The SECARB Anthropogenic Test:

A fully integrated CCS Pilot Project

Citronelle, Alabama

JohnRyan MacGregor
Advanced Resources International, Inc.

RECS 2016
June 15, 2016

Acknowledgement
This presentation is based upon work supported by the Department of Energy National Energy
Technology Laboratory under DE-FC26-05NT42590 and was prepared as an account of work
sponsored by an agency of the United States Government.
Neither the United States
Government nor any agency thereof, nor any of their employees, makes any warranty, express or
implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or
usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represents that its use
would not infringe privately owned rights. Reference herein to any specific commercial product,
process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise does not necessarily
constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the United States
Government or any agency thereof. The views and opinions of authors expressed herein do not
necessarily state or reflect those of the United States Government or any agency thereof.

The Regional Carbon Sequestration

Partnership (RCSP) Initiative
The RCSP is a DOE funded cooperative agreement of seven
regional Partnerships

Tasked with:
-

Determining best geological

storage approaches for each
region

Application and assessment of

storage technologies to
demonstrate permanent storage

Anthropogenic Test Project Background

The SECARB Anthropogenic Test is a fully
integrated Carbon Capture and Storage
project
CO 2 is captured from Southern
Companys Plant Barry (a 2,657 MW
coal-fired power plant)
A ~12 mile pipeline delivers the CO2
to Denburys Citronelle Oilfield
The captured CO2 is injected into the
saline bearing Paluxy formation
(~9,400 feet deep)

Approximately 114 thousand metric

tons of CO2 were injected between
8/12 and 9/14

Stages of a Fully Integrated Project

Production and
Capture

Storage
Transportation

Image: Science News

Challenges

Getting all
their lawyers
to agree

Capture and Compression

CO2 is captured from a 25 MW
slipstream from Plant Barry Flue Gas
- (2,600 MW system)
500 tonnes/day capture capacity
CO2 is captured and compressed
using Mitsubishi Heavy Industries
compression technology

Plant Barry, Alabama

CO2 Capture

Flue gas first reacts with KS-1 amine-based solvent

CO2 is released from the solvent
CO2 is then compressed to a supercritical state (to 1500 psi)

Capture Facility Aerial Overview

Esposito, 2015
9

Capture Plant Performance

*As of 12/16/2014

10

Transportation Pipeline
Commissioned March 2012
4 (10 cm) carbon-steel pipeline
12 mile (19 km) run from Plant Barry property
to SECARB injection site.
1500 psi operating pressure

11

Application of Directional Drilling

18 sections were directionally drilled to overcome infrastructure,
wetland, and endangered species habitat (some up to 3,000 feet
long and up to 60 ft deep).
Pipeline buried 5 feet within surface vegetation maintenance

12

Photos: Numerous Google Image searches

13

Injection Site
CO2 Booster Pump
300 HP variable speed electric
motor
130 stages (impellers)
4 suction 3 discharge
Inlet pressure 1300 psi outlet
pressure 3200 psi
Max rate approx. 14 MMCFD
CO2
Satellite link for communication

14

Well Site Photos

Injection well with slick-line unit

15

Injection Site Design, Drilling and

Completion Flow Chart

16

Anthropogenic Test Gantt Chart

17

UIC Class V Permit

Class V Experimental Injection Well permit
Short duration of injection (3 years) and modest volumes of
CO2
Characterization and modeling of stacked CO2 storage
CO2 injection under real world operating conditions
Demonstration of experimental monitoring tools and methods
Site closure based on USDW non-endangerment and CO2
containment demonstration (5-yr renewal)

Study Area Background

The Citronelle Oilfield lies atop
the Citronelle Dome
Plant Barry

Plant
Barry

What makes the Citronelle Dome amenable

to CO2 sequestration?
Well defined reginal geology from oil exploration
and production
Gulf coast sediments comprise excellent quality
reservoirs
A proven structural trap
Structural closure is exhibited in all directions
The limbs of the dome gently dip ~1

Study Area Stratigraphy

Gulf coast sedimentary strata
consist of extensive deposits of
high porosity and permeability
formations
Numerous confining units of
impermeable marine shale and the
Selma Group 2,000+ ft chalk unit
provide confining zones to restrict
CO2 migration
CO2 is injected into the
Paluxy Formation
The fields target oil
reservoir lies below the
CO2 injection zone

CO2 Injection
Zone

Regional Seal Cross Section

21

Storage Site: The Citronelle Oilfield

CO2 is injected at the
Southeast Unit in
Citronelle Oilfield

Subsea
Depth
-10,300
-10,350
-10,400
-10,450
-10,500
-10,550
-10,600
-10,650
-10,700
-10,750
-10,800
-10,850
-10,900

Structure Map of Ferry Lake Anhydrite

One injection well perforated in multiple zones

in the Paluxy Formation

Two in-zone observation wells perforated in the

injection zone

Reservoir Characteristics
W

D 9-7
Injection Well

D 9-8
Observation Well

Marine Shale
Confining Zone
Injection Zone

Upper
Paluxy

Site characterization demonstrated satisfactory

geologic conditions for CO2 storage

The Paluxy SS reservoir is a relatively

continuous saline formation

Measured permeability up to 4,000 mD

Porosity range: 4.4% - 26.1%

Well established overlying cap rock

Parameters

Unit

Value

mD

373

19

D 9-8 Distance from Injector

feet

840

D 4-14 Distance from Injector

feet

3,500

Pressure

psi

4,430

Temperature

224

ppm

200,000

Mean Permeability, k
Porosity,

Total Dissolved Solids (TDS)

MVA Program Drivers

Multiple lines of evidence to confirm CO2
containment
Soil CO2 flux and tracer monitoring
Crosswell seismic and VSP
Cased hole pulsed neutron logging ( in- and above-zone saturation)
Groundwater (USDW) monitoring
In- and above-zone pressure

Assure non-endangerment of USDWs

Groundwater (USDW) monitoring

Inform the reservoir simulation

Monitoring Techniques

25

Stacked Sand Perforated Zones

Simulation
26.1

3.4
4.3
0.9

25.8
11.1
4.2

24.2

MVA Elements and Frequency

Frequency

MVA Method
Shallow
Soil flux
Groundwater sampling (USDW)
PFT survey
Deep
CO2 volume, pressure & composition
Reservoir fluid sampling
Injection, temperature & spinner logs
Pulse neutron logs
Crosswell seismic
Vertical seismic profile (VSP)
Experimental
Distributed Temperature Sensing (DTS)
Comparative fluid sampling methods
MBM VSP
Distributed Acoustic Sensing (DAS)
MBM VSP & OVSP Seismic

Continuous

Monthly

Quarterly

Annual

Milestone
(Baseline,
Injection,
Post)

CO2 Injection History

Deep MVA Pressure Response

Downhole pressure data is a primary input to the history match

and plume model

Time-Lapse Differencing Using the

Baseline and Repeat Velocity Tomograms

Time-lapse difference image

indicates a decrease in seismic
velocity in the upper injection zone
of up to 3%, suggesting an
increase in CO2 saturation
More importantly, no negative velocity
anomalies are observed in or above
the confining unitimplying no
detectable leakage out of inj. zone

No significant negative
velocity anomalies

Confining Zone

Injection Zone

First arrivals from repeat survey

were of sufficient quality to
produce a velocity difference
image (right) showing regions
where seismic velocity has
changed over time

Decrease in velocity
(negative anomaly)

Pixelized difference tomography results without seismic

reflection overlay showing positive velocity differences
in warm colors and negative differences in cool colors

Predicted Radial CO2 Plume Extent on

October 31, 2017 of 600 ft
Despite the high permeability of the formation and a gentle dip, there is not
a substantial change in the plume extent in the three years following the
cessation of injection.
In fact, the plume extent has equilibrated.
This is due to injection into multiple zones, the limited injection volume and
injection shut ins which allowed for equilibration during the injection phase

Questions?