When is a gas leak not a gas leak? Integrity in CO2 sequestration operations.

Sequestration of carbon dioxide in geological formations is an increasingly important component of the drive towards net zero. There are a number of different approaches to this, but the common factor is the need to maximise the amount of CO2 that can be stored safely in a given formation. CO2 in gas phase is an inefficient method of storage in terms of mass, while conversion to liquid phase would involve temperatures unfeasibly low to be useful in underground environments. 

 Another option exists if the temperatures and pressures are above a certain level and can be controlled. Beyond this critical point, there exists another state where the material in question enters the supercritical phase, in which it exhibits properties of both a liquid and a gas. This is beneficial for storing CO2 on geological time scales but raises questions about current leak detection and monitoring systems which have been developed for more traditional phases such as liquid or gas.

An example of an intervention in a supercritical CO2 sequestration well that was exhibiting signs of leaking will be presented. 

Duncan is Archer’s Global Product Champion focusing on developing and introducing new logging technologies. Graduating from the University of Edinburgh earning honours in Mechanical Engineering he started his career as a wireline logging field engineer in 1988, working mostly International assignments in South East Asia and Africa. Following a period working for an equipment supplier in new product development, sales and support, Duncan moved back into wireline field operations management in the Middle East region and joined Archer in 2011. After holding Region Manager and Global Technical Manager positions, he moved into the Product Champion role involved with development of proprietary passive acoustic and phased-array imaging tools and the ComTrac carbon composite rod conveyance system.