Spatial characterization of the location of potentially leaky wells penetrating a deep saline aquifer in a mature sedimentary basin

Sarah E. Gasda, Stefan Bachu, Michael Anthony Celia

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

385 Scopus citations

Abstract

This work was motivated by considerations of potential leakage pathways for CO2 injected into deep geological formations for the purpose of carbon sequestration. Because existing wells represent a potentially important leakage pathway, a spatial analysis of wells that penetrate a deep aquifer in the Alberta Basin was performed and various statistical measures to quantify the spatial distribution of these wells were presented. The data indicate spatial clustering of wells, due to oil and gas production activities. The data also indicate that the number of wells that could be impacted by CO2 injection, as defined by the spread of an injected CO2 plume, varies from several hundred in high well-density areas to about 20 in low-density areas. These results may be applied to other mature continental sedimentary basins in North America and elsewhere, where detailed information on well location and status may not be available.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)707-720
Number of pages14
JournalEnvironmental Geology
Volume46
Issue number6-7
DOIs
StatePublished - Oct 2004

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Water Science and Technology
  • Pollution
  • Soil Science
  • Environmental Chemistry

Keywords

  • Alberta Basin
  • Canada
  • Carbon mitigation
  • Co geological sequestration
  • Oil and gas well
  • Sedimentary basins
  • Well statistics

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