Engineered Materials and Machine Learning for Carbon Storage Well Integrity

Abstract

Abstract Carbon capture and sequestration is an effective short-to-medium term option for reducing net carbon emissions into the atmosphere. The prevention, monitoring, and prediction of carbon dioxide leakage points and pathways are critical to the success of carbon capture and sequestration. The success of carbon dioxide injection operations and the endurance of long-term storage are partially dependent on well design and the materials used for well construction. We have developed a stack of technologies which enable enhanced well robustness, monitoring of carbon storage facilities, and modeling of their performance. They improve well integrity through better cement bonding with the casing pipe and enhanced measurement of cement condition and additionally provide critical information for intervention and remediation. Nanocomposite surface treatments improve cement-to-casing bonding, reduce channeling, and prevent annular fluid migration while acoustically responsive metamaterial cements enable monitoring cement integrity, mechanical load, and chemical environment. The materials are sufficiently robust thermally, chemically, and mechanically for use in carbon storage wells and other types of downhole construction or remediation operations. The composite cement materials possess unique acoustic signatures that allow their distinct detection as well as measurement of local chemical and mechanical conditions. The acoustic and physical properties of these novel materials were characterized in the laboratory as well as field trials. The improved acoustic contrast provided by these technologies enhanced log analysis and substantially improved discernment of cement location and mechanical loading. Machine learning was used to quickly identify cement and reservoir condition based on acoustic signals and to interpret sensor responses. The combination of these technologies enables the tracking of downhole and subsurface fluid distribution and flow. They can furthermore be used to exploit remaining reservoirs while preventing carbon dioxide plume migration. These metamaterials and nanotechnologies are highly scalable, which has been demonstrated in multiple manufacturing and deployment trials.