Geomechanics Contribution to CO₂ Storage Containment and Trapping Mechanisms in Tight Sandstone Complexes: A Case Study on Mae Moh Basin

Recognized as a not-an-option approach to mitigate the climate crisis, carbon dioxide capture and storage (CCS) has a potential as much as gigaton of CO₂ to sequestrate permanently and securely. Recent attention has been paid to store highly concentrated point-source CO₂ into saline formation, of which Thailand considers one onshore case in the north located in Lampang – the Mae Moh coal-fired power plant matched with its own coal mine of Mae Moh Basin. Despite a large basin and short transport routh from the source, target sandstone reservoir buried at deeper than 1000 m is of tight nature and limited data, while question on storing possibility has thereafter risen. The current study is thus aimed to examine the influence of reservoir geomechanics on CO₂ storage containment and trapping mechanisms, with co-contributions from geochemistry and reservoir heterogeneity, using reservoir simulator – CMG-GEM. With the injection rate designed for 30-year injection, reservoir pressure build-ups were ~77% of fracture pressure but increased to ~80% when geomechanics excluded. Such pressure responses imply that storage security is associated with the geomechanics. Dominated by viscous force, CO₂ plume migrated more laterally while geomechanics clearly contributed to lesser migration due to reservoir rock strength constraint. Reservoir geomechanics contributed to less plume traveling into more constrained spaces while leakage was secured, highlighting a significant and neglected influence of geomechanical factor. Spatiotemporal development of CO₂ plume also confirms the geomechanics-dominant storage containment. Reservoir geomechanics as attributed to its respective reservoir fluid pressure controls development of trapping mechanisms, especially into residual and solubility traps. More secured storage containment after the injection was found with higher pressure, while less development into solubility trap was observed with lower pressure. The findings reveal the possibility of CO₂ storage in tight sandstone formations, where geomechanics govern greatly the plume migration and the development of trapping mechanisms.