Investigating the role of natural tracers in subsurface CO2 storage and monitoring
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Edinburgh
Department Name: Sch of Geosciences
Abstract
Since the Industrial Revolution, burning of fossil fuels (coal, oil and gas) has greatly increased the carbon dioxide (CO2) content of the atmosphere. The higher level of CO2 is widely accepted to be a major contributor to greenhouse warming of the Earth and acidification of the oceans. The effects of this warming on the world are still controversial. However, many scientists now believe that the Earth's atmosphere will heat up by at least 2 to 3 centigrade over the next 100 years. The effects of this warming include rising sea levels, melting of the polar icecaps and increasing risks of severe weather events such as hurricanes. To try to limit this warming to 2 centigrade, governments from the EU and around the world are looking at ways of reducing CO2 emissions. One of the major sources of CO2 is the generation of electricity. Worldwide fossil fuel burning produces 85% of the world's electricity. In the next 10-20 years, it will be difficult to reduce the use of fossil fuel for electricity generation. Renewable energies need time to be introduced and developed, and the world also needs extra methods of generating electricity to safeguard against shortages of intermittent renewable energy - for example, when the wind does not blow enough to turn windmills. It is now possible to burn fossil fuels, and capture the CO2 at power stations, or other concentrated emission sites such as cement works and oil refineries. This CO2 can then be pressurised to liquefy it, and pumped through pipelines to places where the liquid CO2 can be injected underground to be stored. This particular proposal examines some of the controls which affect how CO2 is stored underground and how any leakage out of a reservoir, or to the surface could be detected. To store CO2 a porous reservoir is needed, overlain by an impermeable seal, such as mudstone which stops the CO2 from escaping and rising to the surface. The CO2 must be stored for a long time (thousands of years) to ensure it does not cause further warming. Unfortunately, the first engineered CO2 storage project has only been operating for 10 years. So to find out more about storing CO2 over a long time we need to look at natural CO2 gas fields. Natural CO2 fields are similar to oil or methane gas fields except they contain CO2. Within these gas fields there is also a small amount of unreactive noble gases. These noble gases have different sources and can be used to work out where the natural CO2 has come from. Recent research has shown that natural CO2 fields from around the world have trapped CO2 for millions of years. This research has also shown that a lot of CO2 is trapped as a result of it dissolving into the porewater within the gas field. This proposal will firstly develop detailed computer models to independently predict how much chemical dissolution into the porewater could realistically occur within the CO2 fields. Several scientists also believe that once CO2 is pumped underground it will crystallise new mineral. This would 'lock' the CO2 into the reservoir and is the most secure form of storage. This work would analyze recent minerals formed within a CO2 field to test if the amount of light carbon (carbon 12) to heavy carbon (carbon 13) was the same as would be expected if the minerals were crystallised from the CO2 stored in the field. The project will also investigate if noble gases can be used to record if CO2 has moved through the mudrock seal from different natural CO2 fields. As CO2 moves through the mudrock it is believed that some noble gases contained in it will be left behind, stuck onto organic debris. In a similar fashion noble gases can also be stuck onto natural coals. This project will test if the noble gases derived from coal burnt in a power station and its produced CO2 exist in large enough quantities to be used to trace the CO2 once it is injected underground.
People |
ORCID iD |
Stuart Gilfillan (Principal Investigator) |
Publications
Alcalde J
(2018)
Estimating geological CO2 storage security to deliver on climate mitigation.
in Nature communications
Flude S
(2017)
The inherent tracer fingerprint of captured CO 2
in International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control
Flude S
(2016)
Inherent Tracers for Carbon Capture and Storage in Sedimentary Formations: Composition and Applications.
in Environmental science & technology
Gilfillan S
(2013)
The potential of noble gas tracers for CO 2 monitoring and early warning tracers for leakage
in Greenhouse Gases: Science and Technology
Gilfillan S
(2018)
He, Ne and Ar 'snapshot' of the subcontinental lithospheric mantle from CO2 well gases
in Chemical Geology
Gilfillan S
(2014)
The application of noble gases and carbon stable isotopes in tracing the fate, migration and storage of CO2
in Energy Procedia
Gilfillan S
(2017)
Using noble gas fingerprints at the Kerr Farm to assess CO 2 leakage allegations linked to the Weyburn-Midale CO 2 monitoring and storage project
in International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control
Gilfillan S
(2011)
He and Ne as tracers of natural CO2 migration up a fault from a deep reservoir
in International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control
Gilfillan S.M.V., And Haszeldine, R.S.
(2011)
The Kerr Investigation: Final Report, Findings of the Investigation into the impact of CO2 on the Kerr Property
Gilfillan SM
(2011)
Comment on "Potential impacts of leakage from deep CO2 geosequestration on overlying freshwater aquifers".
in Environmental science & technology
Gilfillan SM
(2009)
Solubility trapping in formation water as dominant CO(2) sink in natural gas fields.
in Nature
Györe D
(2018)
Fingerprinting coal-derived gases from the UK
in Chemical Geology
Györe D
(2021)
Noble gases constrain the origin, age and fate of CO2 in the Vaca Muerta Shale in the Neuquén Basin (Argentina)
in Chemical Geology
Györe D
(2017)
Tracking the interaction between injected CO2 and reservoir fluids using noble gas isotopes in an analogue of large-scale carbon capture and storage
in Applied Geochemistry
Györe D
(2015)
Tracing injected CO 2 in the Cranfield enhanced oil recovery field (MS, USA) using He, Ne and Ar isotopes
in International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control
Holdsworth C
(2024)
Reconstructing the temperature and origin of CO2 mineralisation in CarbFix calcite using clumped, carbon and oxygen isotopes
in Applied Geochemistry
Ju Y
(2020)
Application of noble gas tracers to identify the retention mechanisms of CO2 migrated from a deep reservoir into shallow groundwater
in International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control
Ju Y
(2020)
Noble gas as a proxy to understand the evolutionary path of migrated CO2 in a shallow aquifer system
in Applied Geochemistry
Karolyte R
(2017)
The influence of oxygen isotope exchange between CO2 and H2O in natural CO2-rich spring waters: Implications for geothermometry
in Applied Geochemistry
Karolyte R
(2017)
The Influence of Water-rock Reactions and O Isotope Exchange with CO2 on Water Stable Isotope Composition of CO2 Springs in SE Australia
in Energy Procedia
Karolyte R
(2020)
Fault seal modelling - the influence of fluid properties on fault sealing capacity in hydrocarbon and CO 2 systems
in Petroleum Geoscience
Karolyte R
(2019)
Tracing the migration of mantle CO2 in gas fields and mineral water springs in south-east Australia using noble gas and stable isotopes
in Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta
Kilgallon R
(2018)
Experimental determination of noble gases and SF6, as tracers of CO2 flow through porous sandstone
in Chemical Geology
Kilgallon R
(2014)
Investigating the role of noble gases as tracers for CO2 storage
in Energy Procedia
McCraw C
(2016)
Experimental investigation and hybrid numerical analytical hydraulic mechanical simulation of supercritical CO 2 flowing through a natural fracture in caprock
in International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control
McDermott C
(2017)
Geological Storage of CO2 in Deep Saline Formations
Miocic J
(2020)
Stress field orientation controls on fault leakage at a natural CO<sub>2</sub> reservoir
in Solid Earth
Miocic J
(2013)
Mechanisms for CO2 Leakage Prevention - A Global Dataset of Natural Analogues
in Energy Procedia
Miocic J
(2016)
Controls on CO 2 storage security in natural reservoirs and implications for CO 2 storage site selection
in International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control
Miocic J
(2015)
Fault Seal Analysis of a Natural CO2 Reservoir
Miocic J
(2014)
Fault seal analysis of a natural CO2 reservoir in the Southern North Sea
in Energy Procedia
Miocic JM
(2019)
420,000 year assessment of fault leakage rates shows geological carbon storage is secure.
in Scientific reports
Ringrose PS
(2021)
Storage of Carbon Dioxide in Saline Aquifers: Physicochemical Processes, Key Constraints, and Scale-Up Potential.
in Annual review of chemical and biomolecular engineering
Roberts J
(2017)
Geochemical tracers for monitoring offshore CO2 stores
in International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control
Scott J
(2021)
Determining static reservoir connectivity using noble gases
in Chemical Geology
Scott V
(2012)
Last chance for carbon capture and storage
in Nature Climate Change
Serno S
(2016)
Using oxygen isotopes to quantitatively assess residual CO2 saturation during the CO2CRC Otway Stage 2B Extension residual saturation test
in International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control
Wilkinson, M., Gilfillan, S.M.V., Haszeldine, R. S. And Ballentine, C.J.
(2010)
Carbon dioxide sequestration in geological media - State of the science
Description | The main output from my fellowship work is a means of testing for CO2 leaks from carbon storage sites. This test will allow the rapid detection of the source of CO2 should a leak from an engineered CO2 storage site be alleged, allowing the allegations to be quickly confirmed or denied. This test was developed by measuring the noble gases contained in CO2 rich waters collected from above the natural St. Johns Dome CO2 field. I determined that a component of the He fingerprint measured in gaseous CO2 sampled from the deep reservoir, could be traced along a fault plane to be present in the waters emerging at the surface above the CO2 field. This result showed for the first time that CO2 can be fingerprinted from source to surface using noble gases. |
Exploitation Route | The findings from my Fellowship have been used extensively by myself and my PhD students which has resulted in a number of subsequent publications as outlined in the outputs section. |
Sectors | Energy Environment |
Description | The main output from my fellowship work is a means of testing for CO2 leaks from carbon storage sites. This test will allow the rapid detection of the source of CO2 should a leak from an engineered CO2 storage site be alleged, allowing the allegations to be quickly confirmed or denied. This test was developed by measuring the noble gases contained in CO2 rich waters collected from above the natural St. Johns Dome CO2 field. I determined that a component of the He fingerprint measured in gaseous CO2 sampled from the deep reservoir, could be traced along a fault plane to be present in the waters emerging at the surface above the CO2 field. This result showed for the first time that CO2 can be fingerprinted from source to surface using noble gases. |
Description | New-Isotope Coupling and Classical tools: Applications to Reservoir and Exploration |
Amount | £956,000 (GBP) |
Funding ID | RB0398 |
Organisation | Total E & P |
Sector | Private |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 07/2015 |
End | 07/2018 |
Description | Noble gas geochemistry: CO2 source and fluid organization |
Amount | £13,959,800 (GBP) |
Funding ID | 4300003770 |
Organisation | Total E & P |
Sector | Private |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 08/2018 |
End | 08/2022 |
Description | UK Carbon Capture and Storage Research Centre 2017 (UKCCSRC 2017) |
Amount | £6,233,759 (GBP) |
Funding ID | EP/P026214/1 |
Organisation | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 03/2017 |
End | 03/2022 |
Description | UKCCSRC flexible funding call 2018 project |
Amount | £195,000 (GBP) |
Organisation | UK Carbon Capture & Storage Research Centre |
Sector | Academic/University |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 04/2020 |
End | 10/2021 |
Description | Aquistore |
Organisation | Petroleum Technology Research Centre |
Department | Aquistore Project |
Country | Canada |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
PI Contribution | We have sampled the CO2 being transported inot and injected into the Aquistore CO2 storage site |
Collaborator Contribution | They allowed us to collect the samples from the pipeline entering the site and the injection well |
Impact | Samples collected |
Start Year | 2013 |
Description | Cuadrilla |
Organisation | Cuadrilla Resources |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Private |
PI Contribution | We have collected samples of produced gas from Cuadrilla's Elswick, Preese Hall and Balcombe oil and gas wells for radiocarbon, noble gas, stable carbon and oxygen analysis. |
Collaborator Contribution | Cuadrilla enabled sample collection by providing site access to the three wells and sites |
Impact | Samples have recently been analysed and will be presented in an manuscript which is currently under preparation. |
Start Year | 2013 |
Description | Ferrybridge |
Organisation | Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE) |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Private |
PI Contribution | SSE collected captured CO2 samples from their Ferrybridge Carbon capture pilot plant (CCPilot100+) for us to analyse for noble gases and stable carbon and oxygen isotopes. |
Collaborator Contribution | SSE collected the samples for us and shipped them for analysis |
Impact | Samples collected and analysed. Results to be published in a forth coming journal paper |
Start Year | 2013 |
Description | Niederaussem Power Station |
Organisation | RWE AG |
Department | RWE nPower |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Private |
PI Contribution | We have collected and analysed the stable isotope and noble gas fingerprint of CO2 captured at Niederaussem Power Station |
Collaborator Contribution | RWE enabled us to collect the samples and spend a day showing us their caputre facilities |
Impact | Samples of captured CO2 |
Start Year | 2014 |
Description | Total E & P |
Organisation | Total E & P |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Private |
PI Contribution | The novel use of geochemical tracing tools in the research in this grant led to discussion with an interested contact within Total Exploration and Production. This led to the development of an industrial collaboration with the Scottish Universities Environmental Research Centre, firstly aimed at understanding the connectivity of a UK North Sea hydrocarbon discovery and then on understanding the origin of CO2 in unconventional gases in Argentina. This has recently been followed by a project aimed at applying geochemical tools to constrain the origin of elevated CO2 levels in offshore Brazilian hydrocarbon fields. |
Collaborator Contribution | New-ICCARE project: Total had realised that isotope coupling had become a powerful tool to constrain the origin of fluids and a robust means to determine the rates of fluid migration in academic studies. However, this had only been applied to large scale geological models, meaning that the existing techniques were unsuitable for inclusion in predictive reservoir models. The over-arching aim of the New-ICCARE project was to incorporate reservoir and thermodynamic modelling into the existing state of the art isotope coupling techniques. UoE scientists evaluated the role that noble gas isotope geochemistry can play in determining the origin of natural CO2-rich fluids contaminating an unconventional field where hydrocarbon production has been stimulated by hydraulic fracturing (fracking), and the development a new method to determine the static reservoir connectivity using noble gases within the Tormore hydrocarbon discovery of the UK North Sea. CO2 source and fluid organisation project: The pre-salt reservoirs of the offshore Brazilian and Angolan Atlantic margins are known to have a complex fluid history. They are composed of a mixture of hydrocarbon fluids and variable amounts of CO2. It is known that this CO2 has a predominantly magmatic source linked to rifting, associated transfer zones, or to mantle plumes. The timing of CO2 charge is dependent on its source and the duration of the related magmatism, which has an important impact on the ability for hydrocarbon fluids to enter reservoirs or spill from them, or be diluted with CO2. The UoE team provided an integration of noble gas tracing constrains to the reservoir fluid charging history (HC+CO2) with basin modelling. Selected samples from pre-salt reservoirs were analysed, and compared to existing fluid databases from the two margins. This showed that the CO2 was unequivocally from a deep mantle origin, allowing the identification of high risk areas where deep crustal faults related to the Atlantic opening intersected with shallow basin related faults. |
Impact | New-ICCARE Project Impact: The project delivered two significant outcomes. The first of these ascertained the origin and migration pathway of mantle derived CO2 gases that had contaminated an unconventional hydrocarbon play in Argentina, providing a robust estimate of the maximum amount of CO2 that could be encountered in that play. This is significant as any CO2 encountered would be expensive to remove, and would add to the greenhouse gas emissions of the project should it be vented to the atmosphere. The second outcome was a new means to determine static reservoir connectivity using a combination of noble gas isotope coupling and reactive flow modelling from exploration wells. Both of these outcomes have provided new knowledge to assist Total in the responsible exploitation energy resources from both regions. CO2 Source and Fluid Organisation Project Impact: The project has obtained an overview of the absolute charging time and precise origin of the CO2. This will allow the CO2 associated exploration risk for individual areas to be quantified, and will greatly assist in economic exploration of the provinces. This will translate into avoidance of accidental drilling into a high-CO2 accumulation, and as each well in the region costs ~€40M to drill and complete, significant cost savings to the operator are envisaged. |
Start Year | 2015 |
Description | Invited Speaker at British Science Association and EDSci Edinburgh meeting |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Invited Speaker at British Science Association and EDSci Edinburgh meeting where I presented a talk entitled "Engineering Clean Fossil Fuels for a Decarbonised Future" |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
URL | http://edinburghbsa.weebly.com/lecture-series.html |
Description | Presentation at 12th Greenhouse Gas Control Technologies Conference |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Participants in your research and patient groups |
Results and Impact | Following my talk at the conference I received a number of questions on my research, both orally in the session itself and afterwards and via email. After giving my presentation I was asked to present the results of my work at the Gulf Coast Carbon Research centre weekly group meeting at the Bureau of Economic Geology at Austin. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
URL | http://www.ghgt.info/index.php/Content-GHGT12/ghgt-12-overview.html |
Description | Presentation at ChemEng day, Manchester, April 2014 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Academic researchers and industrial professionals at all levels working within research in chemical engineering and related sectors, particularly those based within the UK attended the ChemEng day at the University of Manchester. I presented a talk entitled 'Opportunities for Engineering Clean Fossil Fuels for a Decarbonised Future' talk which was attended by ~200 delegates. The talk was followed by a panel discussion and I was asked a number of questions on my research in the area. The chair of the session, President of the IChemE, Geoffrey Maitland reported that my talk had been well received and had promoted discussion following the session. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
URL | http://www.gnomikos.com/CEDay2014/ |
Description | Presentation on CO2 storage - Secure carbon burial for climate mitigation |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | Yes |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | The talk was part of the wider CPD course on CCS and prompted significant discussion afterwards. Following my talk i was asked by a number of participants of the CPD course to provide more detail on my research activities |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
URL | https://ukccsrc.ac.uk/news-events/events/ccs-cpd-course |