Date of Award
1-1-2023
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Ph.D. in Engineering Science
First Advisor
Brian Platt
Second Advisor
Lance Yarbrough
Third Advisor
Walter Guidroz
School
University of Mississippi
Relational Format
dissertation/thesis
Abstract
This dissertation takes multiple approaches to investigate lithology, depositional environments, diagenesis, and reservoir quality for petroleum and carbon sequestration in the Mississippian Hartselle Sandstone. The Hartselle Sandstone has been considered economically important for its viscous bitumen and natural gas reserves, with only minor attention given to potential oil reserves due to its low permeability. I proposed to reinvestigate the possibility of oil production from the Hartselle Sandstone, including a focus on the required elements of a conventional petroleum system. A detailed petrographic analysis recognized three lithofacies associations: beach lithofacies association, protected transgressive wave-dominated coast association, and unprotected transgressive tidal flat to subtidal association. The diagenetic influence on porosity determined telogenetic features that would not be expected to be present in the subsurface; all eogenetic and mesogenetic features are consistent between outcrop and core.
Porosity of the Hartselle Sandstone is averagely 12.3% and permeability is averagely 122.6 md, making it a fair reservoir. The maximum buried depth was estimated to have been 9,000–16,000 ft (2,743–4,876 meters). Thus, the source rocks below were buried deep enough to pass through the oil and gas generation windows. The Bangor Limestone is impermeable, 0.4 μd on average, and has an average porosity of 2.4%, making it an effective caprock for the conventional reservoir. Also, two potential reservoirs have been identified in the Hartselle Sandstone. One was estimated to contain around 8.7×105 m3/km2 of crude oil and another was estimated to contain approximately 3.5×105 m3/km2.
Also, the Hartselle Sandstone has potential to function as a carbon sequestration reservoir. A supercritical CO2 (scCO2) injection experiment revealed that permeability of the Hartselle Sandstone had a nonsignificant reduction of 4.1% on average after injecting scCO2, maintaining its ability of serving as a scCO2 storage reservoir. The Bangor Limestone had an average reduction of 11.2% in permeability, acting as an effective seal to prevent upward scCO2 migration. The potential reservoir was estimated to contain 2.7×105 tonnes of scCO2 per km2. A candidate well #12791 was expected to contain approximately 4.2×107 m3 of scCO2 after 30 years and could enhance natural gas recovery (EGR) of approximately 2×107 m3 initially-in-place.
Recommended Citation
Wang, Xiaotian, "A Multi-Scale Analysis of The Hartselle Sandstone to Characterize Reservoir Properties and Inform Carbon Sequestration Feasibility" (2023). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 2729.
https://egrove.olemiss.edu/etd/2729