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Carbon Capture – Reservoir Storage and Risk Elements: Insights from the Field, NE England, UK (G550)

Tutor(s)

Richard Jones: Managing Director, Geospatial Research Ltd.

Overview

This course is framed around demonstrating the principles of CO2 storage capacity and risk elements of a prospective CCS play. Starting from basic geoscience principles, the course focuses on reservoir capacity estimation, injectivity and containment risks. The principles will be illustrated using well-exposed outcrop examples from NE England including clastic reservoirs from a variety of depositional settings (typically Carboniferous, Permo-Triassic, or Jurassic), sealing lithologies (mudrocks and evaporites) and structural controls on reservoir connectivity and containment (fractures, juxtaposition and fault zone complexity).

Duration and Logistics

A 5-day field course with fieldwork and practical sessions supported by classroom lectures. The course will be based in the historic city of Durham in NE England with easy access to coastal and inland locations in the counties of Durham, Northumberland and Yorkshire.

Level and Audience

Fundamental: The course is intended for subsurface scientists, including geologists and engineers, with a knowledge of petroleum geoscience, who are working on or new to, CCS projects.

Exertion Level

The course requires an EASY exertion level. Outcrops include coastal outcrop sections and inland exposures all with easy access. There will be some walks along beaches and easy paths to get to the outcrops with a maximum distance of around 5km (3 miles) or less, elevations vary from sea level to up to 500m (1600 ft). Temperature variations in late spring and summer are typically between 10 and 25°C (50–80°F).

Objectives

You will learn to:

Characterize a variety of reservoir types (considering potential impacts of stratigraphic, depositional and structural heterogeneities, porosity and permeability) with respect to their suitability for carbon capture and storage.
Estimate reservoir capacity through stratigraphic and structural analysis, and porosity estimation.
Understand fluid transport parameters – injection/flow rate and reservoir permeability.
Assess containment potential for CO2 (evaporitic and shale seals, faults and fractures).
Evaluate fracture networks with respect to storage capacity, injection rates and containment risk.

Systems to Classify, Categorise and Report Geological CO2 Storage Capacity (G542)

Tutor(s)

Bob Harrison: Director, Sustainable Ideas Ltd.

Overview

While large scale carbon capture and storage (CCS) implementation continues to be debated, when it happens, a subsurface carbon storage management system will be needed. Such a framework must be capable of describing objective estimates of CO2 storage with respect to quantity and quality of available data, give a range of uncertainty in the estimation and provide injection project status from cradle to grave. This course reviews the subsurface carbon storage frameworks that are currently on offer worldwide.

Duration and Logistics

Classroom version: A 1.5-day course comprising a mix of lectures, case studies and exercises. The manual will be provided in digital format and participants will be required to bring a laptop or tablet computer to follow the lectures and exercises.

Virtual version: Three 3.5-hour interactive online sessions presented over 3 days. Digital course notes and exercise materials will be distributed to participants before the course.

Level and Audience

Intermediate. The course is intended for energy industry professionals, government regulatory bodies and energy sector investors.

Objectives

You will learn to:

Appreciate the requirement for an auditable carbon storage reporting system.
Gain familiarity with the different systems to report geologic carbon sequestration.
Understand the pros and cons and limitations of the reporting systems on offer.
Appreciate the key uncertainties in storage capacity estimates and how they may alter over time with increasing knowledge and experience.
Be aware of bias in reporting and how to mitigate against it.
Understand the need for appropriate ‘project boundaries’ to allow project comparison.

Carbon Capture and Storage: The Geoscience Fundamentals (G540)

Tutor(s)

Richard Worden: Professor in the Department of Earth Ocean and Ecological Sciences, University of Liverpool, UK.

Overview

This course will provide participants with the fundamental geoscience concepts of Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) projects; namely subsurface CO2 storage volumetrics, CO2 flow in the subsurface away from injector wells, the goal of safe and permanent storage of CO2 and cost-benefit issues linked to aquifer depth, well design, etc. The course is aimed at non-specialist staff so basic geoscience concepts will be explained throughout. The need for CCS will be laid out with evidence as to why geoscientists know it can be effective at mitigating greenhouse gas emissions. The course will deal with CO2 as a fluid phase and how much can be stored in the subsurface. It will deal with how quickly CO2 can be injected and the factors that influence injection rate. The range of consequences of injecting large volumes of CO2 into the subsurface will also be covered, including the risk of minor Earth tremors. The range of possible CO2 leakage mechanisms will be presented, and the course will conclude with a consideration of monitoring strategies and risk assessment approaches.

Duration and Logistics

Classroom version: A 1-day course comprising a mix of lectures, case studies and exercises. The manual will be provided in digital format and participants will be required to bring a laptop or tablet computer to follow the lectures and exercises.

Virtual version: Two 4-hour interactive online sessions presented over 2 days. Digital course notes and simple exercise materials will be distributed to participants before the course. Some exercises may be completed by participants off-line if desired.

Level and Audience

Fundamental. Intended for a non-specialist audience (technical assistants, engineers, geoscience support staff) to raise awareness of the geoscience background to CCS – how it works, possible consequences of injecting large volumes of fluid into the deep subsurface, monitoring strategies and key risks associated with it. The geoscience subject matter is covered from basic principles to make it accessible to non-specialist staff. Basic numeracy will be assumed but most exercises will be based on spreadsheet-based calculations using prepared Excel files. There will be opportunities for discussion about key topics in breakout groups, with feedback to the class. Simple group exercises will be used to illustrate key points.

Objectives

You will learn to:

Appreciate why CCS is needed to cut global carbon emissions.
Develop an understanding of the role of geoscience in CCS and the role of CCS in CO2 emissions reductions.
Appreciate what CO2 injection projects have occurred so far and how they differ from industrial CCS planned in the UK.
Understand how and why CCS works, including basic geological concepts about rocks, fluids in those rocks and the key physical properties of rocks involved in CCS projects.
Understand CO2 as a fluid in the subsurface and how it differs from water, oil and natural gas.
Build an appreciation of how much CO2 can be stored in both old (depleted) oil and gas fields and saline aquifers, and understand the benefits of depleted hydrocarbon fields vs saline aquifers.
Develop a basic understanding of the flow properties of porous rocks and the rate at which CO2 can be injected through a well during CCS, including an appreciation of the role of heterogeneity on the success of CCS projects.
Understand the range of detrimental and beneficial effects that CO2 can have on the host aquifer, from geomechanical to geochemical.
Grasp the critical importance of the role of top-seal and fault-seal properties and how they influence CO2 storage, from risk of fracking, or induced seismicity, to mineral dissolution.
Understand the ways that CO2 could escape from planned CCS sites.
Develop an awareness of the range of monitoring strategies that could be employed to ensure safe and long-term storage of CO2.

Subsurface Pressures for Injection of Fluids and Gases (G504)

Tutor(s)

Richard Swarbrick: Manager, Swarbrick GeoPressure.

Overview

This course covers all aspects of subsurface pressures with particular emphasis on pre-drill estimates and the conditions for injection and storage of fluids and gas, including hydrogen and CO2. Methods for estimating pressures from rock and fluid properties will be reviewed, as well as the processes that determine them in the subsurface prior to drilling. The impact of rock strength relative to fluid pressure at depth will also be discussed, in relation to injection rate limitations and storage volumes.

Duration and Logistics

Classroom version: A 3-day course comprising a mix of lectures, case studies and exercises. The manual will be provided in digital format and participants will be required to bring a laptop or tablet computer to follow the lectures and exercises.

Virtual version: Five 3.5-hour interactive online sessions presented over 5 days. A digital manual and exercise materials will be distributed to before the course. Some reading and are to be completed by participants off-line.

Level and Audience

Advanced. Intended for geoscientists and engineers who are involved in drilling into reservoirs for the purpose of injecting, storing and producing fluid. Some knowledge of subsurface geology and the basics of drilling wells would be an advantage.

Objectives

You will learn to:

Understand how subsurface pressures determine safe injection, storage and production from deep reservoirs.
Appreciate the processes that govern safe drilling, with particular emphasis on pore fluid and fracture pressures.
Describe how to analyze subsurface pressure data and calibrate to estimate pore pressures from a variety of drilling and logging data.
Relate regional and local rock stress magnitudes to failure of seals.
Evaluate how to assess volumes that can be safely sequestered in underground storage.
Interpret typical pressure profiles, in terms of subsurface fluid processes, such as lateral drainage (open aquifers) and lateral transfer (enhanced pressures and a drilling surprise).
Perform basic pressure prediction calculations and estimate storage volumes.
Review and critique relevant case study material.

Carbon Capture and Storage Masterclass (G502)

Tutor(s)

Richard Worden: Professor in the Department of Earth Ocean and Ecological Sciences, University of Liverpool, UK.

Overview

This course will provide participants with awareness of the geoscience needs for CCS projects; namely subsurface CO2 storage volumetrics, CO2 flow in the subsurface away from injector wells, the goal of safe and permanent storage of CO2 and cost-benefit issues linked to aquifer depth, well design, etc. The course will establish basics, such as how much CCS is needed to make a difference to global warming, and explore what types of CO2 injection are already happening, including information from CO2-enhanced oil recovery projects. The course will deal with CO2 as a fluid phase and how much CO2 can be stored per cubic meter in terms of porosity and over entire aquifers. It will deal with how quickly CO2 can be injected and the role of aquifer permeability. The course then moves on to the all-important geomechanical effects of CO2 injection and feedbacks between induced mineral dissolution and rock strength and other rock properties. The full range of possible interaction between CO2 and both aquifer and top-seal will be covered, as will the range of possible leakage mechanisms that need to be assessed. The course will conclude with consideration of monitoring strategies.

Duration and Logistics

Classroom version: A 3-day course comprising a mix of lectures, case studies and exercises. The manual will be provided in digital format and participants will be required to bring a laptop or tablet computer to follow the lectures and exercises.

Virtual version: Five 3.5-hour interactive online sessions presented over five days. Digital course notes and exercise materials will be distributed to participants before the course. Some exercises may be completed by participants off-line.

Level and Audience

Intermediate. The course is largely aimed at geoscientists, but engineers will also find the course instructive. Intended for sub-surface scientists, with an emphasis on geoscience topics. Participants will probably have a working knowledge of petroleum geoscience. However, the subject matter of this course, the geoscience of carbon capture and storage, is covered from basic principles.

Objectives

You will learn to:

Develop awareness of the role of geoscience in CCS and of CCS in CO2 emissions reductions.
Appreciate what CO2 injection projects have occurred so far and how they differ from industrial CCS.
Understand CO2 as a fluid in the subsurface and the fluid injection pressure and effective stress regimes that CO2 injection will involve.
Build awareness of the volumetrics of CO2 storage from the micro (pore-scale) to the macro (aquifer volumes).
Gain an appreciation of the question of CO2 flow away from injector wells controlled by permeability and aquifer architecture.
Understand the range of effects that CO2 can have on the host aquifer, from geomechanical to geochemical.
Assess the role of top-seal and fault-seal properties and how they will influence CO2 storage, from risk of fracking, or induced seismicity, to mineral dissolution.
Understand the range of ways that CO2 could escape from the planned storage sites.
Develop an awareness of the range of monitoring strategies that could be employed to ensure safe and long-term storage of CO2.

Geologic Carbon Storage for Geoscientists and Engineers (G551)

Tutor(s)

Alex Bump: Research Science Associate, University of Texas at Austin.

Seyyed Hosseini: Research Professor, University of Texas at Austin.

Katherine Romanak: Research Scientist, University of Texas at Austin.

Overview

This course empowers attendees to develop and apply their skills to the growing industry of Carbon Capture Utilisation and Storage (CCUS). Attendees will be guided through the lifecycle of a CCUS project with an emphasis on key concepts, processes and workflows of the CCUS industry. Focus will be on developing the geoscience and engineering skills needed to progress a project.

Duration and Logistics

Virtual version: Five 4-hour interactive online sessions presented over 5 days.

Level and Audience

Intermediate. The course is intended for petroleum geoscientists, reservoir engineers and first-level leaders looking to adapt their skills to carbon capture and storage.

Objectives

You will learn to:

Outline the regulatory, policy and financial drivers and constraints for CCUS.
Describe the subsurface requirements for a successful storage project, including similarities and differences with oil and gas exploration.
Understand the workflow and perform the key tasks for defining, developing and permitting a CCUS project, including site selection, characterisation, risk assessment and monitoring for operational and post-operational phases.
Apply your subsurface knowledge and skills in oil and gas development to the concepts, processes and workflows of the CCUS industry.
Estimate CO2 storage capacity in saline aquifers at reservoir and basin-scales.