A Site Characterization Study for CO2 Injection Into the Oriskany Formation
Open Access
- Author:
- Carr, William
- Graduate Program:
- Energy and Mineral Engineering
- Degree:
- Master of Science
- Document Type:
- Master Thesis
- Date of Defense:
- October 20, 2023
- Committee Members:
- Jeremy Gernand, Program Head/Chair
Sanjay Srinivasan, Thesis Advisor/Co-Advisor
Gregory R King, Committee Member
Eugene C Morgan, Committee Member - Keywords:
- Oriskany Sandstone
CO2 Sequestration
Reservoir Modeling
Appalachian - Abstract:
- The Oriskany Sandstone, defined as a quartz arenite aquifer formation, is located throughout the Appalachian Basin, with primary oil and gas production in New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia. For years, it has been used as a hydrocarbon production and gas storage formation due to its favorable petrophysical properties. The structural complexity of the Oriskany is mainly present along the Appalachian Mountain range due to the stresses involved during their orogeny. Because of this, structural and stratigraphic influence of the formation causes regions of low permeability and porosity, thus leading to unfavorable conditions for both oil and gas production and injection. This study looks to focus on the Oriskany Sandstone region to explore the feasibility of CO2 sequestration. With the imperative to reduce CO2 emissions throughout the world, especially within the United States, there is a shift in focus from production of oil and gas to the use of the subsurface for carbon sequestration. Proof of long-term safety and efficiency is key to development of CO2 sequestration projects and requires proper coring, logging, and seismic analysis for deployment of well plans within specified regions. Techniques for tracking the CO2 and pressure plumes are necessary. This study focuses on analyzing the limited information available for a region of the Oriskany formation and synthesizes a reservoir model to define the feasibility of the Oriskany formation as a sequestration site in North Central Pennsylvania. The low values of permeability and porosity in the region lead to the consideration of hydraulic fracturing to attempt to expand the contact area into the reservoir. The significance of this study, which uses seismic, log, and geostatistical analysis to populate the reservoir simulator, determines the injectability of the formation and its storage capacity. Provided the limited data to characterize the formation in the vicinity of an existing well, a range of analyses was conducted, which include Bayesian analysis to populate a reservoir model with petrophysical properties and sensitivity analysis with respect to well injection capabilities. These analyses provide a wide range of results to compare when more data becomes available to better understand the formation at the location of the well. In addition, economics are considered, including the influence of monitoring wells and the influence of abandoned wells in the vicinity of the injection well. With an ammonia plant acting as the source of CO2, producing approximately 3,200 tons of CO2 per day, various injection cycles and fracturing scenarios are analyzed, resulting in anywhere from 6% to 25% dissolution into the formation brines, a key component when attempting to trap the CO2 over a long term. Although the current study’s analysis of this area of the Oriskany may not be suited for CO2 sequestration, further evaluation of the effects of natural fractures, heavily present within this area, needs to be performed before a final decision is made.