Characterization and quantification of the CO2 sequestration potential of a carbonate aquifer in Falaha syncline, onshore Abu Dhabi

The capacity for the storage of carbon dioxide in saline aquifers remains enormous. Of all geological storage media, it provides the best storage capacity. In this study, the potential of the Shuaiba Formation, in the Falaha syncline, for geologic sequestration is assessed. A regional geo-model was built using seismic and well data (logs, cores) from the Falaha Syncline and nearby fields. The model was built to honor the heterogeneity and sequence stratigraphy of the Shuaiba carbonate platform using a five-order hierarchical conceptual model of the Shuaiba formation that merged sequence architecture and reservoir architecture together. This was achieved by honoring lithofacies, facies association packages and rock types in their corresponding depositional settings in the sequence framework. Dynamic simulations were then conducted on an upscaled geological model using a compositional reservoir simulator to determine its storage and flow capacity, plume migration pathways and to understand the physics of the fluid flow in the aquifer. Simulations are made to be conservative thus accounting for structural/stratigraphic, solubility (dissolution in resident brine) and residual trapping without accounting for the slower mineral trapping process. Detailed sensitivity studies were conducted during the simulations to understand the effect of well parameters, rock and fluid properties amongst others on the storage capacity in the aquifer. Simulation results indicate that significant volumes could be stored in the aquifer and could take a significant amount of time before the injected gas reaches the surrounding hydrocarbon producing fields. This study provides the first full field approach to characterize and to quantify the suitability of the identified aquifer for long term storage of carbon dioxide in the subsurface of UAE.