Hydrogen Storage Assessment in Depleted Oil Reservoir and Saline Aquifer

Hydrogen (H 2 ) is an attractive energy carrier to move, store, and deliver energy in a form that can be easily used. Field proven technology for underground hydrogen storage (UHS) is essential for a successful hydrogen economy. Options for this are manmade caverns, salt domes/caverns, saline aquifers, and depleted oil/gas fields, where large quantities of gaseous hydrogen have been stored in caverns for many years. The key requirements intrinsic of a porous rock formation for seasonal storage of hydrogen are: adequate capacity, ability to contain H 2 , capability to inject/extract high volumes of H 2 , and a reliable caprock to prevent leakage. We have carefully evaluated a commercial non-isothermal compositional gas reservoir simulator and its suitability for hydrogen storage and withdrawal from saline aquifers and depleted oil/gas reservoirs. We have successfully calibrated the gas equation of state model against published laboratory H 2 density and viscosity data as a function of pressure and temperature. Comparisons between the H 2 , natural gas and CO 2 storage in real field models were also performed. Our numerical models demonstrated more lateral spread of the H 2 when compared to CO 2 and natural gas with a need for special containment in H 2 projects. It was also observed that the experience with CO 2 and natural gas storage cannot be simply replicated with H 2 .