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University of Texas at Austin is developing screening tools for improved understanding of reservoir geomechanical processes and conditions related to carbon dioxide (CO2) storage including faults, fractures, and caprock flaws. Geomechanical rock experiments and computational methods using modeling, simulations, history matching, and uncertainty quantification will be conducted and applied to two field demonstration sites to generate and validate the geomechanical screening tools.
The project is developing screening tools for improved understanding of geomechanical effects associated with CO2 injection in the form of a workflow derived from experimental and computational studies conducted for specific CO2 sites. It is enhancing the understanding of the effects of CO2 injection on open and closed faults and fractures. This is contributing to the Carbon Storage Program goal of developing and validating technologies to ensure 99 percent storage permanence. Specifically, this project is conducting laboratory experiments to study petrophysical and hydro-mechnical properties of rocks under CO2 storage conditions and using the findings from this effort to develop a simulator that will model two CO2 storage field studies; the Frio pilot injection study in Texas and the Southeast Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnership (SECARB) large scale injection project in Mississippi. The results of these geomechanical experimental and computational methods will be integrated to generate geomechanical screening tools that can be used for geomechanical assessment of future CO2 storage operations.