Overview

This talk examined engineering carbon sequestration from a subsurface perspective, with a focus on the data requirements and de-risking challenges associated with large-scale carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS). Emphasizing that global geological storage capacity is vast but underutilized, the presentation highlighted why successful CCUS deployment depends not only on storage availability, but on robust data, realistic physics-based models, and long-term monitoring confidence.

 
Expert Insights & Key Takeaways

Storage opportunity is large, but implementation lags
Oil and gas basins, saline aquifers, depleted reservoirs, coal seams, and geothermal systems provide enormous storage potential, yet CCUS is not being deployed at scale due to uncertainty, risk, and incomplete subsurface characterization.

De-risking requires representative subsurface data
Numerical models are central to CCUS planning, but their reliability depends on accurate rock, fluid, and geomechanical properties. Without realistic input data, predictions of plume migration, containment, and long-term security remain uncertain.

Multiple storage mechanisms operate at different time scales
Injected CO₂ partitions into four main forms: free-phase plume, residual trapping, solubility trapping, and mineralization. Each has distinct time scales and risk profiles, requiring integrated experimental and modeling approaches.

Relative permeability and near-wellbore effects are critical
Laboratory experiments showed that CO₂–brine–rock interactions can alter permeability and porosity near injection wells, affecting injectivity, safety, and long-term performance.

Seal integrity and caprock behavior matter over decades to centuries
Ultra-low permeability caprocks can still transmit or absorb CO₂ over long time scales. Understanding caprock diffusion, sorption, and chemical alteration is essential for containment assurance.

Fluid chemistry strongly influences CO₂ solubility
CO₂ solubility varies significantly with brine composition—not just salinity. Mixed-ion brines can dissolve substantially more CO₂ than NaCl-only systems, with major implications for storage capacity estimates.

Diffusion dominates after injection stops
Once injection ceases, diffusive mixing becomes the primary transport mechanism. Measured CO₂ diffusivity in brines shows a strong dependence on salinity, requiring careful scaling in reservoir simulations.

Data-driven workflows enable scalable decision-making
Combining laboratory measurements, analytical models, numerical simulation, and data analytics allows for reliable screening, ranking, and monitoring of CCUS projects across diverse geological settings.

Future Outlook

Scaling CCUS safely and effectively will require a shift from capacity-focused assessments to data-informed, physics-based de-risking workflows. Future progress depends on expanding experimental databases, improving reactive transport models, integrating long-term surveillance strategies, and accounting for chemical impurities and legacy infrastructure. With the right data foundation, CCUS can move from conceptual promise to reliable, large-scale climate solution.

Guest Speakers

Birol Dindoruk

Endowed Professor

American Association of Drilling Engineers

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