Static contact angle, interfacial tension, and column height measurements for underground hydrogen storage
Nasiru Salahu Muhammed A , Bashirul Haq A * , Dhafer Al Shehri A and Sayed Qudrat BA
B
Mr. Nasiru Salahu Muhammed is currently a PhD student at the King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM), Saudi Arabia. His research interests are hydrogen storage and green enhanced oil/gas recovery. He received his BEng in Chemical Engineering from the Federal University of Technology Minna, Nigeria, and an MSc in Petroleum Engineering from Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh (UK). Mr. Muhammed also earned an MSc in Petroleum Geoscience from the University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria. He is a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE). |
Bashirul Haq is currently working as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Petroleum Engineering at KFUPM in Saudi Arab and has 15 years of experience in research, teaching, consultancy and testing in reservoir, production and drilling engineering. Haq received a PhD in Petroleum Engineering from The University of Western Australia (UWA). Bashir rendered consulting services to Chevron, Helix RDS, Unocal, and Bangladesh Oil, Gas and Mineral Corporation (Petrobangla) and worked at the UWA, CSIRO, and Curtin University. He is a member of Engineers Australia and SPE. |
Dr Dhafer A. Al-Shehri is the Chairman and an Associate Professor of the Department of Petroleum Engineering at KFUPM, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. He has more than 30 years of experience in the oil and gas industry and academia. Dr Dhafer worked in Saudi Aramco for 18 years. He has been an active SPE member throughout his career, served in many technical and organising committees for SPE and other technical events, and authored more than 90 papers in peer-reviewed technical journals and regional and international conferences. He was also a keynote speaker at several SPE workshops. Dr Dhafer received PhD from Texas A&M University in Petroleum Engineering. Dr Shehri is a recipient of the 2019 International SPE Distinguished Membership award and was appointed as an SPE Middle East Advisory Council Member. |
Sayed Qudrat is a highly skilled member of the Asset Management, Strategy, and Reliability team within the Maintenance and Engineering Center for Excellence at BHP. Holding the title of Senior Mechanical Engineer, he boasts an impressive 15-year tenure with BHP. Sayed possesses a strong passion for driving the transformation of the energy sector towards a greater emphasis on renewable sources. Email: Sayed.qudrat1@bhp.com. |
Abstract
Geological porous media are key for large-scale hydrogen (H2) storage and production, where fluid interactions at interfaces and within rock formations are vital for effective gas containment. Although advancements have been achieved in comprehending structural trapping for estimating column height (CH), additional insights are required regarding how pore size impacts this estimation. Currently, CH estimates often consider seal rock potential, without including the capillary contribution from reservoir rock pore for structural trapping capacity assessment. This study measures the static contact angle (CA) on Wolfcamp (WC) Shale and interfacial tension (IFT) under modified drainage and imbibition conditions at temperatures of 30 and 50°C, pressures ranging from 500 to 3000 psia, and a salinity of 10 wt% sodium chloride. Subsequently, the static gas CH was calculated, accounting for contributions from the caprock pores alone and both the caprock and reservoir, to assess the structural sealing capacity of the caprock layer. The experimental procedures are comprehensively detailed in this paper. The outcome indicates that the static CA after drainage for H2)/brine/WC shale rises with pressure as the static CA after imbibition decreases. Both CAs decrease with increasing temperatures. For H2/brine systems, both drainage and imbibition IFTs decline with increasing pressure and temperature. Calculated CHs reveal that lower CAs substantially impact the gas trapping capacity beneath the caprock. In summary, this study highlights the preference for the drainage method in measuring IFT and CA to evaluate the potential structural trapping capacity of injected gas by the overlying caprock.
Keywords: column height, contact angle, drainage, hydrogen, hydrogen storage, IFT, imbibition, surface phenomena.
Mr. Nasiru Salahu Muhammed is currently a PhD student at the King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM), Saudi Arabia. His research interests are hydrogen storage and green enhanced oil/gas recovery. He received his BEng in Chemical Engineering from the Federal University of Technology Minna, Nigeria, and an MSc in Petroleum Engineering from Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh (UK). Mr. Muhammed also earned an MSc in Petroleum Geoscience from the University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria. He is a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE). |
Bashirul Haq is currently working as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Petroleum Engineering at KFUPM in Saudi Arab and has 15 years of experience in research, teaching, consultancy and testing in reservoir, production and drilling engineering. Haq received a PhD in Petroleum Engineering from The University of Western Australia (UWA). Bashir rendered consulting services to Chevron, Helix RDS, Unocal, and Bangladesh Oil, Gas and Mineral Corporation (Petrobangla) and worked at the UWA, CSIRO, and Curtin University. He is a member of Engineers Australia and SPE. |
Dr Dhafer A. Al-Shehri is the Chairman and an Associate Professor of the Department of Petroleum Engineering at KFUPM, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. He has more than 30 years of experience in the oil and gas industry and academia. Dr Dhafer worked in Saudi Aramco for 18 years. He has been an active SPE member throughout his career, served in many technical and organising committees for SPE and other technical events, and authored more than 90 papers in peer-reviewed technical journals and regional and international conferences. He was also a keynote speaker at several SPE workshops. Dr Dhafer received PhD from Texas A&M University in Petroleum Engineering. Dr Shehri is a recipient of the 2019 International SPE Distinguished Membership award and was appointed as an SPE Middle East Advisory Council Member. |
Sayed Qudrat is a highly skilled member of the Asset Management, Strategy, and Reliability team within the Maintenance and Engineering Center for Excellence at BHP. Holding the title of Senior Mechanical Engineer, he boasts an impressive 15-year tenure with BHP. Sayed possesses a strong passion for driving the transformation of the energy sector towards a greater emphasis on renewable sources. Email: Sayed.qudrat1@bhp.com. |
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