Cap rock fracturing criteria for assessment of CO2 storage capacity

Abstract

In this technical note, the conditions leading to fracturing of the cap rock are reviewed. The overall objective of the work is to implement simple analytical models into computational codes to assess the integrity of a cap rock during CO2 injection. Advanced geomechanical modelling of the stress and pressure conditions leading to cap rock failure, goes beyond the scope of the study. Such modelling may be required to understand the mechanisms at play, in particular of fluid pressure – stress coupling (Mourgues et al., 2011) and fracture propagation in the cap rock during CO2 injection. This report has been developed at the request of the Norwegian Computing Center and the Norwegian Research Council Project: Impact of Realistic Geological Models on Simulation of CO2 storage.