Effect of Predisolved Natural Gas on CO2 Solubility in Water With Various Salinities at Reservoir Conditions

Abstract

Dissolution of CO2 in saline waters is considered one of three main CO2 trapping mechanisms, along with structural/stratigraphic trapping and mineralization. CO2 can dissolve in fresh/saline water under typical reservoir pressure and temperatures. Its solubility is dependent on pressure, temperature, and salinity. CO2 solubility studies typically consider saline water or fresh water as a liquid without any predissolved gases. The reality is formation water may contain appreciable dissolved gases for all pressure and temperature conditions. An example of gas-water ratio (GWR) can be ~1 scf/stb for formation water in an oil reservoir and ~5 to 6 scf/stb for a deep saline aquifer. Therefore, it is essential to quantify the effect of brine salinity on CO2 solubility in “live” saline waters. Just as “live” oil denotes reservoir oil that contains solution gas, we define “live” brine as saline water that includes dissolved gases. Conversely, “dead” brine refers to saline water devoid of any dissolved gas content. Two sets of experiments were conducted under typical reservoir conditions. The first set of experiments evaluated the CO2 solubility in live formation water. The second set of experiments evaluated how variation in the live brine salinity affected CO2 solubility. These experiments involved 1) synthesis of the brine, 2) synthesis of natural gas mixture, 3) recombination of live formation water with a natural gas mixture and transfer into a high-pressure and high-temperature pressure-volume-temperature (PVT) visual cell, 4) CO2 addition to the PVT cell, and 5) bubblepoint pressure determination within the PVT cell. The results showed that CO2 solubility in live formation water is significantly less than that in “dead” water under reservoir conditions. In addition, the brine salinity affects CO2 solubility in live formation water by further reducing CO2 solubility with increasing live brine salinity. As the brine salinity increases, very little CO2 can be dissolved in the live brine once it reaches a certain solubility. An understanding of CO2 dissolution in live saline water is essential for future CCUS evaluation and execution.