Flow-through Drying during CO Injection into Brine-filled Natural Fractures: A Tale of Effective Normal Stress
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Date
2021-07
Publication Type
Journal Article
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yes
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Abstract
Injecting supercritical CO2 (scCO2) into brine-filled fracture-dominated reservoirs causes brine displacement and possibly evaporite precipitations that alter the fracture space. Here, we report on isothermal laboratory experiments on scCO2-induced flow-through drying in a naturally fractured granodiorite specimen under effective normal stresses of 5-10 MPa, where two drying regimes are identified. A novel approach is developed to delineate the evolution of brine saturation and relative permeability from fluid production and differential pressure measurements. Under higher compressive stresses, the derived relative permeability curves indicate lower mobility of brine and higher mobility of the scCO2 phase. The derived fractional flow curves also suggest an increase in channelling and a decrease in brine sweep efficiencies under higher compressive stresses. Finally, lowering compressive stresses seems to promote less water evaporation. Our experimental results assist in understanding the injectivity of single fractures and eventually of fracture networks during subsurface applications that involve scCO2 injection into saline formations.
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published
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Journal / series
Volume
109
Pages / Article No.
103378
Publisher
Elsevier
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Subject
Fracture; Flow-through drying; Evaporation; Formation dry-out; Supercritical CO2; Effective normal stress
Organisational unit
09494 - Saar, Martin O. / Saar, Martin O.
Notes
Funding
ETH-02 16-2 - Evolution of permeability and porosity due to mineral precipitation in natural and/or artificial granite fractures (ETHZ)
177031 - Geosystem Reactive Transport (GREAT) Visualisation Lab (SNF)
177031 - Geosystem Reactive Transport (GREAT) Visualisation Lab (SNF)