CO2 - Case Study
Geological Characterization of the South Georgia Rift Basin for CO2 Storage. In 2010-11, Bay partnered with the University of South Carolina Research Foundation in the United States Department of Energy program studying the feasibility and suitability of using Jurassic/Triassic (J/TR) sediments of the South Georgia Rift Basin (SGR) for CO2 storage.
Bay acquired regional data in Orangeburg, Bamberg, Colleton, Dorchester and Allendale counties in South Carolina. Approximately 240 km of high resolution seismic data (with formation targets ranges of 3,500 feet to over 13,000 feet in depth) was acquired. Interpretation of this data suggested that part of the SGR basin had gone through an initial extensional phase during the Mesozoic rifting. After the rifting ceased, the basin underwent at least one period of compression. Numerous faults were identified as the border faults during the onset of rifting that exhibited characteristics of reactivation during at least one of the compressional phases. Other faults were identified that were interpreted to have formed during a compressional phase and numerous small faults were identified that were not previously mapped. The identification of these faults from the seismic data provided a geological model for CO2 storage in numerous structural traps in addition to stratigraphic traps, therefore increasing the number of possible reservoirs. Additionally, the seismic data refined and allowed for a better definition of the basin boundaries.
The 2-D seismic program identified an area suitable for a well site for CO2 injection into the basin. Bay acquired a 3-D seismic grid, 2.5 km2, over the proposed well site. The 3-D seismic data allowed for the estimation of CO2 storage capacity, increased understanding of the structural and lithological properties of the caprock(s) and the reservoir(s) at a higher spatial resolution than the 2-D program.