Updated: 08 May 2013

Monitoring of CO2 storage in a depleted natural gas reservoir: Gas geochemistry from the CO2CRC Otway Project, Australia

Catalogue Number :	72909
Release Date :	28 September 2011
Senior Author :	Boreham, C.J.
Product Type :	External Publication–Scientific Journal Paper
Medium :	WEB
Theme(s) :	carbon dioxide

Abstract :	The CO2CRC Otway Project in southwestern Victoria, Australia has injected over 17 months 65 445 tonnes of a mixed carbon dioxide-methane fluid into the water leg of a depleted natural gas reservoir at a depth of approximately 2km. Pressurized sub-surface fluids were collected from the Naylor-1 observation well using a tri-level U-tube sampling system located near the crest of the fault-bounded anticline trap, 300 metres up-dip of the CRC-1 gas injection well. Relative to the pre-injection gas-water contact (GWC), only the shallowest U-tube initially accessed the residual methane gas cap. The pre-injection gas cap at Naylor-1 contains CO₂ at 1.5 mol% compared to 75.4 mol% for the injected gas from the Buttress-1 supply well and its CO₂ is depleted in ¹³C by 4.5%₀ VPDB compared to the injected supercritical CO₂. Additional assurance of the arrival of injected gas at the observation well is provided by the use of the added tracer compounds, CD₄, Kr and SF₆ in the injected gas stream. Lessons learnt from the CO2CRC Otway Project have enabled us to better anticipate the challenges for rapid deployment of carbon dioxide in a commercial environment at much larger scales.
Spatial Extent :	N LAT: -36.75 W LONG: 138.25 S LAT: -40.75 E LONG: 145.25

Resources :	View the online abstract in International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control, Vol. 5, Issue: 4, July 2011, pp. 1039-1054

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