An Investigation into CO2–Brine–Cement–Reservoir Rock Interactions for Wellbore Integrity in CO2 Geological Storage

Amir Jahanbakhsh, Qi Liu, Mojgan Hadi Mosleh, Harshit Agrawal, Nazia Mubeen Farooqui, Jim Buckman, Montserrat Recasens, M. Mercedes Maroto-Valer, Anna Korre, Sevket Durucan

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

17 Citations (Scopus)
176 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Geological storage of CO2 in saline aquifers and depleted oil and gas reservoirs can help mitigate CO2 emissions. However, CO2 leakage over a long storage period represents a potential concern. Therefore, it is critical to establish a good understanding of the interactions between CO2–brine and cement–caprock/reservoir rock to ascertain the potential for CO2 leakage. Accordingly, in this work, we prepared a unique set of composite samples to resemble the cement–reservoir rock interface. A series of experiments simulating deep wellbore environments were performed to investigate changes in chemical, physical, mechanical, and petrophysical properties of the composite samples. Here, we present the characterisation of composite core samples, including porosity, permeability, and mechanical properties, determined before and after long-term exposure to CO2-rich brine. Some of the composite samples were further analysed by X-ray microcomputed tomography (X-ray µ-CT), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and scanning electron microscopy–energy-dispersive X-ray (SEM–EDX). Moreover, the variation of ions concentration in brine at different timescales was studied by performing inductively coupled plasma (ICP) analysis. Although no significant changes were observed in the porosity, permeability of the treated composite samples increased by an order of magnitude, due mainly to an increase in the permeability of the sandstone component of the composite samples, rather than the cement or the cement/sandstone interface. Mechanical properties, including Young’s modulus and Poisson’s ratio, were also reduced.
Original languageEnglish
Article number5033
JournalEnergies
Volume14
Issue number16
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 16 Aug 2021

Keywords

  • CO2 geological storage
  • CO2–brine‐cement–reservoir rock interac-tion
  • Chemical and petrophysical characterisation
  • Permeability
  • Wellbore integrity

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment
  • Fuel Technology
  • Energy Engineering and Power Technology
  • Energy (miscellaneous)
  • Control and Optimization
  • Electrical and Electronic Engineering

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