Cabiúnas-São Tomé CCS Pilot Project in Campos Basin, Brazil: A 4D Petroelastic Modeling Feasibility Study

Due to continuous global rising of industrialization and energy demand, greenhouse gas emissions are an increasingly environmental concern. The Kyoto Protocol and more recently Paris Agreement, signed in 1997 and 2015, respectively, are examples of major international treaties aimed at tackling global warming, leading to a world governments pressure to reduce carbon dioxide emissions at atmosphere. In that sense, Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage (CCUS), a suite of technologies focused on the reduction of CO2 emissions, has gained significant momentum in recent years.

In Brazil, several Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) initiatives are now under planning, among them the Cabiúnas-São Tomé CCS Pilot Project in Campos Basin. The strategic location of the project, close to the seashore, with an onshore wellhead, offers conditions for efficient carbon capture and storage operations and monitoring technologies evaluation. Technical aspects, including a CO2 injection rate of 0.1 million tons per year, a single vertical injector well, three deviated monitoring wells, and the utilization of a high-permeability (∼1200 millidarcies) sandstone reservoir, underscore the planned project’s technical sophistication. Additionally, the potential storage reservoir, a deep saline aquifer characterized by a salinity level of 68,000 milligrams per liter, provides a good geological setting for the secure and efficient storage of CO2 at an injection depth of approximately 1,300 meters.

The monitoring of CO2 injection plume will be paramount, in order to ensure that it remains confined at the targeted reservoir. In this regard, in addition to the three monitoring wells, a 4D seismic land acquisition system is also expected to be deployed at the project area. Moreover, to optimize the 4D seismic value, the execution of 4D feasibility studies is considered a good approach. In this abstract, a 4D petroelastic modeling feasibility study, performed for the Cabiunas-Sao Tome Pilot Project area, will be presented.