Monitoring CO2: The quest for a clean signal (examples from UT Austin BEG research)

AbstractThe approach to CO2 monitoring is maturing as a result of knowledge gained from U.S. DOE NETL-funded, research-level CO2 injection demonstration projects, especially the Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnerships. These project have demonstrated successful storage of carbon dioxide (CO2) over the test durations. Here we present results from remediated and active oil and gas sites to get a better understanding of potential leakage signals, and to provide partial analogues for CO2 monitoring best practices. Geochemical sampling of the surface and shallow subsurface is attractive for monitoring CO2 storage for three reasons. First it is less expensive to sample the shallow subsurface (