A storage and enhanced coalbed methane (CO2-ECBM) test will store up to 20,000 tons of carbon dioxide in a stacked coal reservoir in southwest Virginia. The test involves two phases of CO2 injection operations. Phase I was conducted from July 2, 2015 to April 15, 2016, and injected a total of 10, 601 tons of CO2. After a reservoir soaking period of seven months, Phase II is scheduled to begin Fall 2016. The design of the monitoring program for the test considered several site-specific factors, including a unique reservoir geometry, challenging surface terrain, simultaneous CBM production activities which complicate the ability to attribute signals to sources. A multi-scale approach to the monitoring design incorporated technologies deployed over different, overlapping spatial and temporal scales selected for the monitoring program include dedicated observation wells, CO2 injection operations monitoring, reservoir pressure and temperature monitoring, gas and formation water composition from offset wells tracer studies, borehole liquid level measurement, microseismic monitoring, surface deformation measurement, and various well logs and tests. Integrated interpretations of monitoring results from Phase I of the test have characterized enhanced permeability, geomechanical variation with depth, and dynamic reservoir injectivity. Results have also led to the development of recommended injection strategy for CO2-ECBM operations. The work presented here describes the development of the monitoring program, including design considerations and rationales for selected technologies, and presents monitoring results and interpretations from Phase I of the test. / Ph. D. / Recent efforts to manage and reduce atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO<sub>2</sub>) emissions include the development of technologies for carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) operations. CCUS technologies are used to capture CO<sub>2</sub> emissions from a power plant or other point source, transport the captured CO<sub>2</sub> to a field site, and inject the CO<sub>2</sub> underground into a geologic reservoir. There it is securely stored within a deep, sealed geologic formation and/or is utilized to enhance oil or gas recovery from the formation. CCUS operations conducted on a commercial scale could play an important role in combating anthropogenic climate change. Field tests for carbon storage and utilization operations support the objective of scaling up by demonstrating the storage potential of target reservoirs, the profit potential from enhanced recovery, and the safety of all field operations. Field tests are monitored intensively in order to understand reservoir behavior in response to CO<sub>2</sub> injection and to evaluate progress toward project objectives.
An ongoing small-scale carbon storage and utilization test in southwest Virginia is testing the potential for CO<sub>2</sub> storage and enhanced gas recovery from a depleted coalbed methane reservoir. The carbon storage and enhanced coalbed methane (CO<sub>2</sub>-ECBM) test will store up to 20,000 tons of carbon dioxide in a coal reservoir composed of approximately 20 individual seams. The test involves two phases of CO<sub>2</sub> injection operations. Phase I was conducted from July 2, 2015, to April 15, 2016, and injected a total of 10,601 tons of CO<sub>2</sub>. After a reservoir soaking period of seven months, Phase II is scheduled to begin in Fall 2016. The design of the monitoring program for the test considered several site-specific factors, including a unique reservoir geometry, challenging surface terrain, and simultaneous coalbed methane production activities which complicate the ability to attribute signals to sources. A multi-scale approach to the monitoring design incorporated technologies deployed over different, overlapping spatial and temporal scales. The work presented here describes the development of the monitoring program, including design considerations and rationales for selected technologies, and presents monitoring results and interpretations from Phase I of the test.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:VTETD/oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/73552 |
| Date | 02 December 2016 |
| Creators | Gilliland, Ellen |
| Contributors | Mining and Minerals Engineering, Ripepi, Nino S., Luxbacher, Kramer Davis, Chapman, Martin C., Pashin, Jack C., Westman, Erik C. |
| Publisher | Virginia Tech |
| Source Sets | Virginia Tech Theses and Dissertation |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Dissertation |
| Format | ETD, application/pdf, application/pdf |
| Rights | In Copyright, http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ |
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