HR: 1330h
AN: GC32A-0199    [PDF]
TI: Geophysical Methods, Tracer Leakage, and Flow Modeling Studies at the West Pearl Queen Carbon Sequestration/EOR Pilot Site
AU: * Bromhal, G S
EM: bromhal@netl.doe.gov
AF: National Energy Technology Laboratory/US DOE, PO Box 880 3610 Collins Ferry Rd., Morgantown, WV 26507-0880 United States
AU: Wilson, T H
EM: thohash.wilson@netl.doe.gov
AF: National Energy Technology Laboratory/US DOE, PO Box 880 3610 Collins Ferry Rd., Morgantown, WV 26507-0880 United States
AU: Wilson, T H
EM: thohash.wilson@netl.doe.gov
AF: West Virginia University Department of Geology, White Hall, Morgantown, WV 26505 United States
AU: Wells, A
EM: arthur.wells@netl.doe.gov
AF: National Energy Technology Laboratory/US DOE, 626 Cochrans Mill Road P.O. Box 10940, Pittsburgh, PA 15236-0940 United States
AU: Diehl, R
EM: rod.diehl@netl.doe.gov
AF: National Energy Technology Laboratory/US DOE, 626 Cochrans Mill Road P.O. Box 10940, Pittsburgh, PA 15236-0940 United States
AU: Smith, D H
EM: dsmith@netl.doe.gov
AF: National Energy Technology Laboratory/US DOE, PO Box 880 3610 Collins Ferry Rd., Morgantown, WV 26507-0880 United States
AB: Recently, a few thousand tons of CO$_{2}$ were injected into the West Pearl Queen field, a depleted oil reservoir in southeastern New Mexico, for a pilot carbon sequestration project. Small amounts of 3 different perfluorocarbon tracers were injected with the CO$_{2}$. Approximately 50 capillary absorption tube samplers (CATS) were located across the field within 2m of the grounds surface to detect the tracers in extremely small (~10$^{-13}$L) quantities. After only several days, the CATS detected quantities of tracers at distances of up to 350m from the injection well. Greater amounts of tracers were detected in the different directions. The underground transport mechanism(s) are uncertain; however, appearance of tracer in the CATS after only a 6 day period suggests that CO$_{2}$ movement may have occurred through near-surface processes. Subsequent tracer measurements made over 10 and 54 day time periods revealed continued tracer leakage. To try to understand the tracer information, we conducted lineament interpretations of the area using a black and white aerial photo taken in 1949, digital orthophotos, and Landsat TM imagery. Lineament interpretations revealed distinct northeast and northwest trending lineament sets. These directions coincided roughly with the direction of tracer-leakage into areas northwest and southwest of the injection well. The near-surface geology consists of a few-feet thick veneer of late Pleistocene and Holocene sand dunes covering the middle Pleistocene Mescalero caliche. A survey of the caliche was made using ground penetrating radar (GPR) to attempt to identify any preferential migration pathways. Modeling studies also were performed to identify the potential leakage pathways at the site. Because of the relatively fast appearance of tracers at large distances from the injection well, simple diffusion through the surface layers was ruled out. Wind patterns in the area have also made transport through the atmosphere and back into the ground highly unlikely. Other potential leakage pathways were transport from the well through the saturated zone and diffusion into the unsaturated zone or combined pressure-driven and diffusive flow through the vadose zone. An analysis of these alternatives has been made for this study.
DE: 0994 Instruments and techniques
DE: 1600 GLOBAL CHANGE (New category)
DE: 3210 Modeling
DE: 5100 PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF ROCKS
DE: 8000 STRUCTURAL GEOLOGY (New field, replaces single entry 8165)
SC: Global Climate Change [GC]
MN: 2003 Fall Meeting