Jason E. Heath's research while affiliated with Sandia National Laboratories and other places
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Publications (82)
Two‐phase fluid flow properties underlie quantitative prediction of water and gas movement, but constraining these properties typically requires multiple time‐consuming laboratory methods. The estimation of two‐phase flow properties (van Genuchten parameters, porosity, and intrinsic permeability) is illustrated in cores of vitric nonwelded volcanic...
Leakage pathways through caprock lithologies for underground storage of CO2 and/or enhanced oil recovery (EOR) include intrusion into nano-pore mudstones, flow within fractures and faults, and larger-scale sedimentary heterogeneity (e.g., stacked channel deposits). To assess multiscale sealing integrity of the caprock system that overlies the Morro...
Numerical models are a critical tool for forecasting subsurface multiphase flow associated with geologic carbon storage. The uncertainty of model results stems from many factors, including uncertainty in multiphase flow parameters. Specifically, relative permeability and capillary pressure relationships depend on both the rock properties and fluid...
Of interest to the Underground Nuclear Explosion Signatures Experiment are patterns and timing of explosion‐generated noble gases that reach the land surface. The impact of potentially simultaneous flow of water and gas on noble gas transport in heterogeneous fractured rock is a current scientific knowledge gap. This article presents field and labo...
The assessment of caprock integrity for underground storage of CO2 and/or enhanced oil recovery (EOR) systems is a multiscale endeavor. Caprock sealing behavior depends on coupled processes that operate over a broad range of length and time scales including nanoscale heterogeneity in capillary and wettability properties to depositional heterogeneit...
Detection of radioxenon and radioargon produced by underground nuclear explosions is one of the primary methods by which the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test–Ban Treaty (CTBT) monitors for nuclear activities. However, transport of these noble gases to the surface via barometric pumping is a complex process relying on advective and diffusive processes in...
Abstract
Surface tension controls all aspects of fluid flow in porous media. Through measurements of surface tension interaction under multiphase conditions, a relative permeability relationship can be determined. Relative permeability is a numerical description of the interplay between two or more fluids and the porous media they flow through. It...
We statistically infer fluid flow and transport properties of porous materials based on their geometry and connectivity, without the need for detailed We summarize structure by persistent homology and then determines the similarity of structures using image analysis and statistics. Longer term, this may enable quick and automated categorization of...
![Description of Hydraulic Flow Units (HFUs). Adapted from [6].](publication/336064624/figure/tbl1/AS:807371026726916@1569503661305/Description-of-Hydraulic-Flow-Units-HFUs-Adapted-from-6_Q320.jpg)
The efficiency of carbon utilization and storage within the Pennsylvanian Morrow B sandstone, Farnsworth Unit, Texas, is dependent on three-phase oil, brine, and CO2 flow behavior, as well as spatial distributions of reservoir properties and wettability. We show that end member two-phase flow properties, with binary pairs of oil–brine and oil–CO2,...
Surface tension controls all aspects of fluid flow in porous media. Through measurements of surface tension interaction under multiphase conditions, a relative permeability relationship can be determined. Relative permeability is a numerical description of the interplay between two or more fluids and the porous media they flow through. It is a crit...
Robust in situ power harvesting underlies the realization of embedded wireless sensors for monitoring the physicochemical state of subsurface engineered structures and environments. The use of electromagnetic (EM) contrast agents in hydraulically fractured reservoirs, in coordination with completion design of wells, offers a way to transmit energy...
Among the most critical factors for geological CO 2 storage site screening, selection, and operation is effective simulations of multiphase flow and transport. Relative permeability is probably the greatest source of potential uncertainty in multiphase flow simulation, second only to intrinsic permeability heterogeneity. The specific relative perme...
Shale, mudstone, and claystone are fine‐grained rocks that are heterogeneous at all scales and possess pore sizes ranging from nanometer to supra‐micron scale. Such small sizes are not amenable to optical investigation, which has until recently prevented pore‐scale investigations into shale behavior, particularly under in situ conditions. Macroscop...
Abstract
Numerical models are critical for forecasting subsurface multiphase flow associated with geologic carbon storage. Uncertainty of model results stems from many factors, including and especially uncertainty in multiphase flow parameters. Specifically, relative permeability and capillary pressure relationships depend on both the rock properti...
In situ measurements of geological materials under compression and with hydrostatic fluid pressure are important in understanding their behavior under field conditions, which in turn provides critical information for application-driven research. In particular, understanding the role of nano- to micro-scale porosity in the subsurface liquid and gas...
Desirable outcomes for geologic carbon storage include maximizing storage efficiency, preserving injectivity, and avoiding unwanted consequences such as caprock or wellbore leakage or induced seismicity during and post injection. To achieve these outcomes, three control measures are evident including pore pressure, injectate chemistry, and knowledg...
We use helium released during mechanical deformation of shales as a signal to explore the effects of deformation and failure on material transport properties. A dynamic dual-permeability model with evolving pore and fracture networks is used to simulate gases released from shale during deformation and failure. Changes in material properties require...
Marine Renewable Energy (MRE) devices require mooring and foundation systems that are suitable in terms of device operation, are robust and also cost effective. In the initial stages of mooring and foundation development a large number of possible configuration permutations exist. Filtering of unsuitable designs is possible using information specif...
For Marine Renewable Energy (MRE) to become a viable alternative energy source, it must encompass large arrays of devices. Arrays may include 1000s of devices. The associated foundations or anchors may encounter a range of seafloor sediment types and geotechnical properties. Wave and tidal energy convertors induce unique loads on foundations and an...
This paper presents numerical simulations of CO2 storage mechanisms in the Pennsylvanian Upper Morrow sandstone reservoir, locally termed as the Morrow B sandstone in the Farnsworth Unit (FWU) of Ochiltree County, Texas. CO2 storage mechanisms considered in the study under a CO2 enhanced oil recovery (EOR) mode include structural-stratigraphic trap...
The Mount Simon Sandstone and Eau Claire Formation represent a potential reservoir-caprock system for wastewater disposal, geologic CO2 storage, and compressed air energy storage (CAES) in the Midwestern United States. A primary concern to site performance is heterogeneity in rock properties that could lead to nonideal injectivity and distribution...
Carbon capture, utilization, and storage, one proposed method of reducing anthropogenic emissions of CO 2 , relies on low permeability formations, such as shales, above injection formations to prevent upward migration of the injected CO 2. Porosity in caprocks evaluated for sealing capacity before injection can be altered by geochemical reactions i...
Laboratory experiments evaluated two shale caprock formations, the Gothic Shale and Marine Tuscaloosa Formation, at conditions relevant to carbon dioxide (CO 2) sequestration. Both rocks were exposed to CO 2-saturated brines at 160°C and 15 MPa for *45 days. Baseline experiments for both rocks were pressurized with argon to 15 MPa for *35 days. Var...
This work describes initial experimental results of helium tracer release monitoring during deformation of shale. Naturally occurring radiogenic 4He is present in high concentration in most shales. During rock deformation, accumulated helium could be released as fractures are created and new transport pathways are created. We present the results of...
We examined the potential impact on CO2 transport of zones of deformation bands in reservoir rock that transition to opening-mode fractures within overlying caprock. Sedimentological and petrophysical measurements were collected along an approximately 5 m × 5 m outcrop of the Slick Rock and Earthy Members of the Entrada Sandstone on the eastern fla...
A multiporosity extension of classical double and triple porosity fractured rock flow models for slightly compressible fluids is presented. The multiporosity model is an adaptation of the multirate solute transport model of Haggerty and Gorelick [1995] to viscous flow in fractured rock reservoirs. It is a generalization of both pseudo-steady-state...
The Optimal Design Tools for Ocean Energy Arrays project (DTOcean) is developing a system-level tool to assess cost, reliability, and environmental impact for marine renewable energy (MRE) systems. The DTOcean Tool will integrate several modules covering key aspects of MRE systems (i.e., array layout, moorings and foundations, electrical infrastruc...
Hydrocarbon wells in low-permeability shales are complex. We are using naturally occur-ring noble gas tracers in hydraulically fractured shale wells to increase the total information available for parameter estimation and uncertainty analysis. Helium and other noble gases may exist in high concentrations in hydrocarbon reser-voirs as by-products of...
chemical potential of water may play an important role in adsorption and capillary condensation of water under multiphase conditions at geologic CO2 storage sites. Injection of large volumes of anhydrous CO2 will result in changing values of the chemical potential of water in the supercritical CO2 phase. We hypothesize that the chemical potential w...
The Mount Simon Sandstone (Mt. Simon), a basal Cambrian sandstone underlying much of Midwestern US, is a target for underground CO2 storage and waste injection which requires an assessment of geomechanical behavior. The range of depositional environments yields a heterogeneous formation with varying porosity, permeability, and mechanical properties...
Predicting meaningful production decline in non-traditional shale oil and gas wells is a complex problem. We are developing a Bayesian framework to evaluate the use of naturally occurring noble gas tracers in fractured shale hydrocarbon wells. Using noble gas tracers along with traditional production analysis methods will increase the information c...
CO2 storage efficiency is a metric that expresses the portion of the pore space of a subsurface geologic formation that is available to store CO2. Estimates of storage efficiency for large-scale geologic CO2 storage depend on a variety of factors including geologic properties and operational design. These factors govern estimates on CO2 storage res...
Deep (> ∼800 m) saline water-bearing formations in the United States have substantial pore volume that is targeted for storage of carbon dioxide (CO2) and the associated saline water can be extracted to increase CO2 storage efficiency, manage pressure build up, and create a new water source that, once treated, can be used for power-plant cooling or...
Subsurface storage of carbon dioxide (CO 2) has geologic and economic uncertainties that must be addressed as part of a performance assessment. A model presented herein links uncertainty in geologic heterogeneity and associated well injectivity to variability in costs. This includes a novel averaging scheme for CO 2 injectivity using geostatistical...
Subsurface containment of CO2 requires an effective caprock seal. Many previous studies on seals have relied on macroscopic measurements of capillary breakthrough pressure and other petrophysical properties without direct examination of solid phases that line pore networks and contact fluids. However, pore-lining phases strongly contribute to seali...
This study presents data on faults and fractures in the Fruitland Formation and its cover strata at a carbon sequestration pilot site in the high-rate Fruitland coal fairway in the northeastern San Juan Basin. The study incorporates satellite imagery, fracture detection and shear wave anisotropy logs and 3D seismic to identify potential issues that...
Capillary trapping of a nonwetting fluid phase in the subsurface has been considered as an important mechanism for geologic storage of carbon dioxide (CO(2)). This mechanism can potentially relax stringent requirements for the integrity of cap rocks for CO(2) storage and therefore can significantly enhance storage capacity and security. We here app...
of a paper presented at Microscopy and Microanalysis 2012 in Phoenix, Arizona, USA, July 29 – August 2, 2012.
Multivariate statistical analysis (MSA) is applied to the extraction of chemically relevant signals acquired with a micro-X-ray fluorescence (μ-XRF) mapping (full-spectral imaging) system. The separation of components into individual histograms enables separation of overlapping peaks, which is useful in qualitatively determining the presence of che...
Three-dimensional pore network reconstructions of mudstone properties are made using dual focused ion beam-scanning electron microscopy (FIB-SEM). Samples of Jurassic Haynesville Formation mudstone are examined with FIB-SEM and image analysis to determine pore properties, topology, and tortuosity. Resolvable pore morphologies (>~10 nm) include larg...
Carbon sequestration via underground storage in geologic formations is a
proposed approach for reducing industrial CO2 emissions. However,
current models for carbon injection and long-term storage of
supercritical CO2 (scCO2) do not consider the development and stability
of adsorbed water films at the scCO2-hydrophilic mineral interface. The
thickn...
The Pump Canyon CO2-enhanced coalbed methane (ECBM)/ sequestration demonstration in New Mexico has the primary objective of demonstrating the feasibility of CO2 sequestration in deep, unmineable coal seams through a small-scale geologic sequestration pilot. This project is not the first of its kind; several small- or large-scale pilots were already...
Performance assessment of CO2 sequestration opportunities at
the scale of the United States presents challenges for coping with
geologic and economic uncertainties. Inaccurate estimation of suitable
flow properties could result in drilling wells in parts of a formation
that could not physically accommodate the needed injection rates and
storage vol...
Geologic carbon sequestration and storage (CSS) is a possible option for
the mitigation of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions to the
atmosphere. Residual trapping of a non-wetting liquid phase in a brine
reservoir is considered as an important mechanism for long-term CSS,
because similar processes have been observed in a variety of fields such
as oil r...
The chemical potential of water in supercritical CO2
(scCO2) may play an important role in water adsorption,
capillary condensation, and evaporation under partially saturated
conditions at geologic CO2 storage sites, especially if
initially anhydrous CO2 is injected. Such processes may
affect residual water saturations, relative permeability, shrin...
Low permeability rock units, often shales or mudstones, that overlie
geologic formations under consideration for CO2 sequestration will help
contain injected CO2. CO2 that does flow through these rocks will
dissolve into the porewaters, creating carbonic acid lowering the pH.
This perturbation of the system may result in mineral dissolution or
prec...
Mudstone pore networks are strong modifiers of sedimentary basin fluid dynamics and have a critical role in the distribution of hydrocarbons and containment of injected fluids. Using core samples from continental and marine mudstones, we investigate properties of pore types and networks from a variety of geologic environments, together with estimat...
Injection of CO2 into underground rock formations can reduce atmospheric CO2 emissions. Caprocks present above potential storage formations are the main structural trap inhibiting CO2 from leaking into overlying aquifers or back to the Earth's surface. Dissolution and precipitation of caprock minerals resulting from reaction with CO2 may alter the...
Mudstone mechanical testing is often limited by poor core recovery and sample size, preservation and preparation issues, which can lead to sampling bias, damage, and time-dependent effects. A micropillar compression technique, originally developed by Uchic et al. 2004, here is applied to elasto-plastic deformation of small volumes of mudstone, in t...
Mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP) is an often-applied technique for determining pore throat distributions and seal analysis of fine-grained rocks. Due to closure effects, potential pore collapse, and complex pore network topologies, MIP data interpretation can be ambiguous, and often biased toward smaller pores in the distribution. We apply D ima...
Subsurface containment of CO2 is predicated on effective caprock sealing. Many previous studies have relied on macroscopic measurements of capillary breakthrough pressure and other petrophysical properties without direct examination of solid phases that line pore networks and directly contact fluids. However, pore-lining phases strongly contribute...
Understanding and characterizing transport properties of fine-grained rocks is critical in development of shale gas plays or assessing retention of CO2 at geologic storage sites. Difficulties arise in that both small scale (i.e., ~ nm) properties of the rock matrix and much larger scale fractures, faults, and sedimentological architecture govern mi...
The Southwest Regional Partnership on Carbon Sequestration (SWP) is one of seven regional partnerships sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) that collectively includes more than 350 organizations spanning 40 states, three Indian nations, and four Canadian provinces. The objectives are to determine the most suitable technologies, regulati...
Natural helium is a screening tool for identifying the presence or absence of caprock imperfections. Imperfections can be manifested as a variety of features or processes, including insufficiently low permeability, preferential flowpaths such as fractures and faults, and the propensity for capillary breakthrough. Theory and simulations detail how v...
We examined a natural, CO2-charged subsurface system located
near two fault zones in East-Central Utah that is analogous to
engineered sequestration sites. Geologic information and geochemical and
isotopic data from water and gas samples were used to develop a
conceptual model of the flow system. This flow-system description
indicates that CO2 from...
This chapter presents a variety of geologic data sets and methodologies to examine the sources, travel paths, and fate of CO2 from a subsurface reservoir to the Earth's surface. The geological and structural analysis shows that the three-dimensional structure of the system consists of an open, north-plunging anticline cut by northwest-trending norm...
Elevated concentrations of atmospheric CO2 are implicated in global warming. Mitigation of this requires capture of CO, from fossil fuel power sources and storage in subsurface aquifers or depleted hydrocarbon fields. Demonstration projects and financial analysis suggest that this is technologically feasible. CO2 must retained below ground for 10(4...
Analysis of fault zone structure and composition of two intermediate-displacement faults in the Colorado Plateau reveal how fault structure varies as a function oflithology, and how faults impact fluid flow.The Little Grand Wash fault cuts Jurassic Summerville through Cretaceous Mancos Shale rocks, and consists of a complex set of interweaving faul...
The numerous CO2 reservoirs in the Colorado Plateau region of the United States are natural analogues for potential geologic CO2 sequestration repositories. To better understand the risk of leakage from reservoirs used for long-term underground CO2 storage, we examine evidence for CO2 migration along two normal faults from a reservoir in east-centr...
The nonwelded Paintbrush Tuff (PTn) unit, which overlies the proposed high-level radioactive waste repository at Yucca Mountain is believed to play a prominent role in spatially and temporally dampening episodic percolation pulses moving downward to the repository horizon. Numerical model simulations show that a porous and permeable nonwelded tuff...
The numerous CO<sub>2</sub> reservoirs in the Colorado Plateau region of the United States are natural analogues for potential geologic CO<sub>2</sub> sequestration repositories. To better understand the risk of leakage from reservoirs used for long-term underground CO<sub>2</sub> storage, we examine evidence for CO<sub>2</sub> migration along two...