The effect of depositional environment on sustaining a carbon storage site

Abstract

One of the most difficult challenges facing planet earth is climate change caused by an increase in the concentration of greenhouse gases. Increased effort is being placed on delineating and characterizing suitable geologic formations that can house these gases. As part of this effort, we studied how the depositional environment would influence the storage of CO2 in the Illinois Basin. Lithofacies of the Mt. Simon Formation within the Illinois Basin were interpreted from the core data available for one of the four wells. The lithofacies interpreted from the core data were correlated with the motifs of the gamma-ray (GR) log in order to synchronize the information. Based on the lithofacies from the core and GR log, the depositional environment was defined. This was further used to establish a stratigraphic correlation across the four wells. Petrophysical analysis was carried out to evaluate the suitability of the rock properties in storing CO2. Structural features such as faults were interpreted on the 3D seismic data to evaluate the sealing capacity of the Mt. Simon Formation. A conceptual model of the depositional environment was developed and integrated with the rock properties using sequential Gaussian simulation. CO2 gas was injected and simulated in the Mt. Simon geologic model to evaluate how the flow would be impacted by the formation's depositional environment over time. Based on the lithofacies interpreted from the geologic core data and GR log, four depositional environments were interpreted — a braided river system, a fluvial deposit, a flood plain/shallow ephemeral environment, and eolian deposits. The structural framework revealed that the lower section of the Mt. Simon Formation is laterally extensive and structurally controlled. This allows CO2 gas to be evenly distributed throughout the formation.