The Ladbroke Grove–Katnook carbon dioxide natural laboratory: A recent CO 2 accumulation in a lithic sandstone reservoir

Abstract

The Ladbroke Grove and Katnook Gas Fields, within the western Otway Basin, southeastern South Australia, provide a natural laboratory to study the effects of CO 2 on siliciclastic reservoirs. CO 2 degassing from nearby volcanics has migrated into the methane accumulation of the Ladbroke Grove Field within the Pretty Hill Formation. CO 2 levels in the Ladbroke Grove Field range from 26 to 57 mol% while Katnook has less than 1 mol%. In Ladbroke Grove, the CO 2 has altered or dissolved most of the reactive minerals, somewhat constrained by the Pleistocene to Recent age of the CO 2 influx. The developed late-stage kaolinite, quartz and less soluble carbonate are products of the reactions involving CO 2 and reactive minerals. The major formation water types were identified using the geochemical code EQ3NR. Ladbroke Grove waters above the gas–water contact (GWC) have bicarbonate levels an order of magnitude higher than the other waters analysed. Below the GWC, Ladbroke Grove and Katnook formation waters have similar ionic compositions, however, pH levels in Ladbroke Grove are low relative to Katnook. The Ladbroke Grove Field has efficiently stored CO 2 in a gaseous and aqueous phase since the influx began in the Pleistocene. In addition, due to the high amount of reactive minerals within the reservoir, mineralisation of ferroan carbonates has also occurred as a more permanent form of mineral storage of some of the CO 2.