Depleted hydrocarbon reservoirs are considered inherently safe for carbon sequestration, but a high density of wells penetrating the carbon dioxide (CO2) storage reservoir could compromise containment performance in a carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) project. A risk-management methodology can be incorporated to evaluate primary and secondary barriers in existing plugged and abandoned (P&A) and development wells to ensure long-term viability of CO2 sequestration projects. The complete paper evaluates well-integrity and CO2 leakage risks along the wells in a depleted field that penetrates the CO2 storage reservoir.
Background
The identified CO2 storage site offshore Malaysia is a depleted hydrocarbon field discovered in the early 1980s. Subsequently, two appraisal wells were drilled to further assess the field’s development potential.