关键词:
Methane
Multiphase flow
Groundwater
Heterogeneity
Numerical modeling
摘要:
Stray gas migration (GM) from hydrocarbon wells with integrity issues poses risks to groundwater quality and infrastructure. Three-dimensional multiphase and multicomponent numerical simulations are employed to study methane gas migration at the field scale to evaluate impacts on shallow aquifers. Simulations were based on a heterogeneous field site in the Saint Lawrence lowlands sedimentary basin, southern Quebec, Canada. The conceptual model includes groundwater flow, free-phase gas transport (methane and background gases) under capillary and buoyancy forces, methane dissolution into groundwater, and advective-diffusive transport of dissolved gases. This study investigates a multicomponent gas source (containing methane CH4 and ethane C2H6), continuous and intermittent (pulsed) gas releases, different background dissolved gases, and varying groundwater flow velocities. Simulations reveal that low-permeability layers, even of limited thickness, cause significant gas accumulation and lateral spreading. Horizontal groundwater flow velocities enhance lateral gas migration at interfaces with low-permeability materials. Lateral gas-phase migration becomes pronounced above a critical flow velocity of approximately 60 cm/year. Structural heterogeneity controls potential migration pathways, and flow velocity influences the extent and rate of lateral gas migration. Results suggest that methane concentrations and low residual gas saturations persist within heterogeneous domains years after leak remediation, especially under low groundwater velocities, underscoring the need for targeted monitoring approaches based on hydraulic conditions. High-gradient conditions require broader and deeper monitoring to capture gas dynamics influenced by low-permeability layers. Pulsed gas leakage, characterized by oscillatory responses of gas saturations and total dissolved gas pressures (TDGP), prevents the system from reaching steady state, enhancing leak detectability.