Injecting CO2 in a reservoir brings a unique challenge at two levels: quantifying the amount of CO2 that can be stored in the reservoir and predicting the pathway(s) the fluid will follow from its injection entry point till it’s (hopefully!) final resting place.
In the case of a previously developed reservoir, a successful history match of the hydrocarbon development period without resorting to multipliers and other manual editing in the geomodel is a necessary starting point.
To successfully build reservoir models suited for CCS purpose, faster turnaround time and close integration with reservoirs engineers must occurs to fast track the initial history match process and to capture the uncertainty range related to CO2 pathways and storage in the reservoirs.
In the data analysis side, the workflows to rapidly assess the validity of the data and identification of outliers must be adopted early.
Seismic 4D, as a tool to monitor real time CO2 movement in the reservoir, must be routinely used to track the evolution of the CO2 storage and movement in the reservoir. Frequency of repeat seismic 4D surveys must be increased in order to modify the reservoir models and keep the CO2 storage / movement prediction ever green.
The geology in the reservoir must be depicted using more capable algorithms. The handling of largely unused interpolation algorithms such as MultiPoint Statistics or PluriGaussians should be improved to enable larger adoption by the geomodelling community with the objective of more coherent 3D representation of the geology while honoring the physics of the reservoir.
Locating faults or fractures in the reservoir with a superior degree of certainty is crucial. The effect of fault on the CO2 flow paths from injection point, the storage in the reservoir and the sealing capability of the overburden are the main aspects that need to be tested in the dynamic prediction of CO2 injection and storage.
