Site evaluation

Screening and ranking CO₂ storage sites

Optimal CO₂ storage sites share similarities with oil and gas reservoirs in that they are characterized by high porosity, permeability, and structural and stratigraphic traps. Leveraging our digital tools from oil and gas workflows, we can apply our solutions to CO₂ site assessment, ensuring a comprehensive evaluation of the site. Additionally, the site's physical proximity to transport and capture facilities also plays a pivotal role in the assessment and ranking of storage choices. SLB’s industry-leading and proprietary digital technologies enable you to complete a comprehensive assessment of potential CO₂ storage sites quickly and efficiently.

Ensuring long-term CO₂ storage integrity

Given that reservoirs are expected to contain CO₂ for extended periods, assessing a storage site requires confirming its long-term storage integrity. Once a geological reservoir model is built, reservoir engineers perform flow simulation assessments to understand different trapping mechanisms, assess the potential for CO₂ migration, and verify caprock integrity. For a deeper understanding of reservoir and structural integrity, additional studies may be needed to integrate reservoir simulation with geomechanics simulations.

During this evaluation, a monitoring, measurement, and verification plan (MMV) should also be considered, which through risk evaluation, selects the technology best suited to site and injection conditions. The MMV plan also addresses direct and indirect measurements to demonstrate the integrity of the storage site as well as conformance with the predicted CO₂ migration models. SLB provides a comprehensive portfolio of technologies and solutions that encompass the modeling, measurement, monitoring, and verification of storage sites, as well as reporting tools for meeting regulatory requirements.

Understanding CO₂ volumes and injection rates

A volumetric assessment of a CO₂ storage site is a basic component to assess its suitability. Understanding how quickly a desired volume can be injected, without compromising the integrity of the injector well and the storage unit, is critical for a successful operation and for secure long-term containment.

Also, essential to site assessment is simulating the CO₂ flow through the storage unit and understanding the complex physical and chemical interactions between the injected CO₂ and the reservoir. Our robust solutions include a suite of dynamic simulation options for CO₂ storage in saline aquifers in depleted gas reservoirs or for storage in depleted oil reservoirs, quickly providing a thorough grasp of how the storage will behave when CO₂ is injected—even in complex compositional scenarios demanding high-resolution grids.