We investigate the physics, chemistry, and techno-economics of CO2 storage underground

Our research includes exploring fundamental pore scale fluid dynamics, developing digital rocks analysis techniques, increasing the accuracy of field scale reservoir simulation, and evaluating the feasibility of scaling up CO2 storage to climate relevant scales.

Our Research Projects

Citation

BibTex format

@article{Al-Menhali:2016:10.1021/acs.est.5b05925,
author = {Al-Menhali, AS and Krevor, S},
doi = {10.1021/acs.est.5b05925},
journal = {Environmental Science & Technology},
pages = {2727--2734},
title = {Capillary trapping of CO2 in oil reservoirs: observations in a mixed-wet carbonate rock},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.5b05925},
volume = {50},
year = {2016}
}

RIS format (EndNote, RefMan)

TY  - JOUR
AB - Early deployment of carbon dioxide storage is likely to focus on injection into mature oil reservoirs, most of which occur in carbonate rock units. Observations and modeling have shown how capillary trapping leads to the immobilization of CO2 in saline aquifers, enhancing the security and capacity of storage. There are, however, no observations of trapping in rocks with a mixed-wet-state characteristic of hydrocarbon-bearing carbonate reservoirs. Here, we found that residual trapping of supercritical CO2 in a limestone altered to a mixed-wet state with oil was significantly less than trapping in the unaltered rock. In unaltered samples, the trapping of CO2 and N2 were indistinguishable, with a maximum residual saturation of 24%. After the alteration of the wetting state, the trapping of N2 was reduced, with a maximum residual saturation of 19%. The trapping of CO2 was reduced even further, with a maximum residual saturation of 15%. Best-fit Land-model constants shifted from C = 1.73 in the water-wet rock to C = 2.82 for N2 and C = 4.11 for the CO2 in the mixed-wet rock. The results indicate that plume migration will be less constrained by capillary trapping for CO2 storage projects using oil fields compared with those for saline aquifers.
AU - Al-Menhali,AS
AU - Krevor,S
DO - 10.1021/acs.est.5b05925
EP - 2734
PY - 2016///
SN - 1520-5851
SP - 2727
TI - Capillary trapping of CO2 in oil reservoirs: observations in a mixed-wet carbonate rock
T2 - Environmental Science & Technology
UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.5b05925
UR - https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.est.5b05925
UR - http://hdl.handle.net/10044/1/29722
VL - 50
ER -