Graduation Semester and Year
Spring 2026
Language
English
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science in Earth and Environmental Science
Department
Earth and Environmental Sciences
First Advisor
Majie Fan
Second Advisor
Behzad Ghanbarian
Third Advisor
Beau Berend
Fourth Advisor
Lowell Waite
Abstract
Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is crucial for mitigating atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions that rise from industrial activities. Paleozoic sedimentary basins in Texas are significant reservoirs for hydrocarbon production, and when depleted, show promise for CCS. Long-term reservoir storage suitability requires a multifaceted approach, including site screening and ranking, as well as reservoir characterization, modeling, and simulation. This project first evaluates the CCS potential for the Fort Worth Basin in North Central Texas, then focuses on reservoir characterization of the Lower Atoka Grant South (STH) Sand in Tarrant County and finally assesses the sand’s CO2 storage capacity. The assessment of each Paleozoic geologic unit shows that the Pennsylvanian unit in the eastern part of the basin has the greatest CCS potential. Here I focus on the Pennsylvanian Lower Atoka Grant STH Sand in Tarrant County because of its substantial thickness, strong lateral continuity, and occurrence at a shallow, yet sufficiently adequate depth for CCS. Correlations of log data from 86 wells show that the sand is 200-300 feet thick in most parts of the county but thins out northward. Average CO2 storage capacity was estimated to be 8084 Million tons (Mt) based on the total reservoir volume and density porosity, which is low, between 6-7%. Reservoir simulation of the sand shows several structural traps that can be prioritized for CO2 injection. Using the co2lab module of the MATLAB Reservoir Simulation Toolbox and assuming an average permeability derived from measurement of other comparable Pennsylvanian sandstones in the basin, I simulated the CO2 migration and storage behavior within a representative structural trap. Injection scenarios of 10, 25, and 50 years at a rate of 0.6 Mt/year or less, show similar trends in residually trapped, structurally trapped, and movable CO2 within the reservoir, with no evidence of CO2 leakage after 2000 years. However, in all scenarios, the CO2 plume shows little to no lateral migration, which is attributed to the low reservoir porosity and permeability. Therefore, this project demonstrates that depleted Pennsylvanian conventional oil and gas reservoirs in the Fort Worth Basin are viable targets for CCS; however, the calculated CO2 storage capacity is likely overestimated. Future work should focus on refining reservoir characterization and simulation parameters to better constrain CCS capacity and uncertainties.
Keywords
Carbon storage, Fort Worth Basin, Vertical equilibrium simulations, Site screening and ranking, Reservoir characterization, Injection simulations, Pennsylvanian, STH Sand
Disciplines
Geology | Sustainability
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Moody, Mary Ann M., "Preliminary Investigation of the Carbon Storage Potential in the Fort Worth Basin: Reservoir Characterization and Modeling of the Lower Atoka Grant South Sand in Tarrant County, Texas" (2026). Earth & Environmental Sciences Theses. 1.
https://mavmatrix.uta.edu/ees_theses2/1
Comments
I would like to give my thanks to all of my family, friends, and advisors that gave me support throughout my research. Firstly, thank you to Dr. Majie Fan who provided the idea for this project, and helped shape it through its many steps, changes, and challenges. Support from the members of my thesis committee including Dr. Behzad Ghanbarian, Mr. Beau Berend, and Mr. Lowell Waite were extremely valuable. Further thanks to both Mr. Beau Berend and Mr. Lowell Waite for the well-tops and Grant Sands resources that I frequently referenced, and to Mr. Lowell Waite for providing the LAS data through Enverus that made well-log correlations possible. Thank you to the members of my lab group who have given me valuable feedback and critiques on my work during my time with the lab group, namely, Xiangwei Guo, Rijumon Nandy, and Shankhadeep Baul. Thank you to my dear friends Jenny Nguyen, Cindy Lou Smith, and Diana Valenzuela Davila who each pushed me throughout my years at UTA and gave me a good laugh when I needed it. A huge thank you to my fiancé Kaven Yarbrough who pushed me forward during my late nights and early mornings and always provided unyielding love and care which has been significant during this time in my life. Finally, the biggest thank you to my parents John and Belkis Moody. Without their influence in my life, I don’t think I would have decided to pursue geology. I can’t imagine how my life could have turned out without it.