Assessing the Viability of Gandhar Field in India’s Cambay Basin for CO₂ Storage

Abstract

Our research is centered on the Gandhar oil field, which was discovered in 1983, where daily oil production has declined significantly over the years. The primary objective was to evaluate the feasibility of carbon dioxide (CO₂) storage through its injection into the siliciclastic reservoirs of Ankleshwar Formation. We aimed to obtain high-resolution acoustic impedance data to estimate porosity employing model-based poststack seismic inversion. We conducted an analysis of the density and effective porosity in the target zone through geostatistical techniques and probabilistic neural networks. Simultaneously, the work also involved geomechanical analysis through the computation of pore pressure and fracture gradient using well-log data, geological information, and drilling events in the Gandhar field. Our investigation unveiled spatial variations in effective porosity within the Hazad Member of the Ankleshwar Formation, with an effective porosity exceeding 25% observed in several areas, which indicates the presence of well-connected pore spaces conducive to efficient CO₂ migration. Geomechanical analysis showed that the vertical stress (Sv) ranged from 55 MPa to 57 MPa in Telwa and from 63.7 MPa to 67.7 MPa in Hazad Member. The pore pressure profile displayed variations along the stratigraphic sequence, with the shale zone, particularly in the Kanwa Formation, attaining the maximum pressure gradient (approximately 36 MPa). However, consistently low pore pressure values (30–34 MPa) considerably below the fracture gradient curves were observed in Hazad Member due to depletion. The results from our analysis provide valuable insights into shaping future field development strategies and exploration of the feasibility of CO₂ sequestration in Gandhar Field.

Keywords

Carbon capture and storage / Reservoir characterization / Seismic inversion / Geomechanics / CO₂ storage / CO₂ enhancing oil recovery