Field Research Station
At CaMI’s Field Research Station (FRS), we develop innovative solutions to one of the energy industry’s most critical challenges – tracking and monitoring underground fluids. With governments implementing new regulations for methane emissions and an increased focus on in-situ oil sands extraction, as well as growth in the carbon storage industry, operators in the petroleum industry are looking for ways to improve performance.
Schematic diagram for Containment and Monitoring Institute’s Field Research Station
CaMI’s Field Research Station (FRS) provides a unique opportunity to develop, refine and calibrate monitoring technologies and map out integrated monitoring systems.
The FRS program will be designed around small tonnages (up to 1000 tonnes per year) of CO2 (possibly with small amounts of impurities such as CH4 or other tracers) to be injected into the subsurface at a depth of approximately 300 m. The injection targets are water filled sandstones within Upper Cretaceous clastic reservoir formations, with overlying shales or mixed sand/shale sequences forming the cap rocks.
Site activities will focus on research and technology development as well as training in monitoring technologies. Geophysical, geochemical, geomechanical and geodetic monitoring of the subsurface gas plume (both CO2 and methane) will be complemented by near-surface hydrogeological studies to better understand shallow groundwater systems, near-surface subsurface fluid flow, and to establish the fate of both CO2 and CH4 in an aquifer below ~225 m depth, which is the local base of groundwater protection.
Applications at the site go beyond the secure storage of carbon and include:
- Secure carbon storage (CCS)
- Steam chamber containment and effectiveness
- Tertiary/Enhanced petroleum recovery
- Characterization of hydraulic or natural fractures
- Groundwater protection
- New or legacy well construction/abandonment issues and fugitive emissions
- Acid gas or other fluid disposal
- Induce seismicity risk analysis and mitigation
For detailed technical information on the geology and infrastructure at the site, see the PDF below.
CaMI_Field_Research_Station_2017
Subscribers welcome
Join the team! The Containment and Monitoring Institute offers a subscription program for clients who want to be part of a broader program of research conducted at the field research station. Subscribers have the opportunity to prioritize and bring forward new research directions and provide guidance on the overall research program. They also have first access to research results.
For more information:
Dr. Don Lawton
t: 403 210-6671
