1. Improving the knowledge of carbon storage and coal bed methane production by in situ underground tests HUNOSA:N. C ANTO (noelcanto@hunosa.es), A. G ONZÁLEZ, G. G ONZÁLEZ, L. M. L ARA, E. G. O NGALLO AITEMIN:J. L. F UENTES -C ANTILLANA (jl.fuentes@aitemin.es), H. L. A BÓS, J. L. G ARCÍA -S IÑERIZ BRGM:A. L EYNET (a.leynet@brgm.fr), B. B OURGEOIS, P. D ÉFOSSEZ, É. C. G AUCHER, V. N AUDET, É. P ROUST, J. R OHMER INERIS:S. L AFORTUNE (stephane.lafortune@ineris.fr), C. D IDIER, F. L AHAIE, Z. P OKRYSZKA GIG:J. S KIBA (jskiba@gig.katowice.pl), B. J URA, P. K RZYSTOLIK TOTAL:S. V IDAL -G ILBERT (sandrine.vidal-gilbert@total.com) 6/ Long term safety 2/ Test area preparation 3/ Laboratory tests 4/ Injection & monitoring 5/ Modelling S2 S1 66 cm The Carbolab is located in the Montsacro mine, Asturias, Spain 1/ Site characterization C ARBOLAB In the prospect of climate change mitigation, greenhouse gas emissions could be reduced by the geological storage of CO 2. One of the promising variants of this technique is the injection of CO 2 in deep unmineable coal seams. There, anthropogenic CO 2 can be stored mostly by adsorption, this releasing CH 4 that can be used for energy production. This method is been tested worldwide, but European coal deposits have received few interest (excepted the RECOPOL project). The processes generated during and after CO 2 injection are still not well understood, nor are the opportunities in Europe. The Carbolab project is supported by the European Fund for Coal and Steel, and involves 6 partners from three European countries, research centers as well as private companies. Its aim is to inject a significant (though not pilot-related) quantity of CO 2 into a coal seam that will be pre-equipped for continuous monitoring. Putting devices in the near vicinity of the CO 2 plume, only a few metres away, will allow data of much higher quality and density to be collected than in the case of injection from the surface, and to adapt the injected flow and the monitoring protocol to the evolution of the CO 2 plume. The Carbolab project is supported by the European Fund for Coal and Steel, and involves 6 partners from three European countries, research centers as well as private companies. Its aim is to inject a significant (though not pilot-related) quantity of CO 2 into a coal seam that will be pre-equipped for continuous monitoring. Putting devices in the near vicinity of the CO 2 plume, only a few metres away, will allow data of much higher quality and density to be collected than in the case of injection from the surface, and to adapt the injected flow and the monitoring protocol to the evolution of the CO 2 plume. Analysis of the long-term safety of the CO 2 storage in coal seams: Simulation of behaviour, sizing of parameters for monitoring norms, risk assessment Criteria and standards for ECBM site certification; recommendations for monitoring. Characterization of the initial state of the site: Synthesis of existing geological, sorption-desorption processes, and geomechanical data Acquisition of complementary data from geology, geophysics, geochemistry, coal and gas characterization, hydrodynamics The project started 1 st July 2009 for 4 years www.carbolab.eu ↓ in-situ permeability test Sampling for laboratory analyses ↓ ↑ borehole drilling Preparation of mine gallery to receive the future Carbolab underground laboratory test site. Design & preparation of the test area Injection tests Installation of the scientific equipment Safety matters Measurement of intrinsic parameters on coal core samples: In-situ coal and gas sampling Characterization of coal and gas Characterisation of relation between phases Hydro-thermomechanic-chemistry experiment Implementation of underground injection tests & monitoring: Physical gas measurements Seismic tests Microseismicity Cross-hole electrical imaging Chemical and isotopic measurements Atmospheric measurements & outgoing gas assessments Modelling of the phenomena induced by the injection of the CO 2 : Hydro-thermo-mechanics, core scale Transport-chemistry, core scale Hydro-thermo-mechanical coupling at the site scale Reception Transmission Gallery T3 T2 T1 50m Gallery R3 R2 R1 July 2009 Jan. 2010 Nov. 2010 April 2011 July 2011 P1 P2 Injection well ( ≃ 30 m) Fan of closer wells ( ≃ 50 m) Couple of farther wells ( ≃ 50 m) ×2 north east 20 m 5 m coal seam ×2 ×1 ×3 2 m Geochemical wells ( ≃ 40 m) gallery ↙ Proposition for injection & monitoring wells ↖ Electric monitoring Characterization boreholes: 1) permeability 2) Characterization of coal and rock 3) Test in-situ stress July 2013