Modeling Oil Production, CO2 Injection and Associated Storage in Depleted Oil Reservoirs: A Comparison of Approaches

Abstract

The Midwest Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnership has been investigating various reservoir characterization and modeling technologies as part of its commercial-scale implementation of carbon dioxide injection for geologic storage in multiple Silurian carbonate pinnacle reefs in northern Michigan, USA. This paper compares multiple reservoir modeling approaches for history-matching oil production and CO2 injection responses, and estimating associated storage, to characterize these small spatial footprint depleted reef reservoirs. The three approaches considered are: fully compositional simulation, black-oil with pseudo-miscibility treatment, and capacitance resistance modeling (CRM). Modeling results from three reefs illustrating each modeling approach are presented, and their applicability and limitations with respect to data needs and modeling objectives are discussed.