The aCQurate (accurate CO2 monitoring using Quantitative joint inversion for large-scale on-shore and off-shore storage applications) project aims to develop a new technology for quantitative CO2 monitoring applicable to large-scale on-shore and off-shore sites, e.g. on the Norwegian Continental Shelf.

The proposed new technology will build further on a structural joint inversion method recently developed at the Ketzin pilot site in Germany, which integrates seismic Full Waveform Inversion (FWI) and Electrical Resistivity Tomography (ERT) methods. A hybrid structural-petrophysical joint inversion approach, combining the robustness of the structural joint inversion method with the quantitative calibration of the petrophysical inversion will be implemented. The proposed hybrid joint inversion methodology will involve seismic FWI, CSEM, ERT, and gravity methods. It will provide valuable input to derive petrophysical properties and help better discriminate pore pressure from saturation changes.

The project will utilize the unique possibilities of the Field Research Station (FRS), a test site for the development and deployment of advanced monitoring technologies for underground CO2 storage. FRS is located in Brooks, AB (Canada) and operated by the Containment and Monitoring Institute (CaMI) of Carbon Management Canada Research Institutes. It provides an ideal setting for the demonstration of the joint inversion method through application to synthetic and field data from FRS for different storage scenarios.

The project is a collaboration between SINTEF Petroleum Research, GFZ, CaMI, University of Calgary, LBNL, INRS, Quad Geometrics and Scripps.