The potential for CO2 storage in residual oil zones in onshore Australian basins
Aleksandra Kalinowski A * , Eric Tenthorey A , M. Ben Clennell B , Mojtaba Seyyedi C , Richard Kempton B , Samuel Jackson B , Claire Patterson A and Siyumini Perera BA
B
C
Aleks Kalinowski is Assistant Director of Low Carbon Geoscience and Advice at Geoscience Australia and holds a PhD from the University of New South Wales. Aleks has worked extensively on CCS and continues to focus on CCUS, hydrogen and other low carbon technologies and resources. |
Eric Tenthorey is a senior researcher at Geoscience Australia, with expertise in geomechanics, CCUS and other low carbon geoscience disciplines. He holds a PhD from Columbia University and worked as a researcher at the Australian National University. His current work includes low carbon geoscience sectors such as the hydrogen energy future, geothermal energy, and CO2-EOR. |
Ben Clennell is a Senior Principal Research Scientist at CSIRO Energy and leads the Geodata Analytics Research team. He holds a PhD in Geology from the University of London. His research focusses on rock physical properties applied to petroleum geoscience, hazard reduction and CO2 storage, and the fluid flow properties and petrophysical characterisation of reservoir, seal and fault rocks and developing automated methods for subsurface characterisation. |
Mojtaba Seyyedi is a reservoir engineer specialising in CO2 utilisation/EOR and storage with over 10 years of international experience consulting for the world’s leading Oil & Gas companies. Mojtaba has led and contributed to multiple major CO2-EOR and/or storage projects in the Middle East, UK, Denmark, Canada, Malaysia, Brazil, and Australia. He obtained his PhD from Heriot-Watt University. |
Richard Kempton holds a PhD in geology from the University of Western Australia. Richard is a senior research scientist with the Geofluids Team at CSIRO Energy in Perth and has 20+ years’ experience in petroleum systems analysis using fluid inclusions to reconstruct charge histories. Prior to joining CSIRO, Richard worked for Queensland Gas Company. |
Samuel Jackson is a Senior Research Scientist at CSIRO Energy. He has a PhD in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Nottingham and was a postdoctoral research associate at Imperial College London. He has over 10 years of international research experience in multiphase flow modelling and experiments, related to carbon and hydrogen underground storage. |
Claire Patterson is a geoscientist in the Low Carbon Geoscience and Advice team at Geoscience Australia working across CCUS, hydrogen and other low emissions technologies. Claire holds a Bachelor of Advanced Science (hons) from the Australian National University. |
Siyumini Perera holds a PhD in biostratigraphy and microfossil imaging from the University of Queensland. She joined the Geofluids Team at CSIRO in 2023 as a research technician applying fluid inclusions to the characterisation of geofluids within sedimentary basins. |
Abstract
Geoscience Australia and CSIRO have collaborated to investigate whether residual oil zones (ROZs), sometimes associated with conventional Australian hydrocarbon plays, could provide a carbon dioxide (CO2) storage resource and enhance the storage capacity of depleted fields. Our petrophysical study demonstrates that ROZs occur in Australia’s hydrocarbon-rich regions, particularly in the Cooper-Eromanga Basin. ROZs with more than 10% residual oil saturation are uncommon, likely due to small original oil columns and lower residual saturations retained in sandstone reservoirs than in classic, carbonate-hosted North American ROZs. Extensive, reservoir-quality rock is found below the deepest occurring conventional oil in many of the fields in the Eromanga Basin, potentially offering significant CO2 storage capacity. Multiphase compositional flow modelling was used to estimate the CO2 storage efficiency of typical Australian ROZs. We developed a novel modelling methodology that first captures oil migration events leading to the formation of ROZs. Modelling CO2 storage over a 20-year injection period demonstrates that CO2-oil interactions increase the density and viscosity of CO2, enhancing CO2 sweep efficiency and lateral flow, improving storage efficiency. The extent of these effects depends on the quantity and spatial distribution of residual oil in place and the miscibility of CO2 at reservoir conditions.
Keywords: CO2 storage, Cooper Basin, Eromanga Basin, Exploring for the Future, multiphase compositional flow modelling, petrophysical analysis, residual oil zone.
Aleks Kalinowski is Assistant Director of Low Carbon Geoscience and Advice at Geoscience Australia and holds a PhD from the University of New South Wales. Aleks has worked extensively on CCS and continues to focus on CCUS, hydrogen and other low carbon technologies and resources. |
Eric Tenthorey is a senior researcher at Geoscience Australia, with expertise in geomechanics, CCUS and other low carbon geoscience disciplines. He holds a PhD from Columbia University and worked as a researcher at the Australian National University. His current work includes low carbon geoscience sectors such as the hydrogen energy future, geothermal energy, and CO2-EOR. |
Ben Clennell is a Senior Principal Research Scientist at CSIRO Energy and leads the Geodata Analytics Research team. He holds a PhD in Geology from the University of London. His research focusses on rock physical properties applied to petroleum geoscience, hazard reduction and CO2 storage, and the fluid flow properties and petrophysical characterisation of reservoir, seal and fault rocks and developing automated methods for subsurface characterisation. |
Mojtaba Seyyedi is a reservoir engineer specialising in CO2 utilisation/EOR and storage with over 10 years of international experience consulting for the world’s leading Oil & Gas companies. Mojtaba has led and contributed to multiple major CO2-EOR and/or storage projects in the Middle East, UK, Denmark, Canada, Malaysia, Brazil, and Australia. He obtained his PhD from Heriot-Watt University. |
Richard Kempton holds a PhD in geology from the University of Western Australia. Richard is a senior research scientist with the Geofluids Team at CSIRO Energy in Perth and has 20+ years’ experience in petroleum systems analysis using fluid inclusions to reconstruct charge histories. Prior to joining CSIRO, Richard worked for Queensland Gas Company. |
Samuel Jackson is a Senior Research Scientist at CSIRO Energy. He has a PhD in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Nottingham and was a postdoctoral research associate at Imperial College London. He has over 10 years of international research experience in multiphase flow modelling and experiments, related to carbon and hydrogen underground storage. |
Claire Patterson is a geoscientist in the Low Carbon Geoscience and Advice team at Geoscience Australia working across CCUS, hydrogen and other low emissions technologies. Claire holds a Bachelor of Advanced Science (hons) from the Australian National University. |
Siyumini Perera holds a PhD in biostratigraphy and microfossil imaging from the University of Queensland. She joined the Geofluids Team at CSIRO in 2023 as a research technician applying fluid inclusions to the characterisation of geofluids within sedimentary basins. |
References
Kalinowski A, Tenthorey E, Seyyedi M, Clennell MB (2022) The search for new oil and CO2 storage resources: residual oil zones in Australia. The APPEA Journal 62, 281-293.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Ren B, Duncan IJ (2018) CO2 EOR and associated storage in residual oil zones: Modelling the evolution and significance of oil saturation in residual oil zones. In ‘14th Greenhouse Gas Control Technologies Conference’, 21–26 October 2018, Melbourne. (GHGT-14). 10.2139/ssrn.3365857
Tenthorey E, Taggart I, Kalinowski A, McKenna J (2021) CO2-EOR+ in Australia: achieving low-emissions oil and unlocking residual oil resources. The APPEA Journal 61, 118-131.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
