Underground storage of carbon dioxide in the Harvey area, south-west Western Australia
David Lim A D , Geoff Strachan A , Dominque Van Gent B and Sandeep Sharma CA ODIN Reservoir Consultants, PO Box 2101, Churchlands, WA 6018, Australia.
B Department of Mines and Petroleum, Level 10 Bunbury Tower, 61 Victoria Street, Bunbury, WA 6230, Australia.
C Carbon Projects Pty Ltd, Mt Claremont, WA 6010, Australia.
D Corresponding author. Email: dlim@odinreservoir.com.au
The APPEA Journal 57(1) 177-210 https://doi.org/10.1071/AJ16042
Accepted: 28 February 2017 Published: 29 May 2017
Abstract
Underground storage of carbon dioxide as a means of reducing atmospheric emissions of CO2 has been examined both theoretically and practically over the past decade. There is a large amount of research and field experience in the energy sector to show that underground storage of CO2 is feasible. The Global Carbon Capture and Storage Institute has identified 38i large-scale projects (operating and/or in the planning) with many companies currently sequestering tons of CO2 per year.
This paper reports on static and dynamic modelling studies conducted on the Harvey structure, onshore Perth Basin, to assess the suitability of the Lesueur Sandstone in the Lower Lesueur Region of Western Australia as a potential geological CO2 sequestration site. The study area for this project within this structure covers 332 km2 and is located approximately 13 km north-west of the town of Harvey, south of Perth.
The static and dynamic modelling investigated a suite of full field simulation models that cover a range of subsurface uncertainties providing confidence that the CO2 plume stays below 800 mTVDss (metres true vertical depth sub sea) within the storage complex for more than 1000 years after injection ceases. The results of the modelling show that it could be feasible to inject 800 000 tonnes CO2 per annum over 30 years into the storage complex. Modelling studies shows that the main factors controlling CO2 plume migration are trapped gas saturation and the solubility of CO2 in brine.
Keywords: CO2 sequestration, CO2 storage, geological model, Lesueur Sandstone, Lower Lesueur Region, modelling, simulation, Wonnerup Member, Yalgorup Member.
David Lim has over 30 years of international reservoir engineering experience in Europe, North and South America, North and West Africa, Middle East, Asia and Australasia. He has specialist expertise in field development planning, reservoir engineering, reserves reviews and simulation. David has worked on conventional and unconventional petroleum resources (Coal Seam Gas, tight gas) and CO2 sequestration. David has been the Reservoir Simulation and Reservoir Engineering Advisor to major and independent operators in Australia, SE Asia and India. David has also chaired SPE committees and forums on reservoir simulation, well testing and field development planning. |
Geoff Strachan is a petroleum geologist and specialist geomodeller with over 20 years of experience in the industry covering a wide range of environments. Geoff started his career with a very aggressive ‘rig driven’ company in Australia. Geoff’s specialisation into Geomodelling started in 2003 as a development/production geologist in Libya. Since then Geoff has built geological models and provided geological support to evaluate and generate prospects for a drilling campaign. He has also co-ordinated and completed an FDP (Field Development Plan), including building static models and providing input for development well locations. In addition he has been responsible for co-ordinating the G&G component of several development projects, which also involved evaluating upside potential near the fields and quality control of Fields, Prospects and Leads. Geoff was Odin Reservoir Consultant’s Project Manager for the Harvey CO2 Sequestration study incorporating seismic interpretation, geomechanics, image log interpretation, geomodelling through to simulation. |
Dominique Van Gent is the Coordinator of Carbon Strategy with the Department of Mines and Petroleum in Western Australia. He was educated in Perth and has a Masters in Literature and Communication and a Master of Business Administration. For the last thirty years he has lived and worked in Bunbury, Western Australia. Dominique worked in Regional Development assisting the resources industry on major projects; on the development of industrial areas and on infrastructure issues. He played a key role in establishing local content strategies that maximised opportunities for regional firms on the construction of the Collie power station and other projects. He has a long-term interest in industrial development and is a former chair of the Small Business Centre in Bunbury. He has found that his MBA has developed his understanding of the economic, cultural and business drivers of industry. Dominique has been responsible for the development and management South West Hub project which is characterising a potential on-shore CO2 storage area in the Shire of Harvey in the South West of Western Australia. To date the project has conducted a 2D seismic survey, Australia’s most complex 3D seismic (over 115 square kilometres of rural and environmentally sensitive land) and drilled four wells between 1450 metres and 2945 metres in depth. Dominique brings many years of community engagement experience to the task of exploration and characterisation of an on-shore field. |
Sandeep Sharma has been involved with CCS for over a decade. Roles have included being Program Manager of the Otway CCS Program with the Cooperative Research Centre for Greenhouse Gas Technologies (CO2CRC) on secondment from Schlumberger and being the Regional Manager, Australasia for Schlumberger Carbon Services. In Schlumberger (1981–2013) he worked across the globe and held a wide variety of senior positions in operations management, marketing and new product development. Since 2013, Mr Sharma is working as an independent consultant in CCS. He is currently engaged with the Australian Flagship South West Hub Project as Program Advisor and Embedded Technology Manager (ETM) for ANLEC R&D. He has a Bachelors in Electrical Engineering (India), a Post Graduate Diploma in Business Management (UK), has been a Visiting Fellow of the Sloan School, MIT (USA) and a Masters in Sustainability Management (Australia). He is a member of the SPE and SPWLA, has been awarded 2 patents and has authored/co-authored several technical papers. |
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