In-situ quantification of CO2 flow and mobility control for improved carbon utilization and storage

Fast upscaling of CO2 storage capacity is necessary to reach climate goals and requires utilization of existing/depleted oil and gas reservoirs, where heterogeneities (fractures, layering, faults, etc.) exist at smaller or larger scales and influence the storage efficiency. Even in close-to-ideal reservoirs the CO2 displacement may be less-than-ideal; which is further emphasized when moving from onshore to offshore storage, where well distances are large and the unfavorable mobility ratio of CO2 compared to reservoir fluids cause poor sweep efficiency through several adverse effects. Optimizing CO2 storage in porous media is a timely challenge, that calls for implementation of improved mobility control methods. This project emphasizes cutting-edge imaging technology to provide key insight into CO2 mobility control, and an experimental-numerical approach to upscale relevant behavior to field scale. Established conformance and mobility control methods polymer gel and foam, and combinations polymer-enhanced foams and foamed gels will be investigated utilizing emerging laboratory methods, including in-situ imaging. The research team holds significant experience within gel and foam technology, which allows quick adaption of experimental setups to capture known and relevant behavior; and rigs the project to achieve fast and accurate results at relevant conditions and scales.