Recent
GCCC activities at Cranfield include (1) moving to the
field under funded Phase 2 of the DOE program ($4.9M) and (2)
writing Phase 3 proposal ($38M) which was accelerated by DOE.
A
new injection well was drilled, logged, and cored by Denbury at
the Cranfield Unit. GCCC researchers Tip Meckel and Bill Ambrose
examined the sandstone and conglomerate injection interval and
overlying shale seal horizons; partially completed analyses include
detailed sedimentological description, compositional XRD, thin
section, petrophysical properties, and wireline logs of borehole
to match with cored intervals.
Forward
plans include work-over of a plugged and abandoned well in the
oil-production zone and dedicated novel fiber optic instrumentation
for long-term monitoring of temperature and pressure. Multiple
packers will isolate a sand horizon above the injection interval
to test the concept of ‘above zone monitoring’ for
demonstration of CO2 retention in the injection interval. A field-wide
logging campaign is designed to generate data for pressure history
matching to assess sweep efficiency in the injection interval
and improve assessment of the capacity of the subsurface to store
CO2.
A 10-year budget (~$38M for 2008-2018) for GCCC research at Cranfield
has been submitted for DOE approval. This will test a formation
of regional significance (Tuscaloosa Formation) in the context
of industrial-scale injection into brine (1 Mt/yr for 1-1.5 years).
Proposed well instrumentation includes active source seismic (cross-well
and VSP), electromagnetic, passive downhole micro-seismic, downhole
and surface tiltmeters, and InSAR. Goals of the experiment will
be to test indirect methods for identifying and quantifying CO2
presence in the deep subsurface, and to monitor geomechanical
responses to large-scale injection. Additional monitoring is intended
to demonstrate no harm to protected water resources.
