Influence of Poromechanical and Thermal Properties of the Caprock on the Safety of CO2 Storage

Geologic carbon sequestration is a promising option to reduce carbon dioxide emissions to the atmosphere and mitigate climate change. The injected CO2 will reach the storage formation at a colder temperature than that of the host rock. This cold CO2 will cool down the caprock by conduction, which will induce thermal stress reduction and pressure changes that will affect caprock stability. We analyzed thermoporomechanical response of Swiss shale and found that the effective stress changes induced by cooling do not have, in general, the potential to jeopardize the caprock sealing capacity.