How CMG Reduced CO₂ Storage Simulation Times by Up to 80% While Preserving Area of Review Accuracy

For many CCS projects, the biggest challenge is no longer building a model. It is running enough simulations to support uncertainty analysis, optimization, and regulatory approval.

The regulatory approval depends on demonstrating:

• CO₂ plume containment 
• Pressure propagation 
• Area of Review (AoR) 
• Long-term storage integrity 

However, the most accurate representation of the aquifer is achieved through explicit high-resolution modelling, an approach that is often required to support regulatory confidence, but that also results in very large models that make optimization and uncertainty analysis prohibitively expensive.

In this study, CMG evaluated multiple approaches for reducing computational complexity in a large-scale saline aquifer storage model containing more than 52 million grid cells, while preserving the accuracy required for regulatory assessments.

Key Insight

For CO₂ storage projects, simulation speed is only valuable if pressure propagation remains accurate. The fastest model is not always the most reliable model.