3D geological characterization of the Hontomin CO2 storage site, Spain: Multidisciplinary approach from seismic, well-log and regional data

Juan Alcalde*, Ignacio Marzan, Eduard Saura, David Marti, Puy Ayarza, Christopher Juhlin, Andres Perez-Estaun, Ramon Carbonell

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

36 Citations (Scopus)
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Abstract

The first Spanish Technological Development plant for CO2 storage is currently under development in Hontomin (Spain), in a fractured carbonate reservoir. The subsurface 3D geological structures of the Hontomin site were interpreted using well-log and 3D seismic reflection data. A shallow low velocity zone affects the wave propagation and decreases the coherency of the underlying seismic reflections, deteriorating the quality of the seismic data, and thus preventing a straightforward seismic interpretation. In order to provide a fully constrained model, a geologically supervised interpretation was carried out. In particular, a conceptual geological model was derived from an exhaustive well-logging analysis. This conceptual model was then improved throughout a detailed seismic facies analysis on selected seismic sections crossing the seismic wells and in consistency with the regional geology, leading to the interpretation of the entire 3D seismic volume. This procedure allowed characterizing nine main geological levels and four main fault sets. Thus, the stratigraphic sequence of the area and the geometries of the subsurface structures were defined. The resulting depth-converted 3D geological model allowed us to estimate a maximum CO2 storage capacity of 5.85 Mt. This work provides a 3D geological model of the Hontomin subsurface, which is a challenging case study of CO2 storage in a complex fractured carbonate reservoir.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)6-25
Number of pages20
JournalTectonophysics
Volume627
Early online date26 Apr 2014
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 13 Jul 2014

Bibliographical note

Acknowledgments
The authors sincerely thank the Guest Editor Irina Artemieva and the two anonymous reviewers for their useful comments. Funding for this Project has been partially provided by the Spanish Ministry of Industry, Tourism and Trade, through the CIUDEN-CSIC-Inst. Jaume Almera agreement (ALM-09-027: Characterization, Development and Validation of Seismic Techniques applied to CO2 Geological Storage Sites) and by the European Union through the Technology Demonstration Plant of Compostilla OXYCFB300 Project (European Energy Programme for Recovery). Additional support has been provided by Spanish Ministry of Education Science (CSD2006-00041), Generalitat de Catalunya (2009SGR006) and CSIC JAE-Doc postdoctoral research contract (E.S.). The sole responsibility of this publication lies with the authors. The European Union is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information contained herein. Juan Alcalde is being currently supported by the Fundación Ciudad de la Energía (CIUDEN) Research training program. The authors would like to sincerely thank Javier Elío for his kind help with the capacity estimation calculations, Institut Geològic de Catalunya for their useful work with the GWs, GEMODELS/UB and to all the people involved directly or indirectly in the elaboration of this work.

Keywords

  • 3D geological modeling
  • 3D reflection seismics
  • Well-log correlation
  • CO2 storage
  • Maximum capacity estimation

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