17 D1. Environmental Geology/Hydrology/Geomorphology/Geochemistry (Posters)

Monday, 22 April 2024
8:00 AM - 5:30 PM
Grand Ballroom, Oasis CC

MODELING AND SIMULATION OF HYDROGEN STORAGE IN DEPLETED OIL RESERVOIRS UNDER BIOTIC CONDITIONS

Paper number: 17-3
Program: Technical Sessions
Time: 8:00 AM – 5:30 PM

Authors

Abstract

Geological hydrogen storage can play a central role in enabling transition to a H2-based economy, and reaching a net-zero carbon emission goal. The main limitation to the design, implementation, and management of geological hydrogen storage in depleted oil reservoirs is the lack of knowledge regarding the multiphase bio-geochemical reactive transport of H2 in depleted oil reservoir and lack computer simulation programs that account for the multiphase bio-geochemical reactive transport of H2. It is very well-known that, metabolically, H2 can act as an electron donor and promote the activity of certain members of indigenous anaerobic microbial species, specifically, those coupling the use of H2 as an electron donor with the utilization of CO2 (methanogens) or sulfate (sulfate reducing bacteria) as electron acceptors for their growth. While a wide range of computer programs to simulate geological hydrogen storage are available, they do not account for the impact of microbiological and geochemical reactions on the multiphase bio-geochemical reactive transport of H2 in depleted oil reservoirs. Here we present experimental results showing the feasibility of biogenic H2 production and/or consumption in depleted oil reservoirs injected with CO2, computer simulation results of the observed experimental results, as well as field-scale simulations of the fate of H2 in depleted oil reservoirs under biotic conditions. Experiments were conducted using formation water and oil collected from the Stillwater oilfield. Simulations were done using CO2Bio. CO2Bio is a TOUGHREACT module we developed to simulate the multiphase bio-geochemical reactive transport of CO2-CH4-H2-H2S gas mixtures and brine in deep saline aquifers and depleted oil reservoirs under biotic conditions. The proposed framework will enable assessing the possibility of preventing the uptake of H2 by indigenous microbial communities and enhancing the recovery of H2 from geological hydrogen storage sites by pre-injecting CO2 to reduce the pH to acidic pH and to work as cushion gas to facilitate its recovery.

Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol. 56, No. 3

doi: 10.1130/abs/2024NC-398781

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