Evaluation of CO2 Injection in Shale Gas Reservoirs through Numerical Reservoir Simulation and Supervised Machine Learning

Aug 4, 2026

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Rising atmospheric greenhouse-gas concentrations, especially carbon dioxide, intensify climate-change pressures and accelerate the need for decarbonising the energy sector. CO2 capture and storage in subsurface formations, including oil and gas reservoirs, offers a pathway toward net-zero targets, while CO2-enhanced gas recovery in shales can simultaneously improve productivity and support underground sequestration. This thesis develops a modelling and prediction workflow to improve uncertainty control for CO2–CH4 displacement by combining numerical reservoir simulation with supervised machine learning and by accounting for petrophysical mechanisms such as diffusion and multi-porosity.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages117

Reading Time4 h 55 min

AccessFree to download

Executive Summary

Background: climate change and CCS rationale

Shale gas recovery limits and CO2-EGR motivation

Research gap: efficiency factors and lack of screening tools

Modelling evolution: diffusion and multi-porosity mechanisms

Thesis aims and expected industry screening framework

WASM: Minerals, Energy and Chemical Engineering Evaluation of CO2 Injection in Shale Gas Reservoirs through Numerical Reservoir Simulation and Supervised Machine Learning Moataz Khamees Abdelfattah Mansi 0000-0002-5768-1949 This thesis is presented for the Degree of Master of Philosophy of Curtin University March 2023 Declaration To the best of my knowledge and belief this thesis contains no material previously published by any other person except where due acknowledgement has been made. This thesis contains no material which has been accepted for any other degree or diploma in any university. Signature: …………………………………………. Date: 24th March 2023 Copyright I warrant that I have obtained, where necessary, permission from the copyright owners to use any third-party copyright material reproduced in the thesis (e.g., questionnaires, artwork, unpublished letters), or to use any of my own published work (e.g., journal articles) in which the copyright is held by another party (e.g., publisher, co-author) . Signature: …………………………………………. Date: 24th March 2023 Dedication I am dedicating this thesis to my dear parents who have been a constant source of inspiration and encouragement. To my beloved wife and my daughters for their greatest support and patience To my sister and brothers who shared their words of advice, support, and encouragement. Acknowledgement (And say “My Lord, increase me in knowledge”) The Qur’an 20:114 . First, I thank Allah who has given me the power, patience, and success during the journey of my research. I would like to express my sincere appreciation to my main supervisor Dr. Quan Xie for the guidance and support he has provided during my research work. His continuous encouragement has incredibly helped in moving my project forward and advanced my capabilities to achieving my research objective successfully. Additionally, I really appreciate his support which has extended further to my professional career and resulted in high achievements in my professional life. It has been a pleasure and honour to work under his professional supervision. Also, I would like to extend my deepest gratitude to my co-supervisor Christopher Lagat for his assistance and contribution throughout this project. His knowledge and motivation along with his professional experience have deeply inspired me. His supervision and his insightful feedback have been really influential in developing my research skills. I wish to express my thanks to my wonderful colleagues in Curtin University. I really appreciate their technical contribution to my publications and the sincere advice and encouragement they have been providing. Finally, I would like to especially express my deepest appreciation to my parents, my sister, my brothers, my wife, and my daughters for their ultimate love, caring, and sacrifices throughout my research journey. Indeed, this would not have been possible without their prayers and support. Executive Summary The increased concentrations of Greenhouse Gases (GHG) in particular carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere, and their impact on climate change is the most crucial issue of the world today. To address that global concern, there is a pressing need to intensify actions required to reduce CO2 emissions and decarbonise the energy sector. It is perceived that CO2 capture and storage (CCS) in subsurface formations such as oil and gas reservoirs is an effective means to meet net-zero emission targets. In the last decades, remarkable and rapid breakthroughs have been made in shale gas exploitation as a result of the current advancements in multi-stage hydraulic fracturing and horizontal wells. Despite that, shale reservoirs have relatively low recovery factor (RF) where only up to 30% of the original gas in place (OGIP) could be produced economically. To maximise shale RF, releasing shale adsorbed gas has been considered to be a promising method. The great affinity of CO2 over M

FAQs

Why is CO2 injection and CO2-EGR relevant to this thesis?

Rising CO2 levels require decarbonisation, and CO2 capture and storage can help reach net-zero targets. CO2-EGR is also motivated to enhance shale productivity while contributing to subsurface sequestration.

What key limitation motivates the research on CO2-EGR?

Despite extensive experimental and numerical studies, research still lacks clear guidance on which factors control efficiency, and there is no established screening tool to identify shale properties that maximize enhanced CH4 and stored CO2.

How does the thesis improve modelling and prediction for CO2–CH4 displacement?

It combines numerical reservoir simulation with supervised machine learning, constraining uncertainties associated with the factors influencing CO2–CH4 displacement and incorporating mechanisms such as diffusion and multi-porosity/permeability effects.

Aug 4, 2026

Upload by Patrick