Laboratory seismic monitoring of supercritical CO2 flooding in sandstone cores using the Split Hopkinson Resonant Bar technique with concurrent x-ray Computed Tomography imaging

Accurate estimation of CO2 saturation in a saline aquifer is essential for the monitoring of supercritical CO2 injected for geological sequestration. Because of strong contrasts in density and elastic properties between brine and CO2 at reservoir conditions, seismic methods are among the most commonly employed techniques for this purpose. However the relationship between seismic (P-wave) velocity and CO2 saturation is not unique because the velocity depends on both wave frequency and the CO2 distribution in rock. In the laboratory, we conducted measurements of seismic properties of sandstones during supercritical CO2 injection. Seismic responses of small sandstone cores were measured at frequencies near 1 kHz, using a modified resonant bar technique (Split Hopkinson Resonant Bar method). Concurrently, saturation and distribution of supercritical CO2 in the rock cores were determined via x-ray CT scans. Changes in the determined velocities generally agreed with the Gassmann model. However, both the velocity and attenuation of the extension wave (Young's modulus or bar' wave) for the same CO2 saturation exhibited differences between the CO2 injection test and the subsequent brine re-injection test, which was consistent with the differences in the CO2 distribution within the cores. Also, a comparison to ultrasonic velocity measurements on a bedded reservoir rock sample revealed that both compressional and shear velocities (and moduli) were strongly dispersive when the rock was saturated with brine. Further, large decreases in the velocities of saturated samples indicated strong sensitivity of the rock's frame stiffness to pore fluid.