Permo-Triassic Reservoirs and Storage (PTReS)

Bulk density variation calculated from geophysical log measurements through the Sherwood Sandstone Group of the East Midlands, derived from data held in BGS data bases (PROPBASE) to create a fully parameterised (voxelated) 3D model for predicting physical properties at point locations.
Strategically valuable rock formations for secure and sustainable resources

Three major rock formations: Permo-Triassic, Upper-Carboniferous Coal Measures and Upper Cretaceous Chalk, will play a crucial role in meeting the UK's future requirements for strategically secure, sustainable energy and water resources.

Each formation will be studied in a series of multidisciplinary research and modelling projects that will invite co-founding from government and industry, and research collaborations with national and European partners.

PTReS is the first of these projects, focussing on Permo-Triassic rocks, which comprise a complex sequence of sandstones, mudstones and evaporite (including gypsum, anhydrite and halite) deposits.

These rocks are of major strategic importance to the national economy, representing:

  • major aquifers for water supply
  • important oil and gas reservoir and cap rock
  • major potential for carbon capture and storage (CCS) and natural gas storage
  • important geological components of contaminated land sites
Pore space, permeability and other properties

The principal objective of PTReS is to bring together multidisciplinary research and expertise to characterise, understand and predict the 3D distribution of pore space, permeability and other properties, and to develop knowledge and understanding of the interrelationships between different properties, sedimentology/facies, structure, mineralogy fluid flow and diagenesis from micro-to-macro scale at site, formation and basin levels.

Terrestrial laser scan model from a section through aeolian dune sandstone in the Penrith Sandstone (Permian), Eden Valley gorge, Cumbria (top). Frequency plot showing the distribution of deformation bands (formerly known as 'granulation seams') measured along a 30 m scan line in aeolian sandstone from the Sherwood Sandstone, Wirral, Cheshire.

Research collaborations will focus on understanding and modelling fluid movement and fluid-rock interaction within the sandstone reservoirs, and on the integrity of the impermeable mudstone cap rocks that seal the carbon dioxide and natural gas storage repositories. It involves integration of field-scale/outcrop-scale and laboratory observation, to enable the development of 3D models integrating sedimentology, structure, petrofabrics and physical and hydrogeological properties that can be used as analogues for modelling fluid and contaminant transport.

Outcomes will be relevant to the strategic evaluation of offshore capacity for geological storage of carbon dioxide within Permo-Triassic sandstone aquifers/reservoirs, and assessments of the potential for storing natural hydrocarbon gas resources in underground caverns within halite deposits.

Contact

For further information contact: enquiries@bgs.ac.uk