Estimating Carbon Dioxide Sequestration Potential in Mature, Multi-pay Petroleum Fields in Indiana

By

SOLANO-ACOSTA, WILFRIDO, CHARLES W. ZUPPANN, NATHAN K. EATON, and RACELLE ESCOLAR

Indiana Geological Survey, Bloomington, Indiana

     The record of historical oil and gas production, together with associated reservoir characteristics, offers the best available means to estimate the effective reservoir capacity of a petroleum field and its suitability for CO₂ sequestration. Many of Indiana’s potential CO₂ storage fields are large, mature, multi-pay petroleum fields that contain numerous small reservoirs scattered throughout. Unfortunately, produced volumes are not available for individual reservoirs because production often is commingled from different zones and is reported on a lease-by-lease basis rather than by individual well. We analyzed single-pay fields and other fields from which production could be isolated by producing zone to establish representative production volumes and reservoir characteristics for individual formations. In these cases, parameters such as initial production rate, porosity, and permeability can be related to reservoir performance. Using these reservoir characteristics as a guide, it was possible to generally apportion cumulative production in several large multi-pay fields into component formations and isolated reservoirs, and to more thoroughly describe the extent and sequestration potential of the reservoirs.