Postdoc project with DTU Offshore:
Geologic carbon storage where anthropogenic CO2 is buried underground is one of the promising methods to reduce the level of CO2 in the atmosphere. One possibility is to use existing reservoirs and infrastructures that are nearing the end of their oil production time as storage for CO2. The ageing fields in the DUC sector in the North Sea have therefore potential for CO2 storage underground.
Chalk presents a challenge for CO2 injection because of its rather narrow pore network which gives a low permeability despite a high porosity. Chalk is a carbonate rock, so the decrease in pH due to injection of CO2 can lead to dissolution and damage the rock formation, potentially making the CO2 injection not viable. It is not clear from the literature if and to what degree dissolution would happen in chalk, and it is most likely dependent on reservoir conditions and rock properties (composition and surface chemistry).
We propose a project combining experiments and modelling at different scales to assess the feasibility of injecting CO2 in chalk reservoirs from the DUC area. This multi-disciplinary project spread across 3 institutions (DTU Offshore (before: DHRTC), DTU-Compute and GEUS)
will combine in-situ CT imaging experiments on reservoir chalk samples with geochemical and plume migration calculations.