Feasibility of Carbon Dioxide as Cushion Gas in Depleted Gas Reservoirs: An Experiment Study on CO2–CH4 Dispersion during Flow Alternation

This study investigates the feasibility of utilizing carbon dioxide (CO2) as a cushion gas in depleted reservoirs for enhanced gas storage efficiency and carbon sequestration against the backdrop of rising natural gas stable supply demand and climate change concerns. Simulations of gas storage reservoir scenarios require accurate dispersion parameters at flow alternation conditions to quantify the size of the miscible displacement front. Several experimental studies using core-flooding equipment aimed at measuring related parameters have been reported over the last decade but did not take flow alternation into consideration. We simulated directionally variable displacements to mimic the cyclic injection and extraction processes in gas storage, focusing on the dispersion characteristics of CO2 and methane (CH4) during flow alternation. Key findings were observed using Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) imaging, which provided real-time data on the spatial distribution and temporal changes of CH4 signals in rock cores. The results revealed that dispersion, influenced predominantly by dispersion coefficients rather than molecular diffusion, was significantly higher during alternating flow compared to concurrent displacement. Additionally, CO2 exhibited a greater dispersion effect when displacing CH4 than the reverse. This enhanced mixing efficiency during flow alternation supports the potential of CO2 as a cost-effective and efficient cushion gas, offering both improved storage performance and the added benefit of CO2 sequestration. These findings contribute valuable insights for the numerical simulation and operational adaptation of CO2 in gas storage reservoirs, emphasizing the importance of understanding fluid interactions under varying flow conditions to optimize storage efficiency and environmental benefits.