Optimization of carbon dioxide sequestration in brine aquifers

David Cameron & Lou Durlofsky Smart Fields Seminar April 15, 2009

Optimizing CO2 sequestration is similar to optimizing oil production

Reservoir Data

Set Well Controls

Update Model

Optimize Well Settings

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CO2 sequestration process

Flue gas is separated to get pure CO2 stream

CO2 is injected in brine aquifer as supercritical fluid A long equilibration phase (~1000 yrs) follows injection CO2 is trapped in different ways

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Time scales for trapping mechanisms

(from Benson, 2007)

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Potential goal: minimize mobile CO2

Definition of mobile CO2 Proportion of CO2 above residual saturation after equilibration
Controlling parameters Well configurations Model parameters

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Contents of this talk

Description of the reservoir model

Formulation of optimization case study Optimization methods

Optimization results from case study

Summary and conclusions

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Reservoir model features

Full reservoir model (to scale) Base case parameters

Dimensions 10 km x 10 km x 250 m
Grid 25 x 25 x 20 Permeability 0.1 10000 md (M = 100) Porosity 0.15 to 0.35

Kv/Kh 0.1 Inner section (not to scale)

Porosity

Max inj. per well 50 000 STB/d (super critical) Total injection 5 Mta (500 MW coal plant) Injection time 30 yrs

Equilibration time 1 000 yrs

900 ft

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These figures were obtained using the preprocess file

Permeability 1000 (md)

TO SCALE

NOT TO SCALE

900 800 700 600 500

250 m

400 300 200 100 0

250 m

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Simulation features

Used Stanfords General Purpose Research Simulator (GPRS)

Two phase (water and CO2) compositional

Peng Robinson EOS

Hysteresis (Carlson method) No mineral trapping

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Case study: 6 fixed wells Optimize using rate control

Well configuration Control parameters: The fraction of total injection rate at each well (vectors over time): R1, , R6

I1 (7,9)

I2 (13,9)

I3 (19,9)

Bounds:

Constraint:

R i 0.001,0.4
I4 I5 (7,17) (13,17) I6 (19,17)

R
i 1

Possible objective functions: 1) Mobile CO2 2) CO2 under cap rock

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Base case: equal injection rates

Base case phase distribution
0.8 0.7 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.1 0 0 mobile residual aqueous Top Layer

proportion of injected CO2

200

400 600 time (yrs)

800

1000

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Base case: equal injection rates

Base case phase distribution
0.8 0.7 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.1 0 0 mobile residual aqueous Top Layer

proportion of injected CO2

200

400 600 time (yrs)

800

1000

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Base case: saturation and dissolution snap shots

cross section

Base case CO2 saturation

t = 15.5 yrs
1 0.8 0.6 0.4 0.2 0

Base case dissolved CO2 (kg)

x 10 5 4 3
7

t = 30.0 yrs

t = 15.5 yrs

t = 30.0 yrs

t = 750.3 yrs

t = 1000.0 yrs

2 1 0

t = 750.3 yrs

t = 1000.0 yrs

1 0.5 0 0.5 01

1 0.5 0 0.5 01

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General Pattern Search (GPS) optimization method

ADVANTAGES

Gradient free Easy and robust

Parallelizable

DISADVANTAGES

Local method
Slow
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Mesh Adaptive Direct Search (MADS) optimization method

Generates random positive basis set

Samples an area more densely than GPS

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Pattern search (N+1) polling

Fewer function evaluations per iteration Less likely to find global optimum
GPS (N+1) is biased

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Minimization of mobile gas phase with 6 unknowns using different techniques

0.153 0.152 0.151 0.15

GPS GPS Np1 MADS MADS Np1

Objective

0.149 0.148 0.147 0.146 0.145 0.144 0 50 100 150

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Function evaluations
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Different methods converge to different solutions

Base Case
0.25

GPS

GPS (Np1)

MADS

injection fraction

0.2 0.15 0.1 0.05 0 well 1 well 3 well 5

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Minimization of mobile CO2 phase using more unknowns

0.16 0.15 0.14 0.13 0.12 0.11 0.1 0

6 unknowns 12 unknowns 18 unknowns

Mobile CO2

100

200

300

400

500

Function evaluations
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Time updates tend toward bang-bang solutions

6 par
0.45 0.4 0.35 0.3 0.25 0.2 0.15 0.1 0.05 0 well 1 well 3 well 5

12 par

18 par

Injection fraction

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Minimizing CO2 phase in the top layer

0.22 0.21 0.2 0.19

Objective

0.18 0.17 0.16 0.15 0.14 0.13 0.12 0 50 100 150 200 mobile (6 par) mobile (12 par) top layer (6 par) top layer (12 par)

Function evaluations
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Optimization with respect to mobile and top layer CO2 give similar results
mobile 6 par
0.45 0.4

top 6 par

mobile 12 par

top 12 par

Injection fraction

0.35 0.3 0.25 0.2 0.15 0.1 0.05 0 well 1 well 3 well 5

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Base case versus optimal solution

0.8 0.7 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.1 0 0

Base case phase balance

mobile residual aqueous 0.8 0.7 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.1 200 400 600 time (yrs) 800 1000 0 0

Optimized phase balance (18 par, mobile CO2)

mobile residual aqueous

proportion of injected CO2

proportion of injected CO2

200

400 600 time (yrs)

800

1000

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Cross sections for dissolution and saturation cross section

Base case dissolution (1000 yrs)
t = 1000.0 yrs x 10 5
7

Optimized dissolution (1000 yrs)

t = 1000.0 yrs x 10 5
7

Base case saturation (1000 yrs)

1 0.5 0 0.5 1 t = 1000.0 yrs 0.2 0.15

1 0.5 0 0.5 1

Optimized saturation (1000 yrs)

t = 1000.0 yrs 0.2 0.15

0.1

0.1

0.05

0.05

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Summary and conclusions

Summary

Formulated CO2 sequestration as an optimization problem Designed a realistic synthetic model for CO2 injection Optimal solutions reduced mobile CO2 by 30 % Solutions exhibit bang-bang behavior

Conclusions

Bang-bang injection increases dissolved and residually trapped CO2

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Future directions

Test using more parameters

Test more optimization methods Use position of wells as additional optimization variables Incorporate closed-loop optimization

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Acknowledgements
Huanquan Pan Yaqing Fan David Echeverria for modeling and GPRS help for modeling and GPRS help for optimization and coding help

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