Numerical simulations of the Macondo well blowout reveal strong control of oil flow by reservoir permeability and exsolution of gas.

In response to the urgent need for estimates of the oil and gas flow rate from the Macondo well MC252-1 blowout, we assembled a small team and carried out oil and gas flow simulations using the TOUGH2 codes over two weeks in mid-2010. The conceptual model included the oil reservoir and the well with a top boundary condition located at the bottom of the blowout preventer. We developed a fluid properties module (Eoil) applicable to a simple two-phase and two-component oil-gas system. The flow of oil and gas was simulated using T2Well, a coupled reservoir-wellbore flow model, along with iTOUGH2 for sensitivity analysis and uncertainty quantification. The most likely oil flow rate estimated from simulations based on the data available in early June 2010 was about 100,000 bbl/d (barrels per day) with a corresponding gas flow rate of 300 MMscf/d (million standard cubic feet per day) assuming the well was open to the reservoir over 30 m of thickness. A Monte Carlo analysis of reservoir and fluid properties provided an uncertainty distribution with a long tail extending down to 60,000 bbl/d of oil (170 MMscf/d of gas). The flow rate was most strongly sensitive to reservoir permeability. Conceptual model uncertainty was also significant, particularly with regard to the length of the well that was open to the reservoir. For fluid-entry interval length of 1.5 m, the oil flow rate was about 56,000 bbl/d. Sensitivity analyses showed that flow rate was not very sensitive to pressure-drop across the blowout preventer due to the interplay between gas exsolution and oil flow rate.

Safe storage and effective monitoring of CO2 in depleted gas fields.

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is vital to reduce CO(2) emissions to the atmosphere, potentially providing 20% of the needed reductions in global emissions. Research and demonstration projects are important to increase scientific understanding of CCS, and making processes and results widely available helps to reduce public concerns, which may otherwise block this technology. The Otway Project has provided verification of the underlying science of CO(2) storage in a depleted gas field, and shows that the support of all stakeholders can be earned and retained. Quantitative verification of long-term storage has been demonstrated. A direct measurement of storage efficiency has been made, confirming that CO(2) storage in depleted gas fields can be safe and effective, and that these structures could store globally significant amounts of CO(2).

Radiolytically reworked Archean organic matter in a habitable deep ancient high-temperature brine.

Investigations of abiotic and biotic contributions to dissolved organic carbon (DOC) are required to constrain microbial habitability in continental subsurface fluids. Here we investigate a large (101-283 mg C/L) DOC pool in an ancient (>1Ga), high temperature (45-55 °C), low biomass (102-104 cells/mL), and deep (3.2 km) brine from an uranium-enriched South African gold mine. Excitation-emission matrices (EEMs), negative electrospray ionization (-ESI) 21 tesla Fourier-transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FT-ICR MS), and amino acid analyses suggest the brine DOC is primarily radiolytically oxidized kerogen-rich shales or reefs, methane and ethane, with trace amounts of C3-C6 hydrocarbons and organic sulfides. δ2H and δ13C of C1-C3 hydrocarbons are consistent with abiotic origins. These findings suggest water-rock processes control redox and C cycling, helping support a meagre, slow biosphere over geologic time. A radiolytic-driven, habitable brine may signal similar settings are good targets in the search for life beyond Earth.

Interpreting velocities from heat-based flow sensors by numerical simulation.

We have carried out numerical simulations of three-dimensional nonisothermal flow around an in situ heat-based flow sensor to investigate how formation heterogeneities can affect the interpretation of ground water flow velocities from this instrument. The flow sensor operates by constant heating of a 0.75-m-long, 5-cm-diameter cylindrical probe, which contains 30 thermistors in contact with the formation. The temperature evolution at each thermistor can be inverted to obtain an estimate of the ground water flow velocity vector using the standard interpretive method, which assumes that the formation is homogeneous. Analysis of data from heat-based flow sensors installed in a sand aquifer at the Former Fort Ord Army Base near Monterey, California, suggested an unexpected component of downward flow. The magnitudes of the vertical velocities were expected to be much less than those of the horizontal velocities at this site because the sensors were installed just above a clay aquitard. Numerical simulations were conducted to examine how differences in thermal conductivities may lead to spurious indications of vertical flow velocities. We found that a decrease in the thermal conductivity near the bottom of the sensor can perturb the temperature profiles along the instrument in such a manner that analyses assuming homogeneous thermal conductivity could indicate a vertical flow component even though flow is actually horizontal. This work demonstrates how modeling can be used to simulate instrument response to formation heterogeneity and shows that caution must be used in interpreting data from such devices.

Hydrogeology, chemical and microbial activity measurement through deep permafrost.

Little is known about hydrogeochemical conditions beneath thick permafrost, particularly in fractured crystalline rock, due to difficulty in accessing this environment. The purpose of this investigation was to develop methods to obtain physical, chemical, and microbial information about the subpermafrost environment from a surface-drilled borehole. Using a U-tube, gas and water samples were collected, along with temperature, pressure, and hydraulic conductivity measurements, 420 m below ground surface, within a 535 m long, angled borehole at High Lake, Nunavut, Canada, in an area with 460-m-thick permafrost. Piezometric head was well above the base of the permafrost, near land surface. Initial water samples were contaminated with drill fluid, with later samples <40% drill fluid. The salinity of the non-drill fluid component was <20,000 mg/L, had a Ca/Na ratio above 1, with δ(18) O values ∼5‰ lower than the local surface water. The fluid isotopic composition was affected by the permafrost-formation process. Nonbacteriogenic CH(4) was present and the sample location was within methane hydrate stability field. Sampling lines froze before uncontaminated samples from the subpermafrost environment could be obtained, yet the available time to obtain water samples was extended compared to previous studies. Temperature measurements collected from a distributed temperature sensor indicated that this issue can be overcome easily in the future. The lack of methanogenic CH(4) is consistent with the high sulfate concentrations observed in cores. The combined surface-drilled borehole/U-tube approach can provide a large amount of physical, chemical, and microbial data from the subpermafrost environment with few, controllable, sources of contamination.