Abstract
The implementation of an underground CO2 storage requires evidence that the storage is and will remain tight in the future. This refers to the cap rock and the wells penetrating it. Assessment and verification of well integrity of accessible wells is technically possible. The available methods, allowing a direct assessment, were evaluated and a measurement and testing strategy is proposed. Unlike accessible wells, already plugged ones require predictive methods for their assessment. These are based on well information and a comprehensive understanding of the coupled thermal, hydraulic, mechanical and chemical processes during well construction, operation and after abandonment. The methods have been applied to a well zone characterised by conditions typical for the subsurface in the area of interest and with regard to the potential injection site in the Altmark. The calculated safety margins emphasize that technical well integrity of the 12 examined boreholes is given for enhanced gas recovery injecting 100,000 t of CO2 in the Altensalzwedel subfield without a need for any further intervention.
Self-healing of defects was investigated in full-scale experiments under in-situ conditions. In addition to the expected self-healing as a result of salt creep, healing was also observed resulting from the interaction of salt, cement and casing with dry or wet CO2.
Methods and technologies for CO2 well monitoring and intervention presented here are sufficient for the mining safety of CO2 storage wells under high pressure. The system contains technologies proven under field conditions as well as procedures in which CO2 was applied.
An innovative well abandonment concept was developed and tested in the field for the long-term containment of CO2 in depleted Rotliegend gas reservoirs. It aims at amending the conventional standard well abandonment procedure, takes advantage of the natural creeping ability of the thick, homogeneous Zechstein salt formation located at around 3,000 m depth in the Altmark area and consists of four main sealing units: (1) a standard sealing element with cement from the reservoir to the impermeable cap rock, (2) a salt plug created in the formerly reamed section of casing within the plastic Zechstein (Upper Permian) rock salt formation, (3) two bridge plugs at the bottom and top of the salt plug and (4) standard cement sealing elements from the top bridge plug to the ground surface. Comprehensive numerical simulations conducted prior to and during the field test in 2010 and 2011 successfully predicted the evolution of the now proven convergence using downhole measurement data. This new long-term sealing concept has been successfully tested at the Altmark natural gas field.
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Reinicke, K.M. et al. (2013). Well Integrity. In: Kühn, M., Münch, U. (eds) CLEAN. Advanced Technologies in Earth Sciences. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-31677-7_3
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