Basaltic formations could greatly expand global CO₂ storage capacity beyond traditional sedimentary reservoirs.
The study wanted to investigate and quantify the role of fractures in volcanic formations in the Faroe Islands, with these two questions in mind: How are fractures distributed in basaltic lava flows, and how do fractures control injectivity and storage capacity?
Using the onshore basalts of the Faroe Islands as an analogue for the offshore North Atlantic Igneous Province and other igneous provinces, the authors map fractures from kilometer scale down to centimeter scale with drone based digital outcrop models and DEMs.
The researchers show that secondary permeability from fractures can be of the same order of magnitude as the primary permeability of highly permeable units.
These results highlight the importance of accounting for fractures when evaluating the potential of basaltic reservoirs.