Predictions of long-term behavior of a large-volume pilot test for CO2 geological storage in a saline formation in the Central Valley, California

AbstractThe long-term behavior of a CO2 plume injected into a deep saline formation is investigated, focusing on mechanisms that lead to plume stabilization. Key measures are plume migration distance and the time evolution of CO2 phase-partitioning, which are examined by developing a numerical model of the subsurface at a proposed power plant with CO2 capture in the San Joaquin Valley, California, where a large-volume pilot test of CO2 injection will be conducted. The numerical model simulates a fouryear CO2 injection period and the subsequent evolution of the CO2 plume until it stabilizes. Sensitivity studies are carried out to investigate the effect of poorly constrained model parameters permeability, permeability anisotropy, and residual gas saturation