Novel pilot process for simultaneously testing CO2 sequestration and cyclic gas injection in unconventional reservoirs

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While Canada is committed to lowering its carbon footprint through reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and transitioning to alternative ("greener") sources of energy, hydrocarbon production remains a significant source of energy supply in Canada and globally. Therefore, an important strategy for meeting both global demands for energy and reducing carbon emissions, is to reduce the carbon footprint of the hydrocarbon industry while transitioning to renewable energy sources. In Canada, unconventional reservoirs host massive quantities of natural gas and liquid hydrocarbons which are currently being developed with hydraulically-fractured horizontal wells (MFHWs). These wells, which are designed to efficiently extract hydrocarbons, could also be re-purposed for efficient GHG injection into, and storage within, unconventional reservoirs. With thousands of MFHWs drilled to date, the subsurface infrastructure is already in place to facilitate the injection of massive quantities of GHGs (e.g., CO2). However, the storage mechanisms and capacity for GHGs in these reservoirs are uncertain, and gas injection in MFHWs has not yet been tried in Canada. The over-arching goal of this partnership and research program is therefore to provide an incentive to energy companies operating in Canada to evaluate the potential of CO2 sequestration in unconventional reservoirs through gas injection, hence providing a means to lower the carbon footprint of current hydrocarbon recovery schemes, or new greener technologies such as blue hydrogen. The specific technical goal of this partnership is to evaluate a new low-cost, operationally-efficient, field piloting method designed to simultaneously quantify CO2 injection/storage potential and cyclic gas injection schemes using CO2 or associated natural gas. Given success of the proposed research program, it is hoped that operators will be motivated to field trial the technology, leading in turn to pilot testing CO2 injection through MFHWs. The benefit of this research to Canadians is therefore provision of a means to dispose of massive quantities of GHGs, and hence a mechanism for meeting GHG emissions targets.