CO₂ migration and storage performance in the offshore Hammam Faraun member, Gulf of Suez, Egypt

Abstract Geological storage of CO₂ requires understanding how reservoir properties and operational parameters influence plume migration, pressure evolution, and long-term containment security. This study applies fully three-dimensional, physics-based simulations of continuous supercritical CO₂ injection into the Hammam Faraun member in the Gulf of Suez using COMSOL Multiphysics. A sensitivity analysis workflow was designed to include three scenarios to focus on the effects of fault permeability anisotropy, injector location, and operational parameters, including injection rate and the Brooks-Corey exponent (λ), on the dynamic behavior of CO 2 in the porous medium. Results show that fault permeability anisotropy exerts control on plume size and geometry, with enhanced fault permeability in the z-direction. Injector locations strongly govern CO₂ plume geometry and propagation along faults. Injection rate influences plume size and migration extent in the reservoir and faulted zone. Variations in λ showed less influence on CO 2 propagation and plume geometry. Despite these contrasts, well-bore pressures maintained consistent values across all cases, stabilizing between ~ 13.8 and 14.8 MPa after 100 years of simulation time. The injector locations and injection rates influence the CO 2 propagation more noticeably than fault permeability anisotropy and Brooks-Corey exponent, λ. Total amount of injected CO 2 is estimated to be ~ 7.9 Mt over 25 years injection period. This study provides a first reference case of a dynamic model for offshore CO 2 storage in the Gulf of Suez. Hence, this research contributes to Egypt’s decarbonization goals and highlights the application of geological storage of CO 2 in offshore reservoirs.