The Ladbroke Grove–Katnook carbon dioxide natural laboratory: A recent CO2 accumulation in a lithic sandstone reservoir

The Ladbroke Grove and Katnook Gas Fields, within the western Otway Basin, southeastern South Australia, provide a natural laboratory to study the effects of CO2 on siliciclastic reservoirs. CO2 degassing from nearby volcanics has migrated into the methane accumulation of the Ladbroke Grove Field within the Pretty Hill Formation. CO2 levels in the Ladbroke Grove Field range from 26 to 57 mol% while Katnook has less than 1 mol%. In Ladbroke Grove, the CO2 has altered or dissolved most of the reactive minerals, somewhat constrained by the Pleistocene to Recent age of the CO2 influx. The developed late-stage kaolinite, quartz and less soluble carbonate are products of the reactions involving CO2 and reactive minerals. The major formation water types were identified using the geochemical code EQ3NR. Ladbroke Grove waters above the gas–water contact (GWC) have bicarbonate levels an order of magnitude higher than the other waters analysed. Below the GWC, Ladbroke Grove and Katnook formation waters have similar ionic compositions, however, pH levels in Ladbroke Grove are low relative to Katnook.