Remaining gaps for "safe" CO2 storage: the INGV CO2GAPS vision of "learning by doing" monitoring geogas leakage, reservoirs contamination/mixing and induced/triggered seismicity
Abstract
The CO2GAPS project proposed by INGV is intended to build up an European Proposal for a new kind of research strategy in the field of the geogas storage. Aim of the project would be to fill such key GAPS concerning the main risks associated to CO2 storage and their implications on the entire Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) process, which are: i) the geogas leakage both in soils and shallow aquifers, up to indoor seepage; ii) the reservoirs contamination/mixing by hydrocarbons and heavy metals; iii) induced or triggered seismicity and microseismicity, especially for seismogenic blind faults. In order to consider such risks and make the CCS public acceptance easier, a new kind of research approach should be performed by: i) a better multi-disciplinary and "site specific" risk assessment; ii) the development of more reliable multi-disciplinary monitoring protocols. In this view robust pre-injection base-lines (seismicity and degassing) as well as identification and discrimination criteria for potential anomalies are mandatory. CO2 injection dynamic modelling presently not consider reservoirs geomechanical properties during reactive mass-transport large scale simulations. Complex simulations of the contemporaneous physic-chemical processes involving CO2-rich plumes which move, react and help to crack the reservoir rocks are not totally performed. These activities should not be accomplished only by the oil-gas/electric companies, since the experienced know-how should be shared among the CCS industrial operators and research institutions, with the governments support and overview, also flanked by a transparent and "peer reviewed" scientific popularization process. In this context, a preliminary and reliable 3D modelling of the entire "storage complex" as defined by the European Directive 31/2009 is strictly necessary, taking into account the above mentioned geological, geochemical and geophysical risks. New scientific results could also highlighting such opportunities recently shown by strategic researches on the synergies between the use of underground space (e.g. CH4, CO2 storage and deep geothermics) for energetic supplying purposes. The CO2GAPS approach would merge together geomechanical and geochemical data with seismic velocity and anisotropy properties of the crust, induced seismicity data, gravimetry, EM techniques, and "early alarm" procedures for leakage/cracks detection in shallow geo-spheres (e.g. abandoned wells, naturally seismic and degassing zones). Moreover, a full merging of those data is necessary for a reliable 3D-Earth modelling and the subsequent reactive transport simulations. CO2GAPS vision would apply and verify these issues working on several European selected sites, taking also into account complex systems such as "inland" active faulted blocks close to potential off-shore CO2 storage sites, ECBM faulted prone-areas, "inland" injection test site and CO2 natural faulted analogues. The purpose of these activities focus on the study of long-term fate of stored CO2, leakage mechanisms through the cap-rock and/or abandoned wells, cement wells reactivity, as well as the effects of impurities in the CO2 streams, their removal costs, the use of tracers and the role of biota.
- Publication:
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AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2012
- Bibcode:
- 2012AGUFM.S43D2501Q
- Keywords:
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- 1094 GEOCHEMISTRY / Instruments and techniques;
- 7219 SEISMOLOGY / Seismic monitoring and test-ban treaty verification;
- 4302 NATURAL HAZARDS / Geological;
- 4328 NATURAL HAZARDS / Risk