Abstract
Basalt-hosted hydrogeologic systems have been proposed for geologic CO2 sequestration based on laboratory research suggesting rapid mineralization rates. However, despite this theoretical appeal, little is known about the impacts of basalt fracture heterogeneity on CO2 migration at commercial scales. Evaluating the suitability of basalt reservoirs is complicated by incomplete knowledge of in-situ fracture distributions at depths required for CO2 sequestration. In this work, a numerical experiment is used to investigate the effects of spatial reservoir uncertainty for geologic CO2 sequestration in the east Snake River Plain, Idaho (USA). Two criteria are investigated: (1) formation injectivity and (2) confinement potential. Several theoretical tools are invoked to develop a field-based approach for geostatistical reservoir characterization and their implementation is illustrated. Geologic CO2 sequestration is simulated for 10 years of constant-rate injection at ~680,000 tons per year and modeled by Monte Carlo simulation such that model variability is a function of spatial reservoir heterogeneity. Results suggest that the spatial distribution of heterogeneous permeability structures is a controlling influence on formation injectivity. Analysis of confinement potential is less conclusive; however, in the absence of confining sedimentary interbeds within the basalt pile, rapid mineralization may be necessary to reduce the risk of escape.
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