Invasion percolation & basin modelling for CCS site screening and characterization

During the early screening phase of Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) site evaluations limited time and data are available and hence CO₂ plume evaluations using time and data intensive reservoir simulations are almost never performed. However, there is still a need for early plume evaluations to risk and rank injection sites relative to each other. Therefore, an alternative fluid migration method called invasion percolation is adopted for the CCS screening phase to predict the extent and location of CO₂ plumes in the subsurface. Invasion percolation as part of basin modeling is a rapid method, which requires limited data and is ideal for the early screening phase. Invasion percolation results are compared to uncalibrated reservoir models, typical for the screening phase, revealing that plume location shape and size are very reasonable especially when compared to seismic observed plume outlines. It can be concluded that invasion percolation as part of basin modeling is a fit for purpose method, which can assess multiple opportunities rapidly during the early intake screening phase to risk and rank opportunities relative to each other and to build a CCS injection site portfolio. In addition to the plume evaluation, basin models can provide useful basin-scale or injection site specific pressure and temperature predictions as well as CO₂ density estimates for static volume calculations before detailed reservoir and stratigraphic models are available. © 2024 Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.