Geomechanical responses induced by large-scale CO2 injection in a multilayer saline aquifer in Kuwait
conference paper
Large-scale CO2 injection in saline aquifers will cause pressure build-up in brine far beyond the extent of CO2
plume. In this paper, we evaluate the geomechanical responses of large-scale CO2 storage in the multilayer aquifer of the Kra Al-Maru Trend in Kuwait. The site was selected after screening the whole territory of Kuwait, identifying and ranking of candidate sites for geological CO2 storage. We simulated the CO2 injection and geomechanical responses during 40 years of injection with an injection rate of 11 million tonnes/year. Results of numerical simulations show that after 40 years of injection the extent of CO2 plume is within the radial range of 4 km from the injectors, while the pressure build-up is felt up to 55 km. The largest pressure
build-up of 2.3 MPa and the associated poro-elastic stress changes in the reservoir-seal pair are located within the radial range of about 5 km from the injectors. CO2 injection can induce a maximum uplift at the ground surface of 11 cm. The present-day noncritical state of stress and the magnitudes of induced stress changes suggest a low risk for containment integrity. Future studies will be required with a dedicated well to obtain core and perform detailed site characterization.
plume. In this paper, we evaluate the geomechanical responses of large-scale CO2 storage in the multilayer aquifer of the Kra Al-Maru Trend in Kuwait. The site was selected after screening the whole territory of Kuwait, identifying and ranking of candidate sites for geological CO2 storage. We simulated the CO2 injection and geomechanical responses during 40 years of injection with an injection rate of 11 million tonnes/year. Results of numerical simulations show that after 40 years of injection the extent of CO2 plume is within the radial range of 4 km from the injectors, while the pressure build-up is felt up to 55 km. The largest pressure
build-up of 2.3 MPa and the associated poro-elastic stress changes in the reservoir-seal pair are located within the radial range of about 5 km from the injectors. CO2 injection can induce a maximum uplift at the ground surface of 11 cm. The present-day noncritical state of stress and the magnitudes of induced stress changes suggest a low risk for containment integrity. Future studies will be required with a dedicated well to obtain core and perform detailed site characterization.
TNO Identifier
810176
ISBN
9781510857582
Publisher
American Rock Mechanics Association (ARMA)
Source title
51st US Rock Mechanics / Geomechanics Symposium 2017. 25 June 2017 through 28 June 2017
Pages
1164-1171
Files
To receive the publication files, please send an e-mail request to TNO Repository.