CO Storage in U.S. Midcontinent Cambro-Ordovician Carbonates: Implications of the Western Kentucky Carbon Storage Test21 2 1 1J. Richard Bowersox , David A. Williams , John B. Hickman , and David C. Harris

1 2 Kentucky Geological Survey, 228 Mining and Mineral Resources Building,Unoversity of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40506-0107, Kentucky Geological Survey, University of Kentucky, P.O. Box 653, Henderson, KY 42419

Ste. Genevieve

New AlbanySellersburg

Maquoketa

Black River

Beekmantown

Gunter

Copper Ridge

Eau Claire

Middle Run

Phase 2 TestInterval

5038-5268 ft

Phase 1 TestInterval

3660-7500 ft

1883 ft

New Albany

2811 ft

Maquoketa3363 ft

Black River3877 ft

Upper Beekmantown5043 ft

Lower Beekmantown5109 ft

Gunter Sandstone

8014 ft

Middle Run Sandstone

6135 ft

Copper Ridge

Kentucky Geological SurveyNo. 1 Marvin Blan

Hancock County, Kentucky

Natural gamma ray and formation bulk density logs from the No. 1 Marvin Blan well. Representative sections from cored intervals are shown at the right. Phase 1 and Phase 2 injection test intervals are shown as white bars. The primary reservoir interval is the Cambro-Ordovician Knox Group (Beekmantown Dolomite, Gunter Sandstone, and upper Copper Ridge Dolomite). The primary reservoir seal is the Ordovician Maquoketa Shale with the Black River Group being the secondary reservoir seal.

Subsurface StructuralCross Section

Vertical x35

SW NE

A A´

Sources: Noger and Drahovzal (2005), electric logs, cuttings and core sample descriptions from Marvin Blan #1 well.

Gas show during drilling

Injection test interval

Regional reservoir sealing unit

Legend

Oil show during drilling

395 ft Dark grey-black micaceous siltstone and organicshale (2787-3124 ft) with minor limestone interbeds. The Maquoketa Shale is the primary regional sealing unit.

521 ft Argillaceous dolomitic limestone. Black River carbonates are a regional sealing unit.

Ord

ovi

cian

Cam

brian

Sys

tem

Mid

Upper

Low

er

Upper

Tip

peca

noe I

Sauk

Series

Sequence

Mid

dle

Black River Group

Maquoketa Shale

Dutchtown Formation

“St. Peter” Marker Interval

Knox

Gro

up

BeekmantownDolomite

Copper RidgeDolomite

Formation

2729

3124

3768

3780

7397

7584

TD 8126 ft

Gunter Sandstone

3645

Pre

cam

brian

Middle RunSandstone

(Meso-Neoproterozoic)

Eau Claire Formation

Beekmantown Dolomite 1567 ft Argillaceous to microcrystalline, grey dolomite withintervals of well-developed intercrystalline and vuggy porosity.Gunter Sandstone (5040-5230 ft) is a fine-grain, dolomitic quartz arenite; porosity is well-developed. Used as a waste disposal injection zone in north-central and western Kentucky. Non-porous intervals are regional sealing units.

2050 ft Very fine-medium grain, partially oolitic brown dolomite, locally cherty. Thin argillaceous intervals are usedas marker beds for correlation. Basal 300 ft highly fractured.Used for waste disposal injection in north-central and western Kentucky. Non-porous intervals are regional sealing units.

Copper Ridge Dolomite

187 ft Glauconitic, micaceous shales; arkosic, glauconitic fine-grain sandstones, microcrystalline dolomite.

Eau Claire Formation

542 ft Penetrated in the well; ~4500 ft thick as interpreted from2D seismic data. Fine-grain arkosic sand in a reddish-brownhematite matrix; dark minerals present. Finely-laminated to cross-bedded, hard, and tight.

Middle Run Sandstone

12 ft Fabric-preserving dolomite with minor quartz areniteinterbeds. 0.5 ft of sandstone overlies the Knox epikarst.

123 ft Dolomite with minor dolomitic quartz arenite andshale interbeds.

5347

Sources: Noger and Drahovzal (2005), electric logs, cuttings and core sample descriptions from Marvin Blan #1 well.

Gas show during drilling

Injection test interval

Regional reservoir sealing unit

Legend

Oil show during drilling

395 ft Dark grey-black micaceous siltstone and organicshale (2787-3124 ft) with minor limestone interbeds. The Maquoketa Shale is the primary regional sealing unit.

521 ft Argillaceous dolomitic limestone. Black River carbonates are a regional sealing unit.

Ord

ovi

cian

Cam

brian

Sys

tem

Mid

Upper

Low

er

Upper

Tip

peca

noe I

Sauk

Series

Sequence

Mid

dle

Black River Group

Maquoketa Shale

Dutchtown Formation

“St. Peter” Marker Interval

Knox

Gro

up

BeekmantownDolomite

Copper RidgeDolomite

Formation

2729

3124

3768

3780

7397

7584

TD 8126 ft

Gunter Sandstone

3645

Pre

cam

brian

Middle RunSandstone

(Meso-Neoproterozoic)

Eau Claire Formation

Beekmantown Dolomite 1567 ft Argillaceous to microcrystalline, grey dolomite withintervals of well-developed intercrystalline and vuggy porosity.Gunter Sandstone (5040-5230 ft) is a fine-grain, dolomitic quartz arenite; porosity is well-developed. Used as a waste disposal injection zone in north-central and western Kentucky. Non-porous intervals are regional sealing units.

2050 ft Very fine-medium grain, partially oolitic brown dolomite, locally cherty. Thin argillaceous intervals are usedas marker beds for correlation. Basal 300 ft highly fractured.Used for waste disposal injection in north-central and western Kentucky. Non-porous intervals are regional sealing units.

Copper Ridge Dolomite

187 ft Glauconitic, micaceous shales; arkosic, glauconitic fine-grain sandstones, microcrystalline dolomite.

Eau Claire Formation

542 ft Penetrated in the well; ~4500 ft thick as interpreted from2D seismic data. Fine-grain arkosic sand in a reddish-brownhematite matrix; dark minerals present. Finely-laminated to cross-bedded, hard, and tight.

Middle Run Sandstone

12 ft Fabric-preserving dolomite with minor quartz areniteinterbeds. 0.5 ft of sandstone overlies the Knox epikarst.

123 ft Dolomite with minor dolomitic quartz arenite andshale interbeds.

5347

Cambro-OrdovicianStratigraphy

Miles

0 10050

CO Injection Test Well2

Project Location

Illinois Ohio

Kentucky

DuPontWAD #1

Indiana

Illinois Basin

R.E. Burger

East Bend

ADM

OGS #1

Mountaineer

WestVirginia

SOHIO RefiningLatonia Refinery

Western KentuckyCoal Field

CONSOL

ConocoTurner #1

A

A

Breckenridge

Ohio

Daviess

MeadePerry

Spencer

Warrick

Hancock

Marvin Blan #1

Knox Reservoir Properties

Crossplot of permeability and porosity measured in core plugs and sidewall cores from the Knox and orientation of open fractures identified on the imaging log. A. Plot of core analysis including all samples from the Knox shows strong correlation between permeability and porosity. Using this correlation and the mean porosity calculated for the Knox of 6.5%, the mean permeability for the entire section was calculated to be 0.17 md. B. Open fractures in the Knox are oriented to the modern east-west stress field in the southern Illinois Basin. Most fractures identified from the imaging log, however, were found in the Copper Ridge, especually in the basal section below 7100 ft. These fractures occur in north-south conjugate sets, and are resposible for the substantial borehole rugosity in the basal Copper Ridge.

10-4

10-3

10-2

10-1

100

101

102

103

104

0 5 10 15 20

Ho

rizo

nta

lP

erm

ea

bil

ity

(md

)

Horizontal Porosity (%)

-4 0.80*Nhk = 9.2x10 eh

2R = 0.68p < 0.0001

Beekmantown Gunter (Whole Core)

Copper Ridge Gunter (Sidewall Core)

A

Beekmantown-GunterFracture Plunge

Copper RidgeFracture Plunge

Fracture Trend

N

E

S

W

N69°W

69°/S26°W

69°/S11°W

68°/N20°E68°/N12°W

N68°E

Beekmantown-GunterFracture Plunge

Copper RidgeFracture Plunge

Fracture Trend

B

AbstractResults of the western Kentucky carbon storage test provide a basis for evaluating supercritical CO 2

storage in Cambro-Ordovician carbonate reservoirs throughout the U.S. Midcontinent. This test demonstrated that the Cambro-Ordovician Knox Group had reservoir properties suitable for supercritical CO storage in a deep saline reservoir 2

hosted in carbonate rocks, and that strata with properties sufficient for long-term confinement of supercritical CO were present in the deep subsurface. 2

The Kentucky Geological Survey No. 1 Marvin Blan well was drilled in 2009 after 18 months of planning, drillsite due diligence, and regulatory agency permitting. It reached a total depth of 8126 ft in Precambrian Middle Run Sandstone. A total of 395 ft of whole-diameter cores was cut in the well and an extensive suite of geophysical logs was recorded. The Ordovician Maquoketa Shale and Black River Group were cored to test their sealing capacity, and the Knox was cored to test its reservoir properties. Evaluation of well and core data indicated that the Knox had reservoir properties suitable for CO storage, and that 2

the overlying Maquoketa had sealing capacity sufficient for long-term confinement. Injection testing with brine and CO was completed in two 2

phases. The first phase tested the entire Knox in the open borehole at 3780–7397 ft, below casing cemented at 3660 ft, whereas the second phase tested a mechanically-isolated dolomitic-sandstone interval at 5038–5268 ft. Review of the No. 1 Marvin Blan and other wells drilled into the Knox suggests that much of the Midcontinent may have carbonate reservoirs with CO storage potential. About half of the Midcontinent 2

is underlain by a thick Cambro-Ordovician carbonate section correlative with the Knox, including the Arbuckle Formation in Kansas and Oklahoma and

2011 Geological Society of America Annual MeetingMinneapolis, Minnesota

October 12, 2011

Phase 1 Injection Test – 2009• Phase 1injected a total of 323 tons of CO (1,765 barrels) below a packer set in 2

casing at 3,603 ft• After injection of CO the well bore was flushed with 4,568 barrels of brine2

• Leaks around packers set in th eopen wellbore compromised the effectiveness of the tests.

• Long-term downhole pressure gauge was left in place to monitor pressure fall-off pending re-entry for Phase 2 testing

0

Knox Group Porosity Histogram

Vuggy PorosityMode 13.5%

0 5 10 15 20Porosity (%)

100

300

400

200

Fre

qu

en

cy

Mean Knox GroupPorosity 6.5%

3780–7397 ft KB

7500

7000

6500

6000

5500

5000

4500

4000

3500

De

pth

(ft

KB

)

0 125 250

GR (API units)

0 5 10 15 20

Porosity (%)

Fracture

Fracture

Vugs

Vugs

Vugs

Vugs

Vugs

5347 ftCopper Ridge

7397 ftEau Claire

3780 ftBeekmantown

Whole Core

Sidewall Core

Log Calculated

Wells Creek

5090 ftGunter

58 /8 in. csg3660 ft

Cores

Sandstone Dolomite Rugose Borehole

Key to Knox Lithologies

-15 -10 -5 0

Differential Temperature (°F)

Baseline

Pre-injection

Phase 1InjectionInterval

3660-7397 ft

Phase 2

Phase 1 injection test summary. The Phase 2 injection interval was conducted in the open wellbore below casing at 3660 ft. Left: Gamma ray/porosity logs with lithofacies, locations of whole core and sidewall core samples, and corresponding core sample porosity posted. The appearence of high porosity in the Wells Creek, basal Copper Ridge, and Eau Claire Formations was caused by borehole rugosity. Center: Differential temperature logs recorded after the injection test. Relative cooling (negative values) are indicative of intervals where CO was injected. Although the 2

entire wellbore was open to below 7500 ft, CO injection was effectively limited to the 2

section above 5750 ft. Right: Histogram of porosity in the the Knox with the formation and vuggy porosity modes noted.

Phase 1 Test Results

Phase 2 Injection Test – 2010• Phase 2 injection testing August 30 – September 30, 2010.

– Cut and analyzed 20 rotary sidewall cores through the injection interval– Plugged the well at 5,268 – 5,545 ft, abandoning the lower 2,858 ft – Constructed a 230-ft test interval at 5,038 – 5,268 ft by cementing a

5½-inch liner at 4,820-5033 ft• Injected 4,265 barrels of brine and 367 tons of CO (2,000 barrels)2

• Recorded a 4-D VSP survey more than 900 points around the well. Data was recorded prior to and after injection to image the CO plume.2

• Abandoned the Knox Dolomite injection zone with cement plugs at 5,037 – 5,275 ft and 3,942 – 3,477 ft , exceeding EPA abandonment requirements.

5 150 10 20

Porosity (%)GR (API units)

0 125 250

De

pth

(ft

KB

)

5400

5350

5300

5250

5200

5150

5100

5050

5000

PBTD5268 ft

Cores

Sandstone Dolomite Sample Depth

Phase 2InjectionInterval

5038-5268 ft

5½ in. csg5038 ft

Pre-injection

Baseline

Gunter

Copper Ridge

5090 ft

5347 ft

Beekmantown

-25 -20 -15 -10 -5

Differential Temperature (°F)

0

0 5 10 15 20Porosity (%)

0

5

15

20

10

Fre

qu

en

cy

Sandstone PorosityMode 8.5%

Dolomite PorosityMode 6.2%

Vugular PorosityMode 14.8%

Mean Injection IntervalPorosity 9.7%

Injection Interval Porosity Histogram

5038–5268 ft KB

Whole Core

Sidewall Core

Log Calculated

Phase 2 injection test summary. The Phase 2 injection interval was mechanically isolated at 5038–5268 ft. Left: Gamma ray/porosity logs with lithofacies, locations of whole core and sidewall core samples, and corresponding core sample porosity posted. Center: Differential temperature logs recorded after the injection test. Relative cooling (negative values) are indicative of intervals where CO was injected. Most CO was 2 2

injected into sandstone lithofacies. Right: Histogram of porosity in the test interval with dolomite, sandstone, and vugular porosity modes noted.

Phase 2 Test Results

Injection Tests Results

Generalized distribution and thickness of Cambro-Ordovician carbonate strata in the U.S. Midcontinent. Location of the KGS Marvin Blan #1 well is noted by the red star. Correlative strata are the Knox Group of the Illinois, Black Warrior, and Appalachian Basins, the target of the western Kentucky test, the Arbuckle Formation in Kansas and Oklahoma, and the Ellenburger Formation in Texas and southeastern New Mexico. Most of the U.S. Midwest has a Cambro-Ordovician carbonate section with a section thick enough to be prospective for supercritical CO storage where sealing strata is 2

present. Distribution of porous and permeable intervals within this section is the subject of ongoing research.

Lithofacies distribution after Cook and Bally (1975), Ettensohn (2008). Contours modified from Bartram et al. (1950),Adler et al. (1971), Buschbach (1971), Catacosinos (1973),Cook and Bally (1975), Mellon (1977), Henderson (1991),Riley and Baranoski (1994), Greb et al. (2009).

2000

1000

500

500

2000

10001000

500

500

0 500 1000

Kilometers

Contours in Meters

250

250

250

1000

250

750

750

500

Ellenburger

Arbuckle

Knox

Generalized Distribution of Cambro-OrdovicianCarbonatesin the U.S. Mid-Continent

Implications of the Kentucky Test

AcknowledgementsThis research is being supported by a grant from the Commonwealth of Kentucky with

additional contributions by the Energy and Environment Cabinet, the University of Kentucky, and a consortium of more than twenty industry partners.

Principal contributors include:

Western Kentucky Carbon Storage Foundation Illinois Office of Coal Development

US Department of Energy

Access to the drillsite was graciously granted by Marvin and Brenda Blan, and without their cooperation this project would not have been possible.

Contact InformationJ. Richard Bowersox

Senior Research GeologistKentucky Geological Survey

(859) 323-0536j.r.bowersox@uky.edu

50

50

Clays

Calcite+Dolomite Quartz+Feldspars

50

Marlstone Mudstone

Claystone

SiltstoneLimestone

Clayey Mudstone

75

25 25

75

XRD analysis of the Maquoketa Shale mineralogy shows most samples are classified as mudstones. Clays are dominantly mixed-layer clays and smectite with minor kaolinite. Feldspars are authegenic k-spar.

Maquoketa Shale Seal Properties

Seal capacity was calculated frompermeability measured in core plugs. A. Cross plot of porosity and permeability measured in all core plugs including shales. Carbonates and sandstones follow a direct trend of increasing permeability with increase in porosity, whereas there appears to be no relationship in core plugs from shales. The maximum permeabilty to be considered as a potential reservoir seal is 0.001 md (grey shaded area). Although The New Albany Shale was too shallow in the No. 1 Marvin Blan well to act as a primary seal thus no further sealing tests were conducted. B. Permeability measured in core plugs from the Maquoketa Shale

-4 -7plotted by sample depth. Permeability to air range from < 10 md to < 10 md whereas permeability to supercritical CO are about 2

four times higher. C. Reservoir sealing capacity as the height of a column of supercritical CO that could be supported as calculated 2

from permeability measured in vertical core plugs in carbonates and horizontal core plugs from the Maquoketa. The high sealing height capacity of the Maquoketa makes it an ideal seal for supercritical CO storage.2

J New Albany Shale

E Maquoketa Shale

H Black River Group

C Basal Wells Creek

H Upper Beekmantown

H Lower Beekmantown

B Gunter Formation

H Middle Copper Ridge

J

J

JJ

E

E

E

E

E

EE

E

E

E

E

H

H

CC

HH

H

H

H

H

H

H

HH

H

H

HHH

H

H

H

H

H

H

H

H

H

H

B

B

B

B

B

H

H

0 5 10 15 20

Horizontal Porosity (%)

H H

GunterReservoirs

1.00x10-5

1.00x10-4

1.00x10-3

1.00x10-2

1.00x10-1

1.00x100

1.00x101

1.00x102

1.00x10-7

1.00x10-6

1.00x103

Ho

rizo

nta

l P

erm

eab

ilit

y t

o A

ir (

md

)

CarbonateSeals

ShaleSeals

-4 0.75Nk = 8.4x10 eh2R = 0.59

p <0.0001

BeekmantownCopper Ridge

Reservoirs

A

O

O

O

O

O

O

O

O

O

O

O

2835

2830

2825

2820

2815

2810

2805

2800

De

pth

(ft

KB

)

Permeability (md)-7

1x10-6

1x10 -51x10

-41x10

-31x10

B C1 10 100 1,000 10,000 100,000

Supercritical CO Seal Capacity (ft)2

7,000

6,000

5,000

4,000

3,000

2,000

De

pth

(ft

KB

)

Maquoketa

Black River

Wells Creek

Beekmantown

Beekmantown

Copper Ridge

Photomicrograph of a thin section sample from the Maquoketa at 2818.8 ft under plane-polarized light. Magnification 50x.