Kentucky Geological Survey Report of Investigations
Title
CO2-Enhanced Gas Recovery in Shale: Lessons Learned in the Devonian Ohio Shale of Eastern Kentucky
Abstract
The Kentucky Geological Survey tested CO2-enhanced gas recovery in the Devonian shale in Johnson County, in response to a directive from the Kentucky General Assembly in 2007; the study site included a fracture-stimulated shale-gas well. To supplement a standard suite of open-hole logs acquired when the well was drilled, a well-logging program was designed to identify open perforations, construct a flow profile, and acquire pre-injection baseline data to characterize the Devonian Ohio Shale for a pressure falloff test. Tubing and packer were installed, with gel and brine filling the annulus between the tubing and packer to block flow-through perforations identified above the packer. From Sept. 6–10, 2012, 87 tons of CO2 was injected in three phases, with at least 12 hr between phases to allow for pressure decline. On the last day of injection, the pressure of the annulus between the casing and injection tubing approached the injection pressure, indicating CO2 had leaked out of the test zone. Therefore, the test was terminated before a planned injection of 300 tons of CO2 was completed. Following injection, the well was closed for 2 weeks to allow a “soak.” A meter run was constructed to monitor flowback, and during the flowback a second flow profile and post-injection production log were acquired. Analysis indicates the leak was likely the result of communication through induced fractures (from the original completion) from the Ohio Shale to the overlying Berea Sandstone. The Ohio Shale likely retained some of the CO2, thus confirming the potential to displace additional natural gas, but the small volume of CO2 and escape of an unknown amount of CO2 from the zone of interest severely constrained anything but a qualitative assessment.
Publication Date
7-16-2019
Series
Series XIII
Report Number
Report of Investigations 9
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
https://doi.org/10.13023/kgs.ri09.13
Repository Citation
Nuttall, Brandon C., "CO2-Enhanced Gas Recovery in Shale: Lessons Learned in the Devonian Ohio Shale of Eastern Kentucky" (2019). Kentucky Geological Survey Report of Investigations. 56.
https://uknowledge.uky.edu/kgs_ri/56
Notes/Citation Information
© 2019 University of Kentucky
Statement of Benefit to Kentucky
Natural gas produced from shale is the most abundant petroleum resource underlying the commonwealth. This investigation of the potential to store carbon dioxide and use it for enhanced recovery of natural gas supports industry and long-term economic development in the state.