Integrating reservoir properties and seismic with borehole and surface time-lapse gravity data for monitoring CO2 sequestration: A site investigation

Abstract

†Summary We present a feasibility study on the potential application of time-lapse gravity as a monitoring tool for a proposed CO2 sequestration test site. The results are a component of a larger geotechnical suitability study to evaluate a specific field’s potential for CO2 storage and to evaluate potential techniques for effective monitoring there. The reservoir model is constructed from detailed site data as available through separate reservoir characterization studies. The associated gravity inversion is a highly constrained binary approach that incorporates reservoir geometry from seismic data and internal 3D distributions of density change derived from the reservoir engineering database. The complete study includes both surface and joint surface/borehole timelapse gravity data for five CO2 plume movement scenarios. In this paper, we present a subset of the entire study. Results indicate that the site likely has a favorable combination of geometry, depth, thickness, and predicted density change from CO2 movement to be effectively monitored with time-lapse gravity.