Regional and field assessments of potentials for geological storage of CO₂: A case study of the Niger Delta Basin, Nigeria

Abstract

The Niger Delta, as an actively producing oil and gas region has potential to develop into a new CO2 geological storage hub. Criteria for screening basins for Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) was used in combination with 3D seismic data and well information to assess the basin’s potential in this contribution. It is shown here that the presence of excellent reservoir-seal pair, very large basin size, suitable reservoir depth, matured oil and gas fields, moderate faulting intensity, availability of giant hydrocarbon fields and being a passive margin generally makes the Niger Delta basin excellent environment for CCS. High resolution 3D seismic dataset and well information from case study areas enabled identification of potential reservoir, traps and seals. Geomechanical analyses have shown that slip tendency is generally low while fracture stability is high, which indicates that the study area is stable in the current stress regime.