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Storage Exploration – Screening and Selection of CO2 Sites (EC029)
Course Summary
This course considers the systematic evaluation of regional structure and stratigraphy to identify potential sites for geological storage of CO2, beginning with the typically wide range CCS development concepts, potentially encompassing onshore or offshore, new or adaptation of existing infrastructure and open aquifers as well as closed structures. It explores identification of potential storage complexes, assessment of storage capacity and relative CO2 containment risks of potential storage sites.
One of the main targets for CO2 storage is in depleted oil fields which have rock volumes which are already well characterised geologically, and much relevant infrastructure is already in place. CO2 injection may also generate enhanced oil recovery. This course outlines criteria and approaches that can be used for such screening, based on methods that have already been applied successfully. It concludes with formulation of an indicative development plan and integrated economic/technical criteria for ranking sites for further investigation.
This course is aimed at subsurface oil and gas professionals who are familiar with CCS and would like to understand the issues relating to the screening and selection of potential CO2 storage sites.
Available H2 2023
Course Details
Course duration and training method
Courses are accessed on the RPS Learning Hub, each course consists of a series of modules of up to 90 minutes learning time, including self-assessment elements. Learning materials are structured into short sections, each including interactive text and image content, animations, video and audio. An end of course quiz is scored to provide the learner with their learning progress.
Course Duration: 7 Hours
Learning outcomes
Participants will learn to
- Evaluate potential storage sites in terms of regional structure and stratigraphy, depths and pressures, reservoir quality
- Consider storage capacity, injectivity and pressure management in potential storage sites
- Carry out a risk assessment of legacy wells and infrastructure
- Undertake a portfolio evaluation adopting a criteria-based scoring methodology
- Consider the technical, operational and economic criteria in the selection of potential storage sites
- Formulate an indicative development plan integrating economic, operational and technical criteria for ranking sites for further investigation
Course content
Selection of CO2 storage sites
- Development concept – CO2 sources, economic drivers, infrastructure
- Onshore vs offshore
- Greenfield vs depleted fields
- Regional stratigraphy – reservoirs and seals
- Regional structure – open aquifers vs closed structures
- Depth, reservoir pressure and overpressure
- Reservoir quality – injectivity and storage capacity
- Screening estimates of storage capacity
- Pressure management
- Legacy well risk assessment
- Infrastructure re-use – legacy wells
- Infrastructure re-use – pipelines and facilities
- Initial development plan
- Indicative costs
Screening of oilfields and portfolios for CO2 storage
- Overview of how CO2 is stored in an oilfield during and after CO2 EOR.
- Identification of screening criteria that are relevant for CO2 EOR and storage. These include:
- Technical criteria (e.g., temperature, pressure, oil composition) that determine whether CO2 EOR will actually work;
- Operational criteria (e.g., geography, field maturity, existing infrastructure) that affect the complexity of implementing CO2 injection
- Economic criteria (e.g., NPV) that determine whether CO2 EOR is likely to be commercially attractive
- Storage-specific criteria (e.g., STOIIP, pressure) that determine how much CO2 can be injected and safely retained permanently
- Building a screening framework, where the criteria are codified into “scores”, weighted according to their relative importance, and the scores are processes into an overall “suitability” score
- Converting the scores into predictions of outcomes (e.g., incremental oil, CO2 storage efficiency) using analogue-based rules and correlations
- Portfolio screening
- Data requirements: what needs to be known about each field, and how critical data can be acquired or estimated
- Batch processing of calculations and post-processing/synthesis of results