|
Partners/Participants |
British Geological Survey
Bureau de Recherches Geoloques et Minieres, France
Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland, Denmark
IEA GHG R&D Programme
Instituto Nazionale di Geofisica, Italy
Petroleum Technology Research Centre Inc, Canada
Quintessa Ltd, UK
|
|
Project Summary |
Injection of CO2 into oil reservoirs is a well-proven technique used mainly in North America for enhancing oil recovery. The Weyburn oilfield in southern Saskatchewan, Canada, was discovered in 1954 and most of its easily-recoverable oil has now been produced. As a consequence, the operators of the field (EnCana Corporation) decided to begin injecting CO2 into the oilfield. Initially, 17 wells were involved although this could increase to 75. The CO2 is a byproduct of the Great Plains Synfuels Plant in North Dakota and is transported from the USA to Canada via 330km purpose-built pipeline. CO2 injection is expected to produce at least 130 million barrels of incremental oil, which should extend the life of the oilfield by some 25 years. It is also anticipated that some 20 million tonnes of CO2 will be injected and become permanently stored underground over the lifetime of the project. Oil produced in this way has a full life cycle reduction in CO2 emissions of ~30% compared to conventional oil production.
The Weyburn CO2 Monitoring Project has been set up to study what happens to the CO2 once it has been injected deep underground. This is more recently known as the first phase of the Weyburn-Midale CO2 Project. The Weyburn-Midale CO2 Project is the world’s first CO2 measuring, monitoring and verification initiative. It was launched in 2000, and is a US $80 million international project. Further information on the first phase of the Weyburn-Midale CO2 Project can be found at Weyburn CO2 Monitoring Project - http://www.co2captureandstorage.info/project_specific.php?project_id=96 , and information on the final phase of this same project can be found at Weyburn II CO2 Storage Project - http://www.co2captureandstorage.info/project_specific.php?project_id=140 .
The International Weyburn CO2 Monitoring project (also known as a component of the first phase of the Weyburn-Midale CO2 Project) involved a group of European scientists specialising in reservoir geochemistry. This group participated in and contributed their monitoring expertise to the project that was underway in Canada. The project was a major CO2 sequestration demonstration project based on a CO2 enhanced oil recovery operation in Southern Saskatchewan, Canada. It aimed to enhance the knowledge and understanding of the mechanisms by which CO2 is sequestered in an onshore oil field during CO2 enhanced oil recovery projects. In particular, the project addressed:
• The issue of long term safety and performance of sequestration. This was addressed by undertaking a scenario analysis, which involved the development of a database of features, events and processes. The database holds information relating to possible system failures (e.g. cap rock fracturing) and leakage pathways (e.g. injection well packing failure) and allowed a comprehensive assessment of the safety and performance of CO2
• Regional gas concentrations in the soil and groundwater were analysed. Along with core sample analyses, this provided an understanding of the fluid flow pathways reaching the surface and the fluid flow properties of the host rock formations in the reservoir.
• The rate and extent of reaction of the injected CO2 with the rock in the oil reservoir and pore water were studied. The reactions were then modeled using geochemical reaction simulation tools to determine the long-term fate of the CO2 that is injected into the reservoir.
The project enhanced knowledge and understanding of the application of carbon dioxide in enhanced oil recovery (EOR) and its sequestration in oil fields and has improved understanding of the long term integrity, safety, performance, and cost implications of storage in this manner. Useful data was generated that sheds light on the hydrochemical, hydrogeological and geochemical parameters relevant to the Weyburn oilfield, and how these change when CO2 is injected.
The EC-supported project involved research groups from Denmark, France, Italy and the UK. It involved both laboratory studies in Europe and field observation and monitoring activities in Canada. The European project team was managed by the British Geological Survey and worked in close coordination with other research groups involved in the project in Canada and the United States and drew upon results from the NASCENT project.
Coordination of the activities of the project teams working on both sides of the Atlantic was the responsibility of the Petroleum Technology Research Centre (PTRC) in Canada. PTRC are the project managers for the Weyburn CO2 Monitoring Project in Canada (the Weyburn-Midale CO2 project).
|
