Our research aims to understand the leakage risks in CO2 injection wells to make sure that underground carbon storage remains a safe and effective way to fight climate change.
Our investigation is about the damage that can happen to the cement sheath around a CO2 well, including how it cracks and separates from the steel casing and surrounding rock.
This damage may happen without leading to significant upward migration of CO2, for example when the cracking or debonding remains small and localised.
This is why our project will address not just the likelihood of damage occurring but also its evolution, potential mitigation using novel cements, and what this means for the overall risk of CO2 storage.
A key benefit of our project is that our findings will be used in our partner Quintessa’s carbon capture and storage operations in geological store siting, subsurface risk assessment, and selection of seals during well decommissioning.
Our research will provide new data on well damage that will improve Quintessa’s TESLA decision support software. As a result, the planned research will support effective decision-making as the UK carbon capture and storage sector continues to grow.
We believe our findings will help better understand practical limits on CO2 injection, such as injection rates and any requirement for heating before injection, especially following liquefied CO2 shipping as is being considered by some of the UK’s industrial clusters, including our project partner The Solent Cluster.
While our simulations will focus on UK conditions, our results will also be useful for other countries involved in geological CO2 storage.
Our partner, the Net Zero Technology Centre, is also involved in the ACT3 project RETURN and will help share our findings with operators and regulators in the UK, alongside our engagement in international conferences, workshops, and policy events.
Background
Deep geological storage of captured CO2 in the UK Continental Shelf saline aquifers and depleted oil and gas reservoirs is seen as a large-capacity long-term solution for emissions mitigation towards Net Zero 2050.
To keep geological storage effective, we must fully understand the risks of potential leakage. Any leakage could harm the environment and human health or reduce the benefits of mitigating climate change if CO2 escapes into the atmosphere.
In response to this, our proposal focuses on the leakage risk associated with the injection wells themselves, which are used to store CO2 in the ground. These wells, whether newly built or repurposed from oil and gas operations, can have defects that could develop into leakage risks during and after CO2 injection.
A review of UK North Sea oil and gas wells found that about one-third of wells had single barrier failures in the cement or steel parts, suggesting that such failures will be a key concern as CO2 storage expands.
Partners
Meet the Principal Investigator(s) for the project
Dr Lee Hosking - Lee is a Lecturer in Energy Geomechanics in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. His research focuses on computational modelling of deep subsurface environments with attention to coupled thermal-hydraulic-mechanical (THM) phenomena, accurate and efficient fracture network representation, and damage evolution. For over 10 years, the main practical application of his research has been geological CO₂ storage with respect to storage capacity, injectivity, and migration/confinement, but he has also worked on unconventional geothermal energy systems and radioactive waste disposal. Alongside his research, Lee teaches geo-energy engineering and climate change science, and is Senior Tutor for Civil and Environmental Engineering.
Before joining Brunel in 2020, Lee was a postdoctoral researcher at the Geoenvironmental Research Centre, Cardiff University, where he led the CO₂ sequestration work package of the FLEXIS energy systems research project. He received his PhD from Cardiff University in 2014 for research on coupled THM behaviour during CO₂ injection in coal, having graduated with an MEng Civil Engineering, also from Cardiff University.
Lee's current research projects, funded by The Royal Society and EPSRC (via UKCCSRC and Horizon Europe underwrite), are investigating key aspects of CO₂ storage linked with injection well integrity and the prediction and management of fluid injection-induced seismicity. These projects are being delivered alongside his national and international partners from academia and industry.
His professional affiliations include Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy, membership of the Editorial Board for the journal Deep Underground Science and Engineering, and membership of the UK Carbon Capture and Storage Research Centre, British Geotechnical Association, and International Society for Rock Mechanics and Rock Engineering. Within Brunel's research environment, he is part of the Centre for Energy Efficient and Sustainable Technologies as well as the Two-Phase Flow and Heat Transfer and Geotechnical and Environmental Engineering research groups.
Lee is always looking for talented and motivated PhD students as well as new collaborators for research projects.
Related Research Group(s)
Geotechnical and Environmental Engineering - Delivering a new understanding of our geo-environment and critical infrastructure in diverse ecosystems, for predicting and preventing catastrophic failure and responding to the need for decarbonisation and energy security.
Partnering with confidence
Organisations interested in our research can partner with us with confidence backed by an external and independent benchmark: The Knowledge Exchange Framework. Read more.
Project last modified 21/06/2024