Can we demonstrate that subsurface storage is an effective method of reducing emissions of CO2 to the atmosphere? The Frio Brine Pilot Experiment is designed to test storage performance of a typical subsurface environment in an area where large-volume sources and sinks are abundant, near Houston, Texas, USA. We employed extensive pre-experiment characterization and modeling to identify significant factors that increase or decrease risk of leakage from the injection zone. We then designed the experiment to focus on those factors, as well as to test for presence or absence of events that are not expected. A fully developed reservoir model of heterogeneous reworked fluvial sandstones of the Frio Formation documents three-dimensional compartmentalization of the injection horizon by faulting associated with salt-dome intrusion and growth. Modeling using the TOUGH2 simulator showed that a significant source of uncertainty for subsurface performance of injected CO2 is residual CO2 saturation during storage. If initial displacement of water during injection is efficient and capillary effects create the expected residual saturation of 30 percent CO2, the volume occupied by the plume will be limited, and long-term storage can be expected even in an open system. If, however, during injection, CO2 moves out from the injection well along high-permeability pathways, it may not contact most pores, and residual saturation will have a smaller effect on storage. Our experiment is therefore designed to monitor plume geometry and CO2 saturation near the injection well and closely spaced observation well. Leakage out of the injection zone as a result of well engineering or other flaws in the seal is also monitored in the sandstone immediately overlying the injection zone and at the surface using multiple techniques. Permitting strategies include cooperation among two State agencies, as well as Federal NEPA assessment, because of the innovative aspects of the experiment.

A novel system has been deployed to obtain geochemical samples of water and gas, at in situ pressure, during a geologic CO2 sequestration experiment conducted in the Frio brine aquifer in Liberty County, Texas. Project goals required high-frequency recovery of representative and uncontaminated aliquots of a rapidly changing two-phase (supercritical CO2-brine) fluid from 1.5 km depth. The data sets collected, using both the liquid and gas portions of the downhole samples, provide insights into the coupled hydro-geochemical issues affecting CO2 sequestration in brine-filled formations. While the basic premise underlying the U-Tube sampler is not new, the system is unique because careful consideration was given to the processing of the recovered two-phase fluids. In particular, strain gauges mounted beneath the high-pressure surface sample cylinders measured the ratio of recovered brine to supercritical CO2. A quadrupole mass spectrometer provided real-time gas analysis for perfluorocarbon and noble gas tracers that were injected along with the CO2. The U-Tube successfully acquired frequent samples, facilitating accurate delineation of the arrival of the CO2 plume, and on-site analysis revealed rapid changes in geochemical conditions.