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oa Evaluating Temperature and Pressure Fluctuations During Intermittent CO2 Injection in Northern Lights: Non-Isothermal Inegrated Wellbore Simulation
- Publisher: European Association of Geoscientists & Engineers
- Source: Conference Proceedings, World CCUS Conference 2025, Sep 2025, Volume 2025, p.1 - 5
Abstract
Sequestering CO2 in geological formations like saline aquifers or depleted petroleum reservoirs is an effective strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. CO2 injection can be used to improve oil recovery or for long-term storage. While continuous injection is ideal for storage and plume formation, operational constraints frequently necessitate intermittent injection, in which injection phases alternate with shut-in periods.
CO2 injection causes significant temperature and pressure variations due to hydrostatic, overburden, and injection pressures, which exceed its supercritical point. Intermittent injection causes cooling during injection and reheating during shut-in, resulting in thermal shocks that could effect wellbore integrity. These fluctuations can cause casing expansion and contraction, cement debonding, and microfractures, all of which increase mechanical stress on the well structure. The severity of these effects varies according to injection rate, shut-in duration, reservoir conditions, and rock properties.
This study uses Eclipse E300 to create a compositional model for a well in the Northern Lights project, which includes a non-isothermal integrated wellbore model to evaluate the thermal effects of intermittent injection. Understanding these effects is essential for accurate injectivity predictions, maintaining stable flow conditions, and mitigating thermal stresses that may impact long-term well integrity in CO2 storage projects.
