CO₂SINK (German) Collaboration
Project # ESD07-011

Primary Performing Organization
Lawrence Berkley National Laboratory

This research supports the CO₂SINK storage project in Ketzin, Germany by developing and testing a new carbon sequestration Monitoring Verification and Accounting (MVA) field tool based on thermal measurements along a borehole. The tool will aid in monitoring injected carbon dioxide (CO₂) subsurface flow rates, reservoir saturation, spatial distribution, and trapping. 

The new technique using Distributed Thermal Perturbation Sensor (DTPS) measurements uses a heat source and temperature sensors installed along the axis of a borehole.  By acquiring thermal measurements with the DTPS, fluid saturation and other reservoir properties can be determined.  The tool will be field tested at the CO₂SINK project in Ketzin, Germany, where up to 90,000 tons of CO₂ will be injected underground in a saline formation at a depth of about 600 meters.

The CO₂SINK integrated project led by GeoForschungsZentrum, Potsdam, is supported by the European Union, industry, and other academic/research organizations including Lawrence Berkeley Lab assisting with DTPS deployment.  It aims to develop a sound basis for long-term CO₂ storage in saline reservoirs.  The project will provide a field laboratory to:  (1) increase the knowledge-base of CO₂ storage in saline formations; and (2) increase public confidence and awareness of geosequestration.  Particular attention will be given to:

• The quality of the geological seals and the possibility of leakage.
• Upward migration of gas along artificial pathways such as boreholes.
• Migration and trapping of CO₂ within reservoirs.
• The rate at which CO₂ dissolves in brine-filled reservoirs.

Contact:
Project Manager:  Karen Cohen, karen.cohen@netl.doe.gov

Related Papers and Publications:

• Freifeld, B., 2007, Monitoring CO₂ Geosequestration Using Distributed Thermal Measurements, in Proceedings of the Sixth Annual Conference on Carbon Capture and Sequestration, May 7-10, 2007, Pittsburgh, PA.