Numerical modelling of CO2 injection at small-scale field experimental site in Maguelone, France

- A model for shallow CO2 gas flow at the Maguelone field site was developed.
- Field data of gas transport could be reproduced with the model.
- Effects of heterogeneity on the system behavior were explored.
- The monitoring system for shallow CO2 migration was evaluated.

To evaluate the performance of downhole and surface geophysical monitoring methods, a series of shallow gas injection-monitoring experiments has been performed in a coastal saline aquifer at Maguelone, France. The recorded data include pressure measurements with a Westbay multilevel completion and CO2 saturation at an observation well derived from electrical resistivity with a modified Waxman-Smits (MWS) model. In this work, the aim is to develop a simulation model capturing the gas transport behavior and consistent with field data. For this purpose, the simulation of the CO2 injection experiment is carried out with two conceptual models, a homogeneous model and a heterogeneous model treated with multiple realization Monte Carlo simulations. Numerical simulator TOUGH2 with the equation of state module EOS7C is used for the simulations. Comparison of the model results with field data suggests that the pressure responses are captured with relatively good accuracy. Similarly, the model also provides an overall reasonable agreement and correct order of magnitude for predicted gas saturation values. However, as the heterogeneity pattern in the field data remains largely unknown, the model predictions can only be used to capture the mean behavior as well as to provide insights into how heterogeneity can influence the system behavior, by means of sensitivity analyses of the influence of heterogeneities on individual realizations.