A Passive Microseismic Monitoring Network at the Quest CCS Project

The Quest Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) Project is a fully integrated CCS project designed to reduce total greenhouse gas emissions from the Scotford Upgrader in Canada by up to 35%. As a component of the Quest MMV Plan, the downhole passive microseismic monitoring network at Quest was designed and installed to address and assess risks associated with induced seismicity, such as cap rock integrity and fault reactivation. A downhole microseismic array is deployed in a deep monitoring well at the central injection well pad, along with a pressure and temperature gauge. The array was designed and manufactured to be a semi-permanent, retrievable array to address any long-term maintenance issues. The technical design criteria were evaluated on the sensitivity based on observations from analog injection operations. This paper presents the details of the Quest microseismic array design and installation, and provides a description of the role passive seismic monitoring plays in the Quest MMV Plan.