Research status of self-sealing mechanisms of caprocks and fractures during CO<sub>2</sub> geological storage

ZHOU Bing; LUN Zengmin; ZHANG Jie; TANG Yongqiang; QI Yibin; XIAO Pufu; YIN Xia

doi:10.11781/sysydz2025051177

Volume 47 Issue 5

Sep. 2025

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ZHOU Bing, LUN Zengmin, ZHANG Jie, TANG Yongqiang, QI Yibin, XIAO Pufu, YIN Xia. Research status of self-sealing mechanisms of caprocks and fractures during CO2 geological storage[J]. PETROLEUM GEOLOGY & EXPERIMENT, 2025, 47(5): 1177-1184. doi: 10.11781/sysydz2025051177

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ZHOU Bing, LUN Zengmin, ZHANG Jie, TANG Yongqiang, QI Yibin, XIAO Pufu, YIN Xia. Research status of self-sealing mechanisms of caprocks and fractures during CO₂ geological storage[J]. PETROLEUM GEOLOGY & EXPERIMENT, 2025, 47(5): 1177-1184. doi: 10.11781/sysydz2025051177

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Research status of self-sealing mechanisms of caprocks and fractures during CO₂ geological storage

doi: 10.11781/sysydz2025051177

ZHOU Bing^{1, 2, 3
,},
LUN Zengmin^{1, 2, 3},
ZHANG Jie^{1, 2, 3},
TANG Yongqiang^{1, 2, 3},
QI Yibin^{1, 2, 3},
XIAO Pufu^{1, 2, 3},
YIN Xia^{1, 2, 3}

1.
SINOPEC Petroleum Exploration and Production Research Institute Co., Ltd., Beijing 102206, China
2.
SINOPEC Petroleum Exploration and Production Research Institute, Beijing 102206, China
3.
State Key Laboratory of Shale Oil and Gas Enrichment Mechanisms and Effective Development, Beijing 102206, China

Received Date: 2025-05-15
Rev Recd Date: 2025-09-04

Available Online: 2025-05-15

Publish Date: 2025-09-28

Abstract

Abstract

Through a systematic review of the existing literature, the current research on the dynamic effects of material re-equilibration on caprock and fracture self-sealing patterns during CO₂ geological storage is summarized. Laboratory experiments, field monitoring at well sites, and numerical simulation studies generally show that CO₂ injection will not breach relatively thick caprocks in the short term, and even if the directly overlying caprock is breached, CO₂ will be secondarily trapped and sealed by multi-layered caprock systems. The mechanisms of caprock self-sealing mainly include self-sealing due to injection of supercritical-phase CO₂ into confined spaces, mechanical self-sealing resulting from rock pore structure compression or particle migration, and self-sealing induced by chemical reactions. Under the fluid and rock interaction mechanisms after CO₂ injection, fractured or faulted systems tend to progressively develop self-sealing over time. Low CO₂ flow rates and small fracture apertures are identified as the main factors in the formation of fracture/ fault self-sealing. However, the dynamic quantitative effects of CO₂ physical diffusion and chemical reactions on caprocks and fractures under time-scale effects still require further detailed investigation. Currently, research on this dynamic process at home and abroad is gradually evolving toward a systematic approach that integrates multi-spatiotemporal scale coordination, multiple research methods, and multi-factor coupling, and it is increasingly becoming a hot topic in research on CO₂ geological storage.
- CO₂ geological storage,
- caprock,
- fractures,
- self-sealing mechanism,
- carbon capture, utilization, and storage

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References

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Research status of self-sealing mechanisms of caprocks and fractures during CO₂ geological storage

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