About the Project
Project Background
The North Sea has a long hydrocarbon exploration history and is one of the key economic drivers of the United Kingdom. In addition to a revitalised exploration interest associated with successful new discoveries, the North Sea is of key strategic interest for Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) with theoretical storage capacities of circa 70 Gt of CO2 (Bentham CO2Stored). In addition to the oil and gas reservoirs in the North Sea, non-hydrocarbon bearing saline aquifers are major additional targets for CCS. Suitable reservoir formations must have adequate capacity, and permeability, and usually comprise of high-porosity sandstones. The storage complex must possess an impermeable caprock to avoid unwanted fluid migration from the storage reservoirs. With storage safety and integrity being paramount to CO2 storage projects, it is crucial to assess seal bypass features that could potentially allow injected carbon dioxide to escape from the reservoir and reach the surface.
Project Aims and Methods
The project will focus on stratigraphic successions through the North Sea that constitute overburden strata of potential CCS reservoirs. Using North Sea 3D seismic and borehole data, the project aims to characterise features or indicators of potential fluid migration pathways over selected reservoir targets for carbon sequestration. Detailed characterisation of the reservoirs and caprocks, including overlying secondary storage reservoirs will be obtained through mapping of 3D seismic data, further complemented by use of well logs. This will be followed by mapping of potential fluid migration networks associated with the distinct tectonic styles of the study region. Stress data obtained from the boreholes and published information will be used to create fault reactivation and leakage models for the relevant sequences. In addition, stratigraphic heterogeneities in caprocks that influence the migration of leaking fluids will be taken into account for the establishment of a leakage risk model.
The project benefits from cooperation between the Cardiff University 3D Seismic Lab, one of the top basin analysis research centres in Europe, and the British Geological Survey. The student will benefit from state-of-the-art interpretation resources at Cardiff, and have access to BGS’s renowned expertise on CCS. BGS training courses are accessible to the successful candidate.
This is a CASE award. The student will spend a minimum of 3 months at the CASE Partner, British Geological Survey, in Wales, Keyworth and Edinburgh. Dr Davide Gamboa is based at Cardiff and will actively co-supervise the PhD student with Tiago M. Alves (first supervisor).
References
Benson, S. M., & Cole, D. R. (2008). CO2 Sequestration in Deep Sedimentary Formations. Elements, 4(5), 325–331. https://doi.org/10.2113/gselements.4.5.325
Bentham, M., Mallows, T., Lowndes, J. & Green, A. 2014. CO2 Storage Evaluation Database (CO2 Stored). The UK’s online storage atlas. Energy Procedia, 63, 5103–5113.
Bentham, M. S., Green, A., & Gammer, D. (2013). The Occurrence of Faults in the Bunter Sandstone Formation of the UK Sector of the Southern North Sea and the Potential Impact on Storage Capacity. Energy Procedia, 37(0), 5101–5109. https://doi.org/http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.egypro.2013.06.423
Metz, Bert, et al. IPCC special report on carbon dioxide capture and storage. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Geneva (Switzerland). Working Group III, 2005.
RISCS, 2014. A Guide to potential impacts of leakage from CO2 storage. Pearce, J, Blackford, J, Beaubien, S, Foekema, E, Gemeni, V, Gwosdz, S, Jones, D, Kirk, K, Lions, J, Metcalfe, R, Moni, C, Smith, K, Steven, M, West, J and Ziogou, F. British Geological Survey. Available from www.riscs-co2.eu
Williams, J.D.O., Holloway, S., Williams, G.A. 2014. Pressure constraints on the CO2 storage capacity of the saline water bearing parts of the Bunter Sandstone Formation in the UK Southern
North Sea. Petroleum Geoscience, v.20, p155-167.