Design, Deployment, Performance and Baseline Data Assessment of Surface Tiltmeter Array Technology in Aquistore Geologic CO2 Storage Project

• Author / Creator

  Wang,Yazhao

• Tiltmeters have been widely applied in the engineering field for precise angle measurement. The recent adoption of surface tiltmeter array in monitoring geologic CO2 storage has further expanded the reach of this technology. During reservoir surveillance, tiltmeter array detects sub-millimeter level surface movement, delivers valuable input for reservoir management, and provides safety assurance to the general public. While achieving the high sensitivity, tiltmeter array also bears negative effect from the amplified environmental and cultural noise. The control and quantification of noise signals become more important in reservoir surveillance as noise signals approach injection signals in both temporal scale and amplitude. A surface array consisting of 15 tiltmeters is deployed in the Aquistore geologic CO2 storage site southwest of Estevan, Saskatchewan, Canada. The design and deployment of tiltmeter array successfully delivers satisfactory reservoir coverage and sustains an insulated operational environment. In the baseline phase two years of tilt data are collected and analyzed for the composition of noise signals. Earth tides, surface meteorological conditions and seismic activities all contribute to the observed baseline tilt pattern. In order to remove the impact of noise signals, three general methods are proposed based on the revealed signal characteristics. A statistical regression method is used to quantify linearly-provoked tilt signal such as that from solid earth tide. For complex processes such as the impact of surface precipitation, a numerical modelling approach is adopted to estimate the scale of induced tilt signal. As tiltmeter sensors exhibit temperature dependent behavior, a calibration method is proposed. With the removal of noise signals from tilt measurement, the tiltmeter array technology is improved with more accurate and unbiased surveillance output monitoring CO2 injection and storage.

• Subjects / Keywords

  • Carbon Capture and Storage
  • Tiltmeter Array
  • Baseline Ground Deformation

• Graduation date

  Spring 2016

• Type of Item

  Thesis

• Degree

  Master of Science

• DOI

  https://doi.org/10.7939/R38911Z94

• License

  This thesis is made available by the University of Alberta Libraries with permission of the copyright owner solely for non-commercial purposes. This thesis, or any portion thereof, may not otherwise be copied or reproduced without the written consent of the copyright owner, except to the extent permitted by Canadian copyright law.