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

虽然加拿大致力于通过减少温室气体排放和过渡到替代（“绿色”）能源来降低其碳足迹，但碳氢化合物生产仍然是加拿大和全球能源供应的重要来源。因此，满足全球能源需求和减少碳排放的重要战略是减少碳氢化合物行业的碳足迹，同时过渡到可再生能源。在加拿大，非常规油气藏蕴藏着大量的天然气和液态烃，目前正利用水力压裂水平威尔斯井（MFHW）进行开发。这些威尔斯井被设计用于有效地提取碳氢化合物，也可以被重新用于有效地将GHG注入非常规储层并储存在非常规储层内。到目前为止，已经钻探了数千个MFHW，地下基础设施已经到位，以促进注入大量的温室气体（例如，CO2）。然而，这些储层中的温室气体储存机制和容量尚不确定，加拿大尚未尝试在MFHWs中注入气体。因此，该合作伙伴关系和研究计划的首要目标是为在加拿大运营的能源公司提供激励，以评估通过注气在非常规储层中封存二氧化碳的潜力，从而提供一种降低当前碳氢化合物回收计划或新的绿色技术（如蓝氢）的碳足迹的方法。该合作伙伴关系的具体技术目标是评估一种新的低成本，高效率的现场试验方法，旨在同时量化CO2注入/储存潜力和使用CO2或伴生天然气的循环注气方案。鉴于拟议研究计划的成功，希望运营商将有动力进行现场试验，从而导致通过MFHWs进行CO2注入的试点测试。因此，这项研究对加拿大人的好处是提供了一种处置大量温室气体的手段，从而建立了一种实现温室气体排放目标的机制。

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.