SPE WA Lecture Series – South West Hub CO2 Storage Dynamic Modelling

Title:  South West Hub CO2 Storage Dynamic Modelling

CO2 sequestration in underground formations is currently being considered to reduce the amount of CO2 emitted into the atmosphere. Understanding of the subsurface, trapping and containment mechanisms and the chemical and physical interactions between CO2, formation water, and formation rock is necessary before sequestration can be approved. Part of the assessment is an assessment of the area and how the subsurface behaviour and movement of injected CO₂ may change over time.  A dynamic model of the whole process can help uncertainty reduction throughout the exploration and appraisal stages. The accuracy of the dynamic model can also be increased by collecting more data from the region through 2D and 3D seismic surveys, drilling data and appraisal wells.

The South West Hub CO2 sequestration is a project being led by the Department of Mines and Petroleum and funded by the Commonwealth Government. Whilst commercial projects are not expected in the immediate future, planning is based around capturing CO2 from a number of emission points, transporting the CO2 via pipeline to the storage site, and sequestrate into Wonnerup sandstone member of the southern Perth Basin. The expected CO2 injection mass is between 2 to 6.5 Million tonnes per year.  Extensive data acquisition activities have been carried out during last 5 years including 2D, and 3D seismic survey and the drilling of 4 wells in the area of interest interested. In this presentation a background to the project, the mechanism of storage into porous media, and the plume movement will be explained.

Speaker’s Biography

Mohammad Bahar has more than 25 years’ experience in the oil and gas industry and is the author of more than 28 peer-reviewed scientific publications and conference papers. He has a BSc and a MSc in petroleum/chemical engineering from the Petroleum University of Technology, Iran, and a PhD in petroleum engineering from Curtin University of Technology. He has professional experience with fluid phase behavior, enhanced oil recovery, reservoir simulation and field development planning. He started his career with National Iranian Oil Company from 1990–2003. After completing his PhD, he joined CSIRO as a research scientist in 2006, where he worked on a microbial-enhanced oil recovery project. In 2010, he joined the Department of Mines and Petroleum, where he is a senior reservoir engineer on unconventional resources, CO2 storage and reservoir management projects.

This event is proudly sponsored by AWE Limited.