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Monitoring above-zone temperature variations associated with CO2 and brine leakage from a storage aquifer

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Abstract

CO2 injection in saline aquifers induces temperature changes owing to processes such as Joule–Thomson cooling, endothermic water vaporization, exothermic CO2 dissolution besides the temperature discrepancy between injected and native fluids. CO2 leaking from the injection zone, in addition to initial temperature contrast due to the geothermal gradient, undergoes similar processes, causing temperature changes in the above zone. Numerical simulation tools were used to evaluate temperature changes associated with CO2 leakage from the storage aquifer to an above-zone monitoring interval and to assess the monitorability of CO2 leakage on the basis of temperature data. The impact of both CO2 and brine leakage on temperature response is considered for three cases (1) a leaky well co-located with the injection well, (2) a leaky well distant from the injector, and (3) a leaky fault. A sensitivity analysis was performed to determine key operational and reservoir parameters that control the temperature signal in the above zone. Throughout the analysis injection-zone parameters remain unchanged. Significant pressure drop upon leakage causes expansion of CO2 associated with Joule–Thomson cooling. However, brine may begin leaking before CO2 breakthrough at the leakage pathway, causing heating in the above zone. Thus, unlike the pressure which increases in response to both CO2 and brine leakage, the temperature signal may differentiate between the leaking fluids. In addition, the strength of the temperature signal correlates with leakage velocity unlike pressure signal whose strength depends on leakage rate. Increasing leakage conduit cross-sectional area increases leakage rate and thus increases pressure change in the above zone. However, it decreases leakage velocity, and therefore, reduces temperature cooling and signal. It is also shown that the leakage-induced temperature change covers a small area around the leakage pathway. Thus, temperature data will be most useful if collected along potential leaky wells and/or wells intersecting potential leaky faults.

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Acknowledgments

This project was funded in part by EPA STAR grant R834384. The authors wish to thank three anonymous reviewers as well as Axel Liebscher of GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences for their careful reviews of the manuscript and suggestions for improvements. The authors thank Computer Modelling Group Ltd. for providing the option of free access to the CMG simulation package. Amin Badamchizadeh and Vijay Shrivastava are acknowledged for their help in applying CMG-GEM thermal modeling of CO2 storage. Thank you also to Lana Dieterich who edited the manuscript. Publication authorized by the Director, Bureau of Economic Geology.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Bureau of Economic Geology, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA

    Mehdi Zeidouni, Jean-Philippe Nicot & Susan D. Hovorka

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  1. Mehdi Zeidouni
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  2. Jean-Philippe Nicot
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  3. Susan D. Hovorka
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Correspondence to Mehdi Zeidouni.

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Zeidouni, M., Nicot, JP. & Hovorka, S.D. Monitoring above-zone temperature variations associated with CO2 and brine leakage from a storage aquifer. Environ Earth Sci 72, 1733–1747 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-014-3077-0

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