The first post‐injection seismic monitor survey at the Ketzin pilot CO2 storage site: results from time‐lapse analysis

Abstract

ABSTRACTThe injection of CO2 at the Ketzin pilot CO2 storage site started in June 2008 and ended in August 2013. During the 62 months of injection, a total amount of about 67 kt of CO2 was injected into a saline aquifer. A third repeat three‐dimensional seismic survey, serving as the first post‐injection survey, was acquired in 2015, aiming to investigate the recent movement of the injected CO2. Consistent with the previous two time‐lapse surveys, a predominantly west–northwest migration of the gaseous CO2 plume in the up‐dip direction within the reservoir is inferred in this first post‐injection survey. No systematic anomalies are detected through the reservoir overburden. The extent of the CO2 plume west of the injection site is almost identical to that found in the 2012 second repeat survey (after injection of 61 kt); however, there is a significant decrease in its size east of the injection site. Assessment of the CO2 plume distribution suggests that the decrease in the size of the anomaly may be due to multiple factors, such as limited vertical resolution, CO2 dissolution, and CO2 migration into thin layers, in addition to the effects of ambient noise. Four‐dimensional seismic modelling based on dynamic flow simulations indicates that a dynamic balance between the newly injected CO2 after the second repeat survey and the CO2 migrating into thin layers and being dissolved was reached by the time of the first post‐injection survey. In view of the significant uncertainties in CO2 mass estimation, both patchy and non‐patchy saturation models for the Ketzin site were taken into consideration.