Reservoir properties and reactivity of the Faroe Islands Basalt Group: Investigating the potential for CO2 storage in the North Atlantic Igneous Province

• Published in: International journal of greenhouse gas control 2023-02, Vol.123, p.103838, Article 103838
• Main Authors: Rosenqvist, Marija P., Meakins, Max W.J., Planke, Sverre, Millett, John M., Kjøll, Hans Jørgen, Voigt, Martin J., Jamtveit, Bjørn
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Basalt carbonation; CO2 sequestration; Faroe Islands Basalt Group; Mineral carbonation; Mineral storage; North Atlantic Igneous Province
• ISSN: 1750-5836; 1878-0148
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ijggc.2023.103838

•Brecciated lava flow crusts have the highest reservoir potential in the Faroe Island Basalt Group.•Thick lava flow cores and mineralized crusts may work as seals.•Kinetic experiments reveal primary divalent cation release of Ca2+.•Dissolution rates indicate that the rocks would successfully mineralise CO2.•The study suggests a presence of potential CO2 storage sites in the offshore NAIP. Offshore injection of CO2 into volcanic sequences of the North Atlantic Igneous Province may present a large-scale, permanent storage option through carbonate mineralization. To investigate this potential, onshore studies of reservoir properties and reactivity of the subaerially erupted Faroe Islands Basalt Group have been conducted. Outcrop and borehole samples reveal that the lava flow crusts commonly contain vesicles that have been filled with secondary minerals due to hydrothermal fluid circulation, however, unmineralized and highly porous layers do occur. Bulk density measurements, micro-computed tomography (µ-CT) image analysis, and microscope studies of samples from onshore boreholes give present-day porosities ranging from 0.5% to 36.2% in the volcanic sequences. The unmineralized brecciated lava flow crusts contain the largest estimated porosity and simulated absolute permeability (reaching up to 10−12 m2). µ-CT studies of the mineralized, brecciated flow crusts indicate initial porosities reaching up to 45%, before clogging. Kinetic experiments of rock dissolution show that the reactivity of the basalt and volcaniclastic sediments depends on the alteration state with more altered basalt being less reactive. However, the presence of reactive, high porosity, and high permeability flow crusts prior to clogging indicate the existence of promising and very large CO2 reservoirs in less altered offshore sequences.