TY - JOUR
T1 - Spatial distribution of remaining movable and non-movable oil fractions in a depleted Maastrichtian chalk reservoir, Danish North Sea
T2 - Implications for CO2 storage
AU - Petersen, Henrik I.
AU - Blinkenberg, Kasper H.
AU - Anderskouv, Kresten
AU - Rudra, Arka
AU - Zheng, Xiaowei
AU - Sanei, Hamed
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2024
PY - 2024/12/4
Y1 - 2024/12/4
N2 - Depleted oil and gas fields constitute potentially important storage sites for CO2 in the subsurface, but large-scale injection of supercritical (sc) CO2 in chalk has not yet been attempted. One of the risks is the adverse effect of the substantial amount of remaining oil in the chalk reservoirs on scCO2 injection. In order to counter an undesired effect on injectivity, a fundamental understanding of the spatial distribution and quantity of the movable, semi-movable, and non-movable oil, and solid bitumen/asphaltenes fractions of the remaining oil is critical. In this study a combination of organic geochemistry (gas chromatography of the saturated fraction and programmed pyrolysis), and reflected light microscopy was applied to evaluate and measure the spatial distribution, volume, and saturation of different oil fractions in a well-defined reservoir interval of a waterflooded Maastrichtian chalk reservoir in the Danish Central Graben, North Sea. A total of 127 samples from a slightly deviated vertical well and two ∼5 km-long horizontal wells from the Halfdan and Dan fields were analyzed. An original uneven distribution of oil saturation and composition or different production efficiency of different levels in the reservoir may account for variations in the total oil and oil fraction saturations. Gas chromatography shows that the solvent extractable oil is quite similar in composition, characterized by a dominance of polar compounds and a high content of asphaltenes. Extended slow heating (ESH) pyrolysis reveals that most of the remaining oil saturation consists of semi-movable oil and total non-movable oil (non-movable oil plus solid bitumen/asphaltenes). Reduced oil gravity values (API) are related to evaporation loss of the lightest hydrocarbon fraction during core storage and increase of the relative proportion of the heavier oil fractions by waterflooding during production. Microscopy disclosed three forms of oil: i) Patchy distributed lighter, movable oil showing a bluish fluorescence, ii) Brownish staining with a dark orange to brownish fluorescence, and iii) Dark brown non-fluorescing oil and black solid bitumen/asphaltenes occurring in microfossils and along deformation bands and stylolites, constituting the heavy non-movable oil fractions. There is a general correlation between bulk rock porosity and the total non-movable oil saturation. It thus appears that the heavy non-movable oil fractions preferentially occur in association with low-permeability heterogeneities within high-permeability stratigraphic intervals. These intervals appear to favor accumulation of non-movable oil and solid bitumen/asphaltenes and may carry a higher risk for impeding scCO2 flow.
AB - Depleted oil and gas fields constitute potentially important storage sites for CO2 in the subsurface, but large-scale injection of supercritical (sc) CO2 in chalk has not yet been attempted. One of the risks is the adverse effect of the substantial amount of remaining oil in the chalk reservoirs on scCO2 injection. In order to counter an undesired effect on injectivity, a fundamental understanding of the spatial distribution and quantity of the movable, semi-movable, and non-movable oil, and solid bitumen/asphaltenes fractions of the remaining oil is critical. In this study a combination of organic geochemistry (gas chromatography of the saturated fraction and programmed pyrolysis), and reflected light microscopy was applied to evaluate and measure the spatial distribution, volume, and saturation of different oil fractions in a well-defined reservoir interval of a waterflooded Maastrichtian chalk reservoir in the Danish Central Graben, North Sea. A total of 127 samples from a slightly deviated vertical well and two ∼5 km-long horizontal wells from the Halfdan and Dan fields were analyzed. An original uneven distribution of oil saturation and composition or different production efficiency of different levels in the reservoir may account for variations in the total oil and oil fraction saturations. Gas chromatography shows that the solvent extractable oil is quite similar in composition, characterized by a dominance of polar compounds and a high content of asphaltenes. Extended slow heating (ESH) pyrolysis reveals that most of the remaining oil saturation consists of semi-movable oil and total non-movable oil (non-movable oil plus solid bitumen/asphaltenes). Reduced oil gravity values (API) are related to evaporation loss of the lightest hydrocarbon fraction during core storage and increase of the relative proportion of the heavier oil fractions by waterflooding during production. Microscopy disclosed three forms of oil: i) Patchy distributed lighter, movable oil showing a bluish fluorescence, ii) Brownish staining with a dark orange to brownish fluorescence, and iii) Dark brown non-fluorescing oil and black solid bitumen/asphaltenes occurring in microfossils and along deformation bands and stylolites, constituting the heavy non-movable oil fractions. There is a general correlation between bulk rock porosity and the total non-movable oil saturation. It thus appears that the heavy non-movable oil fractions preferentially occur in association with low-permeability heterogeneities within high-permeability stratigraphic intervals. These intervals appear to favor accumulation of non-movable oil and solid bitumen/asphaltenes and may carry a higher risk for impeding scCO2 flow.
KW - Asphaltene
KW - Chalk reservoir
KW - CO storage
KW - Depleted oil field
KW - Gas chromatography
KW - Movable oil
KW - Non-movable oil
KW - North Sea
KW - Oil fractions
KW - Pyrolysis
KW - Solid bitumen
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85206981309&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.coal.2024.104624
DO - 10.1016/j.coal.2024.104624
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85206981309
SN - 0166-5162
VL - 295
JO - International Journal of Coal Geology
JF - International Journal of Coal Geology
M1 - 104624
ER -