Silixa rolls out monitoring solution for Carbon Capture and Storage

Fibre optic monitoring specialist Silixa has launched its distributed acoustic sensing (DAS) based solution for continuous or on-demand monitoring of all stages of carbon capture and storage (CCS) operations.

According to the company, the new solution ‘Carina CarbonSecure’ offers offshore and on-land operators the necessary monitoring measures with a reduced cost and environmental impact of their CCS facilities.

The solution enables operators to provide the assurance to regulators and communities necessary to expand CCS adoption worldwide.

Glynn Williams, CEO at Silixa, says: “CCS is a key component of the energy transition and plays an essential role in achieving international emissions targets.

“Studies from both the IPCC and the IEA recommend a renewed focus on CCS as the only proven technology that can be deployed at the scale needed to achieve essential climate goals.

“That is why we are launching Carina CarbonSecure: to enable the low-cost, reliable, and exceptionally accurate monitoring capability that is crucial to the take-up of CCS.”

Carina CarbonSecure delivers ultra-high resolution, densely sampled acoustic data for real-time continuous and/or on-demand monitoring.

Elements of the solution include microseismic monitoring and passive seismic throughout the lifetime of a CO2 storage facility. The system also includes 3D vertical seismic profiling (VSP), time-lapse seismic, well-integrity and leak detection to ensure maximum safety over the various stages of CCS development.

Carina CarbonSecure is a reservoir management tool deployable to:

Assess the viability of geological formations for carbon storage during site characterisation; Monitor microseismic activity during the injection phase; Ensure well and storage integrity when injecting CO2; Provide 4D monitoring of the CO2 plume migration throughout the lifetime of the facility.

At the core of Carina CarbonSecure is Silixa’s Carina Sensing System fibre-optic acoustic sensing system which achieves 20 dB or 100x improvement in signal-to-noise ratio against standard DAS systems.

Carina CarbonSecure requires minimal seismic sources on land and fewer seismic shots offshore to acquire seismic data, meaning it can significantly reduce a project’s environmental impact and cost, Silixa explains.

The system enables unmanned and remote seismic surveys on demand, lowering costs further while increasing employee safety, the company adds.

In addition, Carina CarbonSecure’s fibre array delivers high resolution temperature data, is permanently installed and, because it has no mechanical parts, can be used without maintenance for decades in line with mandated CCS monitoring periods.

Williams adds: “Carina CarbonSecure is new in the market, but it utilises proven technology with a significant track record throughout the hydrocarbon value chain. We have leveraged the extensive experience, R&D investment, and technical expertise within Silixa to create a low-impact solution that can secure CO2 storage facilities – and demonstrate that security – while transforming the CCS cost model. We believe it is a vital step for creating a viable global infrastructure for essential CCS.”