Caprock Integrity and Induced Seismicity from Laboratory and Numerical Experiments

CO2 leakage is a major concern for geologic carbon storage. To assess the caprock sealing capacity and the strength of faults, we test in the laboratory the rock types involved in CO2 storage at representative in-situ conditions. We use the measured parameters as input data to a numerical model that simulates CO2 injection in a deep saline aquifer bounded by a low-permeable fault. We find that the caprock sealing capacity is maintained and that, even if a fault undergoes a series of microseismic events or aseismic slip, leakage is unlikely to occur through ductile clay-rich faults.