Beschreibung: Depleted gas reservoirs are potential sites for CO 2 storage; therefore, it is important to evaluate their storage capacity. Historically, there have been difficulties in identifying the reservoir drive mechanism of gas reservoirs using traditional P / z plots, having direct impacts for the estimation of the original gas in place (OGIP) and dependent parameters for both theoretical and effective CO 2 storage capacity estimation. Cole plots have previously provided an alternative method of characterization, being derived from the gas material balance equation. We use production data to evaluate the reservoir drive mechanism in four depleted gas reservoirs (Hewett Lower Bunter, Hewett Upper Bunter, and North and South Morecambe) on the UK Continental Shelf. Cole plots suggest that the North Morecambe and Hewett Upper Bunter reservoirs experience moderate water drive. Accounting for cumulative water influx into these reservoirs, the OGIP decreases by up to 20% compared with estimates from P / z plots. The revised OGIP values increase recovery factors within these reservoirs; hence, geometrically based theoretical storage capacity estimates for the North Morecambe and Hewett Upper Bunter reservoirs increase by 4 and 30%, respectively. Material balance approaches yield more conservative estimates. Effective storage capacity estimates are between 64 and 86% of theoretical estimates within the depletion drive reservoirs, and are 53 – 79% within the water drive reservoirs. Supplementary material: A more detailed description of the aquifer modelling is available at https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.3803770.v1

Beschreibung: Preliminary dynamic modelling, using TOUGH2/ECO2N, has been carried out to assess the suitability of a site in the UK North Sea for sequestering CO 2 . The potential storage site is a previously unused saline formation within the Permian Rotliegend sandstone. Data regarding the site are limited. Therefore, additional input parameters for the model have been taken from the literature and nearby analogues. The sensitivity of the model to a range of parameters has been tested. Results indicate that the site can sustain an injection rate of around 2.5 Mt a –1 of CO 2 for 20 years. The main control on pressure build-up in the model is the permeability of the unit directly beneath the Rotliegend in the location of the proposed storage site. The plume diameter is primarily controlled by the porosity and permeability of the site. A comparison between static, analytical and dynamic modelling highlights the advantages of dynamic modelling for a study such as this. Further data collection and modelling are required to improve predictions of pressure build-up and CO 2 migration. Despite uncertainties in the input data, the use of a full three-dimensional (3D) numerical simulation has been extremely useful for identifying and prioritizing factors that need further investigation.