Storage Reservoirs)

Reporting period: 2021-02-01 to 2023-01-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

Every year billions of tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) are released into the atmosphere, causing an unprecedented environmental damage. This requires an urgent action from the scientific community. One of the options to tackle CO2 emissions is storing it in geological repositories. This solution is widely considered as a promising tool to mitigate the effects of climate change. We need to develop new technologies and knowledge regarding CO2 injection to make it safe and applicable worldwide.

To date, there are 27 operational carbon capture and storage (CCS) facilities around the world, 4 under construction, and 102 under development. These facilities are capable of sequestering 149.3 million tons of CO2 annually. Moreover, there is still a vast geological storage potential for future operations. Yet, CO2 storage projects face considerable challenges and risks that need to be addressed for a successful operation. Leaks and contaminations, landscape deformations, and enhanced seismic activity in the areas of CO2 injection are among the most common challenges. Leaks are associated with discontinuities in the reservoir or caprock. They either naturally occur or are man-made.

DISCO2 STORE participants are looking for viable long-term solutions to these challenges. We aim to develop methods to detect, predict, and quantify the behavior of the mechanical discontinuities to reduce the risks associated to the CO2 injection. The main goal is to thoughtfully analyze mechanical discontinuities (MD) from their origin to their distribution, exploring hydraulic and mechanical properties, and their respective evolution when fluids are injected in the formation. We use the most recent experience of the oil and gas industry, top-notch engineering knowledge, and pioneering laboratory and computational experimentation. We expect the project outputs to contribute to the development of technologies in the context of other fields of current interest, such as geothermal energy production, hydrogen and natural gas storage and waste disposal.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

Researchers from the University of Le Mans and YPF-Tecnología visited several locations in south Argentina and explored the Austral and Neuquén basins to identify mechanical discontinuities and to understand their multiscale nature. They laid a basis for a mechanical discontinuities database from subsurface core samples which is updated during other field trips. It will allow an easier classification for further detection and characterization. Scholars from Université de Lausanne and National Centre for Atomic Energy Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica have developed a new theoretical model to predict the effects of partial saturation on the seismic properties of cracked rocks. Their findings were published in an open access article. Researchers from Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, École nationale des ponts et chaussées and Universidad Nacional de la Patagonia San Juan Bosco have been working on characterizing the mechanical properties of mechanical discontinuities under laboratory conditions. They designed a series of experiments with synthetic rock analogs and the results of their experiments were published in international scientific journals. Equally, the PhD students involved in these experiments won awards for their groundbreaking work and solid scientific grounding.

Researchers from SINTEF and Universidad de Santiago de Chile started investigating the diversity of fluids behavior in mechanical discontinuities, such as fractures, and their impact in the CO2 storage technologies, by developing a broad set of advanced experimental techniques and theoretical/numerical modelling. At the same time, scholars from CONICET, YPF-Tecnología, UNPSJB, ENPC and UPM studied the effects of the use of biopolymers or lightweight materials in cement pastes formulations. The results contributed to adapt existing models that predict the aging effect of the CO2 on the cement pastes to the new cementitious materials.

Finally, CO2 injection techniques have also been investigated. Researchers at UM and YTEC started to build an apparatus that permits to model the effects of fluid injection in anisotropic and heterogeneous granular materials. Simultaneously, several simulations of CO2 interaction with cement in different scenarios were performed by UNPSJB. Also, CONICET developed a novel homogenization model that considers the influence of lightweight additions in cement slurries integrity throughout the CO2 injection and storage procedure.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

A considerable progress has been achieved with regard to the detection, characterization, and impact of mechanical discontinuities in the context of underground CO2 storage. At the same time, progress is also reflected by the synergies and cross-fertilization of ideas between the institutions.

Early stage researchers involved in the project advanced their research projects and significantly improved their career perspectives. Their professional network spans over two continents and 16 countries which open doors to more projects and funding opportunities. On the other hand, researchers from non-academic organizations had a chance to obtain insights, academic knowledge and know-how of novel techniques that have not been applied in the industry yet. Lasting collaborations are being established between UNIL and CNEA, YTEC and UM, UPM and UNPSJB, SINTEF and USACH. These collaborations strengthen societal impact of research and innovation, create favorable environment for the development of careers, and promote constant and unhindered exchange of data between countries and institutions in terms of transparency and equity.

A tremendous effort was made to expand our experimental capabilities to a new and unexplored state, which will allow making further progress. During the remaining years of the project, we will extend and complement the theories currently available in the literature for predicting the impact of fractures and partial saturation on the seismic properties of rocks. At the same time, we expect to validate some of these results by performing corresponding laboratory experiments. These results will allow for a better remote characterization of the subsurface prior and during CO2 sequestration operations.

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