Phase 1 – CO2 Controlled Release Experimental Project: 2018 – 2019

A controlled-release test at the In-Situ Laboratory Project in Western Australia injected 38 tonnes of gaseous CO2 over 4 days in February 2019 between 336−342m depth in a fault zone, and the gas was monitored by a wide range of downhole and surface monitoring technologies.Injection of CO2 at this depth fills the gap between shallow release (< 25 m) and storage (> 600 m) field trials.The main objectives of the controlled-release test were to assess the monitorability of shallow CO2 accumulations, and to investigate the impacts of a fault zone on CO2 migration.

A mobile CO2 tank, heater and pump were deployed to the site for the duration of the experiment.

CO2 arrival was detected by distributed temperature sensing at the monitoring well (7m away) after approximately 1.5 days and an injection volume of 5 tonnes.The CO2 plume was detected also by borehole seismic and electric resistivity imaging.

The detection of significantly less than 38 tonnes of CO2 in the shallow subsurface demonstrates rapid and sensitive monitorability of potential leaks in the overburden of a commercial-scale storage project, prior to reaching shallow groundwater, soil zones or the atmosphere.

Observations suggest that the fault zone did not alter the CO2 migration along bedding at the scale and depth of the test.Contrary to model predictions, no vertical CO2 migration was detected beyond the perforated injection interval.CO2 and formation water escaped to the surface through the monitoring well at the end of the experiment due to unexpected damage to the well’s fibreglass casing. The well was successfully remediated without impact to the environment and the site is ready for future experiments.

Equipment used during the injection

Publication of results are listed below:

General
  1. Michael, K., Avijegon, A., Ricard, L., Myers, M., Tertyshnikov, K., Pevzner, R., Strand, J., Hortle, A., Stalker, L., Pervukhina, M., Harris, B., Feitz, A., Pejcic, B., Larcher, A., Rachakonda, P., Freifeld, B., Woitt, M., Langhi, L., Dance, T., Myers, J., Roberts, J., Saygin, E., White, C., Seyyedi, M.(2020). A controlled CO2 release experiment in a fault zone at the In-Situ Laboratory in Western Australia. International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control 99, 103100. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijggc.2020.103100
  2. Michael, K., Ricard, L., Stalker, L., Hortle, A., and Avijegon, A. (2020). The CSIRO In-Situ Laboratory in South Western Australia: a field laboratory for de-risking carbon storage: The APPEA Journal, v. 60, no. 2, p. 732-735.https://doi.org/10.1071/AJ19111
  3. Michael, Karsten; Avijegon, Arsham; Ricard, Ludovic; Myers, Matt; Tertyshnikov, Konstantin; Pevzner, Roman; et al. In-Situ Laboratory for CO2 Controlled-Release Experiments and Monitoring in a Fault Zone in Western Australia. In: Australasian Exploration Geoscience Conference; 2-5 September 2019; Perth, Western Australia. AIG, ASEG, PESA, and WABS; 2019. 3 p. https://doi.org/10.1080/22020586.2019.12073207
  4. Michael, Karsten; Avijegon, Arsham; Ricard, Ludovic; Strand, Julian; Freifeld, Barry; Woitt, Mark; Pervukhina, Marina; Tertyshnikov, Konstantin; Pevzner, Roman; Rachakonda, Praveen Kumar; Larcher, Alf; Dance, Tess; Myers, Matt; Delle Piane, Claudio; Feitz, Andrew; Stalker, Linda; Myers, Jo; Langhi, Laurent; Hortle, Allison; Geeves, Don, (2019). The South West Hub In-Situ Laboratory – A Facility for CO2 Injection Testing and Monitoring in a Fault Zone. GHGT-14. 9 p. https://ssrn.com/abstract=3366045
Downhole monitoring
  1. Harris, B., Costall, A., Nguyen, H., Michael, K., Ricard, L., Freifeld, B., Avijegon, A., and Pethick, A., 2019, Time lapse in-hole electrical resistivity surveying during a shallow release of CO2 gas: Harvey, Western Australia In: Australasian Exploration Geoscience Conference; 2-5 September 2019; Perth, Western Australia. AIG, ASEG, PESA, and WABS; 2019, 5 p. https://doi.org/10.1080/22020586.2019.12073174
  2. Ricard, L. P., Tertyshnikov, K., Pevzner, R., Myers, M., Avijegon, A., and Michael, K., 2020, Downhole Surveillance During the Well Lifetime Using Distributed Temperature Sensing, SPE Asia Pacific Oil & Gas Conference and Exhibition: Virtual, Society of Petroleum Engineers, p. 11. https://doi.org/10.2118/202224-MS
  3. Ricard, L. P., 2020, Using Distributed Temperature Sensing to Inform the Quality of Cementing Operations, SPE Asia Pacific Oil & Gas Conference and Exhibition: Virtual, Society of Petroleum Engineers, p. 10. https://doi.org/10.2118/202224-MS
  4. Tertyshnikov, K., Ricard, L., Michael, K., Avijegon, A., and Pevzner, R., Importance of Continuous Monitoring: Case Study of Shallow CO2 Injection at the CSIRO In-situ Laboratory Site, in Proceedings 82nd EAGE Annual Conference & Exhibition Workshop Programme, Dec 2020, Volume 2020, EAGE, EarthDoc, p. 1-5.https://www.earthdoc.org/content/papers/10.3997/2214-4609.202010887
  5. Tertyshnikov, K., Pevzner, R., Freifeld, B., Ricard, L., and Avijegon, A., 2019, Watching the leakage: DAS seismic monitoring of the shallow CO2 controlled-release experiment at the South West Hub In-situ Laboratory, SEG International Exposition and Annual Meeting: San Antonio, Texas, USA, Society of Exploration Geophysicists, 5 p.https://www.onepetro.org/conference-paper/SEG-2019-3202377
  6. Yavuz, S., Tertyshnikov, K., Pevzner, R., and Vei, K. G., 2020, Repeatability Analysis of Time-Lapse Vertical Seismic Profiling Data Acquired Using Distributed Acoustic Sensing: Harvey, South-West Hub, in Proceedings 82nd EAGE Annual Conference & Exhibition Workshop Programme, Dec 2020, Volume 2020, EAGE, EarthDoc, p. 1-5. https://www.earthdoc.org/content/papers/10.3997/2214-4609.202011591
Surface monitoring
  1. Myers, M., White, C., Pejcic, B., Feitz, A., Roberts, J., Oh, Y.-Y., Xu, L., Ricard, L., Michael, K., Avijegon, A., Rachakonda, P.K., Woltering, M., Larcher, A., Stalker, L., Hortle, A. (2020). CSIRO In-Situ Lab: A multi-pronged approach to surface gas and groundwater monitoring at geological CO2 storage sites. Chemical Geology 545, 119642. Open access https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemgeo.2020.119642