CO2-assisted technologies for the development of tight gas reservoirs: The implication on CCUS

Tight gas reservoirs are non-conventional rock reservoirs with matrix permeability of less than 0.1mD and porosity of less than 15% (Kalam et al., 2021). The ultimate gas recovery rates in these reservoirs are very low due to the limited permeability and unfavourable reservoir characteristics which undermine the production of hydrocarbons (Syah et al., 2021). The recovery factor may be greatly elevated by using horizontal drilling and multi-stage hydraulic fracturing (Syed, Muther, Van, Dahaghi, & Negahban, 2022). Due to water shortages and contamination of subsurface water, fracturing fluids commonly used for water-sensitive formations face significant challenges (Shen et al., 2021). Therefore, a viable option is to combine carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) technology with enhanced gas recovery (EGR) technology using CO2. This technique provides additional economic and environmental value because it uses existing infrastructure to increase gas recovery and permanently store CO2 in depleted reservoirs (Ren et al., 2023).