Adapting Hydrocarbon Workflows to Enable Efficient and Rapid Screening for CO2 Storage Potential

Abstract

Identifying and screening subsurface carbon storage options requires knowledge of numerous elements that can be costly and time consuming to assess at the regional scale. To remediate this, we use Neftex® Predictions which has automated the process of screening its global geological content so that carbon storage fairway extents and storage resources can be readily assessed and compared. This frees the geoscientist from the burden of time-consuming data cleaning and geoprocessing workflows. Attributes that indicate suitability of the storage option are based on a bespoke Carbon Storage Adequacy Index, developed to assess the reservoir, seal and operational factors. This automated workflow enables rapid portfolio generation and comparison, with high ranked fairways being prioritised for further investigation. Once prioritised, areas within fairways that have the greatest storage potential are useful to identify, here termed ‘sweet spots’. An example of how to do this by creating distribution maps of volumetric Prospective Storage Resource is presented. This shows how the Neftex Predictions datasets, alongside third-party data, can enhance screening map generation, especially when inferring beyond available data control. Examples from the North Sea, the Mediterranean, and the Gulf of Mexico demonstrate the global applicability of the workflows.