Capacity
Connect pore volume with reservoir architecture and heterogeneity.
Core analysis · geological integration← All services
INTERPRET / SERVICE 15
CCUS.
Integrated core characterisation, reservoir-condition testing and geological interpretation to support CO₂ storage screening, appraisal and operational diagnostics.
THE QUESTION
What evidence does your storage decision need?
Capacity, injectivity and containment depend on different but connected aspects of the rock and geological framework. Define the decision first, review the available evidence, and target the tests that address the remaining uncertainty.
Methods & applications
- Core and caprock screening with CT and CoreDNA
- Capillary seal assessment using HPMI/MICP
- Mineralogy, petrography and reactive modelling
- Scoped dynamic CO₂ injectivity and formation-damage testing
- Geomechanics and targeted well-material interaction studies
- Geological integration and subsurface-model inputs
CCUS / GEOLOGICAL CO₂ STORAGE
Connect the storage questions.
CTS supports the subsurface storage element of carbon capture, utilisation and storage. Core measurements, reservoir-condition testing and geological interpretation provide evidence for storage screening, appraisal and injection-performance decisions.
THE SUBSURFACE STORAGE SYSTEM
Reservoir. Seal. Injection well.
Seal & containment
Capillary behaviour, mineralogy and structural context.
Reservoir & injectivity
Pore systems, flow response and potential impairment.
Well & operating conditions
Targeted material-interaction tests and pressure–temperature assessment.
Injectivity
Investigate flow behaviour, pressure response and potential impairment under agreed test conditions.
Dynamic CO₂ testing · formation damageContainment
Assess capillary seal behaviour alongside mineralogy, fractures and geological structure.
HPMI / MICP · CT · structural interpretationOperational response
Investigate hydrate, scaling and material-interaction risks relevant to the planned injection conditions.
Targeted diagnostics · mitigation testingMATCH THE PROGRAMME TO THE PROJECT
Three ways to start.
Use existing data first. Add measurements where they address an identified uncertainty.
Core & seal screening
For early appraisal and sample selection.
Review existing core and logs, then target CT, CoreDNA, HPMI/MICP, mineralogy and petrography around the main storage uncertainties.
What you receive
Reservoir and seal summary, capillary-entry evidence and a prioritised sampling plan.
Storage appraisal
For development and pre-investment decisions.
Extend the programme with scoped CO₂ core floods, pressure–temperature assessment, reactive modelling and geomechanics, linked to the geological framework.
What you receive
Injectivity and impairment evidence, containment assessment inputs and documented parameters for subsurface models.
Operational diagnostics
For focused injection-performance questions.
Investigate formation damage, hydrate or scaling mechanisms. Agree targeted inhibitor or cement-interface tests and compare pre- and post-test observations where appropriate.
What you receive
Diagnosis of likely causes, assessment of mitigation options and recommendations for further testing or model updates.
ONE GEOLOGICAL FRAMEWORK
Keep tests connected
to the rock.
Link digital core imagery and laboratory results by sample, depth and facies. Sedimentology, petrography and borehole images help place local measurements in the wider reservoir and seal architecture.
Explore geological integration ↗A traceable evidence package
- Quality-controlled measurements and recorded test conditions.
- Reservoir and seal characterisation with explicit assumptions.
- Injectivity, reactivity and geomechanical findings within the agreed scope.
- Parameters and uncertainty ranges for subsequent model integration.
- Prioritised follow-on tests and interpretation needs.
CO₂–WATER–ROCK REACTIONS
Explore how the mineral system may evolve.
Connect measured mineralogy and rock properties with water chemistry, injected-gas composition and reservoir conditions. Equilibrium and kinetic modelling address different questions about potential reaction pathways and their timescales.
Define the inputs
Review XRD-calibrated mineral profiles, petrographic textures, porosity and surface-area evidence. Select representative rock and water end-members and record estimated inputs.
Explore equilibrium
Assess potential dissolution and precipitation under the selected fluid compositions, pressure and temperature. Identify mineral reactions for closer investigation.
Test reaction rates
Run kinetic scenarios to examine how reactions may develop over time. Test sensitivity to reactive surface area, rate assumptions and injected-gas impurities.
Guide the next tests
Deliver scenario plots, assumptions and sensitivity findings. Identify where laboratory exposure or flow tests would help constrain predicted mineral and porosity changes.
Modelling supports test design and interpretation; it does not independently demonstrate long-term containment or replace validation. A predicted porosity change is not, by itself, a permeability or mechanical-integrity prediction.
Explore pore-system and surface-area measurements ↗CAPROCK CHARACTERISATION
A traceable basis for seal screening.
Sample selection and preparation
Select representative seal material and document fractures, condition and sampling context. Agree cleaning, drying and handling for the mineral assemblage, especially sensitive clays, sulphates and soluble salts.
Baseline rock properties
Grain volume, grain density, bulk volume and porosity provide context for the capillary measurements. Link these measurements to mineralogical screening and sample-quality records.
MICP entry-pressure interpretation
Review mercury-intrusion curves, closure effects and the chosen entry or threshold criterion. Report the measurement basis and uncertainties when comparing capillary sealing behaviour between samples.
CO₂ storage interpretation
Conversion to a CO₂–brine system requires project-specific fluid and wettability assumptions. Column-height interpretation also needs appropriate density and geological inputs. Any direct CO₂–brine testing is a separately agreed method and scope.
Mercury-intrusion screening is not a direct reservoir-condition CO₂ breakthrough test. Matrix capillary behaviour alone does not establish containment across fractures, faults or wells.
Explore HPMI / MICP methods ↗A clearly scoped delivery.
CTS is your point of contact for planning the programme and bringing the results together. Where specialist laboratory or interpretation input is required, delivery responsibilities are identified in your proposal.
The scope distinguishes the measurement package and its included outputs from additional processing, interpretation and interactive reporting. Sample requirements and method limitations are confirmed before work begins.
A CONNECTED WORKFLOW
From question to evidence.
- 01
Review existing data and the storage question
- 02
Select representative reservoir and seal samples
- 03
Acquire targeted measurements and interpret geological controls
- 04
Deliver evidence, uncertainty and model integration inputs
Interpretation boundary
Laboratory and core-scale findings support wider site assessment; they do not independently establish storage capacity, a safe operating envelope or regulatory approval. Seal interpretation requires fluid-specific assumptions, and test results must be assessed within the geological and engineering model.