AAPG Carbon Capture Utilization and Storage (CCUS)

Read This First!

Bogdan Michka — Tue, 09 May 2017 09:21:10 GMT

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Mother Nature's Waterflood

James Dietrich — Tue, 02 Jan 2024 11:41:09 GMT

Dear Colleagues:

It’s been alleged that transition zones (TZs) rather than residual oil zones (ROZs) of imbibition reservoirs hold most of the oil reserves recoverable by CCUS projects, including those in the Permian Basin. Posts appearing in other TIGS titled “Buoyancy and Breach of Caprock Seals” offer a technical basis for this allegation.

This post shares what some (apparently many) in our industry consider to be “science”. Was the conceptual model of Mother Nature’s Waterflood offered to us in jest?

Herd Mentality

Herd mentality is the tendency of people in a group to think and behave in ways that conform with others in the group rather than as individuals. Perhaps “group think” can be a good thing. How could this be? Well, it keeps it all going. What does this mean? Here's an example:

A Fairytale

Once upon a time we were told by researchers at the University of Texas of the Permian Basin that ROZs hold a vast energy resource, billions of barrels of oil recoverable as a result of CCUS activity. Their claim was based on a magical model presented at a West Texas Geological Society symposium, whereby ROZs are said to form via viscous forces resulting from tectonic uplift, changed hydrodynamic flow within aquifers and lateral sweep of oil columns (Lindsay 2001).
By promoting this enchanting story as science and ignoring the long-held belief that a ROZ and its overlying TZ form by vertically acting buoyancy forces in leaking reservoirs, a myriad of consultants and academics solicited and received vast sums of public funds from the Fossil Energy Department of the U.S. DOE over a period of years to mature their fairytale.

All was going well for the fairies until those incredible entrepreneurs from West Texas revealed that they were purposely landing their horizontal completions in the TZs overlying the ROZs, not in the ROZs themselves! Then researchers at Texas Tech presented a paper (SPE 187482) concluding that production wells claimed to be completed in the upper portion of San Andres ROZs are "unlikely to be true ROZ producers and are more likely to be completed in the Transition Zone (TZ)."

That the TZs are holding the prize rather than the ROZs should not have been a surprise - it was predictable for reasons clarified by Lucia (2000) and Adams (2002 and 2003), and in the book "Reservoir Modeling: Pitfalls in Practice and Projects Gone Wrong" (Amazon Books 2019).
Herd mentality accepted and continues to accept this fairytale that has been dubbed Mother Nature's Waterflood. To not be part of the herd is dangerous. As an academic in the petroleum industry, not buying into the fairytale would likely mean the loss of public funding and a shrinkage in university petroleum engineering and earth science programs. Seemingly, group think and a "wink of the eye" kept - and likely will continue to keep - it all going, employing thousands given massive government subsidies.

How could reducing unemployment in the absence of real opportunity be other than a good thing?

Jim Dietrich
Member SPE / AAPG
Pasadena, CA, USA

Data integration with MICP

75120 — Thu, 03 Aug 2023 02:50:00 GMT

What is the most effective approach to integrate mercury injection capillary pressure data with what other relevant information to accurately estimate the drainage pathways within a heterogeneous varying mature unconventional reservoir? Glad to be apart of the CCUS TIG!

Getting hands on Collaborative simulation to identify sources of fugitive methane emission and to eliminate them

Patrick Ng — Fri, 18 Feb 2022 09:35:42 GMT

Check this out -

https://broken.aapg.donfick.com/career/aapg-net/activity/aft/580/groupid/979

Open to all AAPG members.

Collaboration Space, spun off of the 9/15/2021 CCUS for Independents Webinar

Mike Raines — Fri, 17 Sep 2021 05:04:45 GMT

The CCUS TIG and the Deep Learning / Data Analytics / Machine Learning TIG joined forces earlier this week to present on the topics of CO2 Operations (in General) and what new resources are available for independents to use to help find CCUS (or CCS) opportunities. See the related Collaboration Space Challenge linked there. We will be adding information to the Xranthus platform soon.

CCUS Webinar 09.15.2021

Patrick Ng — Tue, 13 Jul 2021 09:51:36 GMT

Update - webinar has been moved to 09.15.2021 under AAPG Academy sponsored by IHS-Markit.

Watch out for AAPG email on 'An “Independent” Look at CCUS Opportunities' in your Inbox.

*** original post ***

AAPG has success in Pivot 2021 Series, measured by attendance and credit to Susan Nash's relentless effort, we at Energy in Data (AAPG-SEG-SPE sponsored totally digital platform) will be doing a webinar on CCUS.

Michael Raines (one of the leaders of this section) will deliver his take.

Sneak preview -

Until recently, Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) projects utilizing CO2 have primarily been the exclusive bailiwick of large operators with deep pockets. However, with the advent of Carbon Capture, Use, and Storage (CCUS), the landscape could be changing. Historically, the majority of CO2 supplies have come from Natural Sources. Therefore, supplies were limited, volumes were controlled by a small number of players, and transportation was restricted to select corridors.

Now, that situation may be changing, thanks to new government initiatives to remove CO2 from the atmosphere. Emitters of CO2 have tax incentives that can help pay for the capture, transport, and underground storage of CO2 from man-made (anthropogenic) sources. This opens the possibility for smaller operators, including independents, to take advantage of the same EOR technology and apply it on a smaller scale.

During this talk, we will give a practical and interactive / immersive 10-minute look at how independents can target potential CCUS opportunities near their area of interest, at this smaller scale. The root of this new technique is a previously unavailable resource: flare gas data. We will demonstrate using new online data / tools that advance our understanding and expedite the decision making process.

Going forward, the same methodology is applicable beyond CCUS applications. The process can be extended to address challenges in Energy Transition, such as:

1. Hydrogen generation
2. Use of waste heat
3. Electricity micro-generation

Action - watch for e-mail invite from Susan Nash and register.

Delivering Energy Transition with CCUS

Patrick Ng — Mon, 28 Jun 2021 09:28:45 GMT

SPE live* 06.22.2021 Delivering the Energy Transition through CCUS and Hydrogen

Takeaway - Energy transition is not just about us, the industry. It is what we transition into. So what will change the game?

1. Bring everyone to the sandbox
2. Change the business model

Perspective - CCUS projects execution boils down to a real estate challenge, just as oil and gas. Open the door for everyone, citizens and communities alike, and lower the barrier to get on ramp to the CCUS highway. There is a single-purpose geosearch app https://www.vue-flaring.com/

Think global, act local. Just click near the Midland TX International Airport and see. (Data source: https://www.flaringmonitor.org/)

*link https://webevents.spe.org/p/spelive-21oe-energytransition?mkt_tok=ODMzLUxMVC0wODcAAAF97kEJlMJBXsihsQkkpQYuN9-foZsEIu1kRzmQipgNCTOANOOWt9DWwC0DOKHNsoJJ_HX4axDhYiEYqHUZ8LRUuju10NA1OgUF4w2UMHLKSYlH#tab-product_tab_overview

Interview with Mike Stephenson -- Decarbonization, Hydrogen Storage, CCUS

Susan Nash — Tue, 03 Mar 2020 06:59:21 GMT

Here is the full interview:
https://broken.aapg.donfick.com/publications/blogs/learn/article/articleid/56457/interview-with-michael-stephenson-british-geological-survey-energy-innovation-leadership-series