Pulsed Neutron Logging Frameworks for Co₂ Plume and Well Integrity Surveillance in Mature Asset Conversion

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@article{1719714,
      author = {Imorgiemeh, Akagbosu Pius, Elvis John Ighodalo},
      title = {Pulsed Neutron Logging Frameworks for Co₂ Plume and Well Integrity Surveillance in Mature Asset Conversion},
      journal = {Iconic Research And Engineering Journals},
      year = {2026},
      volume = {10},
      number = {1},
      pages = {1355-1364},
      issn = {2456-8880},
      url = {https://www.irejournals.com/formatedpaper/1719714.pdf},
      abstract = {The world is moving towards CCS and considerable interest has been created in the re-use of old oil and gas wells for CO₂ injection and storage. This has many economic and logistics benefits, but also creates a dual monitoring need: not only tracking the migration of the subsurface CO₂ plume but also ensuring the long-term mechanical integrity of the converted well systems. Permanently cased wellbores are an area of great monitoring need that conventional open-hole wireline techniques are unable to meet. This paper offers a proposed concept of a synthesized framework for the deployment of PNL as a dual-purpose surveillance tool in a converted hydrocarbon producing well for CO₂ injection/CO₂ storage. The framework has been developed based on the field deployments and analyses of the various international CCS projects, such as Ketzin (Germany), the Otway project (Australia), the Illinois Basin-Decatur Project (USA) and simulation work in China and Romania, and combines the two main measurement modalities of PNL, the macroscopic thermal neutron capture cross-section (Sigma, Σ) and the carbon/oxygen (C/O) ratio log. These measurements can be combined to provide quantitative estimation of CO₂ saturation, identification of plume boundaries and detection of fluid migration behind casing in a single cased hole tool deployment. The paper also makes a synthesis of multi-detector acquisition configurations, forward modeling using Monte Carlo methods and the new emerging machine learning interpretation schemes that can improve the diagnostic accuracy of PNL. Importantly, the multi-purpose nature of PNL—the geochemical plume tracking and structural integrity survey—makes it an essential part of a comprehensive CCS portfolio. The framework takes the research forward in the systematic nature of closing the gap in the monitoring for mature asset conversion scenarios.},
      keywords = {Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS), Pulsed Neutron Logging (PNL), CO₂ Plume Monitoring, Well Integrity, Mature Asset Conversion, Sigma Logging, Carbon/Oxygen (C/O) Ratio Logging.},
      month = {July},
      doi = {https://doi.org/10.64388/IREV10I1-1719714}
  }