Geophysical data collected during field operations contain information that could help improve project performance and reduce the time needed to respond to an unforeseen reservoir response. However, processing lag times often preclude the use of these data streams for timely decision support. 

This project will develop and demonstrate autonomous electrical resistivity tomography (ERT)-seismic inversion. Joint inversion of ERT and seismic data will help pave the way toward providing carbon capture and storage operators with actionable insights for improving project performance and reduce time requied to respond to unanticipated reservoir changes.

Development and demonstration of the joint inversion capability in the first year fiscal year (FY) 2020-2021 will be used to socialize the technology and to identify partners for the field test phase (FY 2021-2023). ERT provides remote, cost-effective three-dimensional characterization and monitoring of changes in the subsurface. When paired with PNNL’s award-winning modeling and inversion code, E4D, researchers can image the vertical and lateral movement of injected CO₂ underground by using ERT/seismic imaging measurements to reconstruct time-lapse images of the injected fluid into the subsurface.

Such technology has been successful in monitoring contaminants underground, and researchers believe it can also be helpful in evaluating fluid movement through the subsurface in a carbon storage facility.