The cambrian gog quartzite and deadwood formations of alberta: lessons for subsurface carbon sequestration

Abstract

Injecting carbon dioxide into reservoirs has been undertaken since the 1940s, mostly as a method to enhance oil recovery. With the recognition of the impact of climate change, interest in carbon sequestration has increased exponentially, with hundreds of projects in progress around the globe. Many of these projects focus on Cambrian quartzites, which meet the requirements for carbon dioxide injection (CCS). Several CCS projects in Alberta, Canada, currently focus on using these reservoirs, including the Basal Cambrian Sandstone and Deadwood Formations, for injection and storage.A series of spectacular outcrops of the Cambrian Gog Quartzite are available for study in the area around Lake Louise in the Canadian Rockies of Alberta. These outcrops provide compelling analogues to other clastic Cambrian formations in the province that have been utilized for CCS. As an example, the Gog Quartzite was used by Shell as a direct reservoir analogue when modeling CO2 injection into the Basal Cambrian Sandstone in the QUEST Project. The Gog Quartzite also has potential to act as a CCS reservoir in its own right and may reach 2 kilometres in thickness.Outcrops of the Gog Quartzite were studied at Sink Lake, Spiral Tunnels and in the vicinity of Lake Louise in Alberta. They include fluvial and shallow marine, high net:gross sandstone beds with stacked trough cross-bedded sandstones. These are commonly interbedded with thin mudstone beds. Sedimentary structures include planar and trough cross-beds, wave ripples and contorted horizons interpreted as seismites with associated dewatering. Some units of the Gog Quartzite are heavily bioturbated with burrows including Arenicolites and Skolithos as well as other marine traces such as trilobite related ichnofacies.The Cambrian Deadwood Formation is also a target for carbon dioxide sequestration and provides the main reservoir for the Aquistore Project in Saskatchewan. It has been targeted by exploration wells in eastern Alberta and a new core study has demonstrated its suitability as a CO2 reservoir. Facies ranging from regolith overlying igneous basement, through alluvial fan and tidal deposits, and out into shallow marine settings with well developed parasequences, are all seen in the cores.The outcrop and core studies provide new data on Cambrian reservoirs which can be applied directly to potential Cambrian CCS targets in the subsurface of Alberta. The data can also be used to identify other potential Cambrian CO2 sinks around the world.