CARBON CAPTURE AND STORAGE MASTERCLASS

Date: 20 - 24 May 2024
Time: 17.5 hrs; 2pm-5.30pm BST
Location: Online
Tutor: Richard Worden, Professor in the Department of Earth Ocean and Ecological Sciences, University of Liverpool, UK

This course will provide participants with awareness of the geoscience needs for CCS projects; namely subsurface CO2 storage volumetrics, CO2 flow in the subsurface away from injector wells, the goal of safe and permanent storage of CO2 and cost-benefit issues linked to aquifer depth, well design, etc. The course will establish basics, such as how much CCS is needed to make a difference to global warming, and explore what types of CO2 injection are already happening, including information from CO2-enhanced oil recovery projects. The course will deal with CO2 as a fluid phase and how much CO2 can be stored per cubic meter in terms of porosity and over entire aquifers. It will deal with how quickly CO2 can be injected and the role of aquifer permeability. The course then moves on to the all-important geomechanical effects of CO2 injection and feedbacks between induced mineral dissolution and rock strength and other rock properties. The full range of possible interaction between CO2 and both aquifer and top-seal will be covered, as will the range of possible leakage mechanisms that need to be assessed. The course will conclude with consideration of monitoring strategies.

You will learn to:

• Develop awareness of the role of geoscience in CCS and of CCS in CO2 emissions reductions.
• Appreciate what CO2 injection projects have occurred so far and how they differ from industrial CCS.
• Understand CO2 as a fluid in the subsurface and the fluid injection pressure and effective stress regimes that CO2 injection will involve.
• Build awareness of the volumetrics of CO2 storage from the micro (pore-scale) to the macro (aquifer volumes).
• Gain an appreciation of the question of CO2 flow away from injector wells controlled by permeability and aquifer architecture.
• Understand the range of effects that CO2 can have on the host aquifer, from geomechanical to geochemical.
• Assess the role of top-seal and fault-seal properties and how they will influence CO2 storage, from risk of fracking, or induced seismicity, to mineral dissolution.
• Understand the range of ways that CO2 could escape from the planned storage sites.
• Develop an awareness of the range of monitoring strategies that could be employed to ensure safe and long-term storage of CO2.

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Transition Skills: From Oil and Gas to Geothermal

Date: 10 - 12 Jun 2024
Location: GreenTown Labs, Houston
Tutor: Malcolm Ross, Lecturer, Rice University, Texas

This course will offer geoscientists an understanding of how they can use and adapt their expertise gained in the oil and gas industry to the growing geothermal industry. Participants will be introduced to the fundamentals of a variety of geothermal system styles and be guided through the exploration and development of a project, focusing on subsurface workflows based on those used for oil and gas. The course is intended as an introduction to the entire lifecycle of a geothermal resource, covering aspects of geoscience and some engineering.

You will learn to:

• Describe the fundamentals of geothermal energy and how it is harnessed and used.
• Understand the key subsurface characteristics of geothermal resources and reservoirs.
• Understand what exploration tools (seismic, potential fields, geochemistry), exploration data (bottom hole temperatures, gradient surveys) and exploration approaches (basin modelling, play-based exploration) are used in geothermal exploration, which ones are in common with oil and gas, and how their uses differ.
• Define the subsurface geoscience requirements for a geothermal project, including the key similarities and differences with an oil and gas project.
• Appreciate the data types and subsurface workflows involved in a geothermal project.
• Examine the key project risks and uncertainties in developing geothermal resources and how they are mitigated.

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INTRODUCTION TO SUBSURFACE PRESSURES

Date: 10 - 13 Jun 2024
Time: Mon-Thurs 2:00pm - 5:30pm
Location: Virtual
Tutor: Professor Richard Swarbrick: Manager, Swarbrick GeoPressure

This course introduces attendees to subsurface fracture pressure and fluid pressure and their relevance to surface phenomena (e.g. slope failure), as well as assessing risk in deep boreholes (e.g. for hydrogeology, carbon sequestration, oil/gas exploitation and waste disposal). The course teaches the details of what data can be collected and how it can be visualized and interpreted, underpinning more detailed geological and engineering studies.

You will learn to:

1. Understand how fluid pressure and fracture pressure are relevant to subsurface geology.
2. Evaluate the types of pressure data and measurements possible in the subsurface.
3. Create plots and maps of pressure data to solve subsurface puzzles (e.g. compartmentalization of reservoirs; distinguishing between hydrodynamic vs hydrostatic flow conditions; and recognition of abnormal pressures).
4. Appreciate the link between fluid pressure and fracture pressure, and appropriate coupling values.
5. Recognize how and where pressure data relate to specific events (e.g. slope failure; surface fluid release phenomena; earthquakes and other ground movements).

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THE FUNDAMENTALS OF HYDROGEN ENERGY

Date: 17 June 2024
Time: 3hrs, 2pm-5pm BST
Location: Online
Tutor: Kevin Taylor, Professor in Energy Geoscience, University of Manchester

The aim of this course is to give an overview of the fundamental aspects of the current hydrogen energy landscape. This will include a range of topics, including what hydrogen is and why it can potentially be a significant fuel and energy carrier, the different methods in which it can be produced, its potential role in decarbonization of energy and heat, how it can be stored in the subsurface, and its place overall within the energy transition.

The course is aimed at non-technical staff and those who do not have a scientific background but want a basic introduction to the topic. The subject matter will be covered from very basic principles and will be of interest to staff from a range of departments, including legal, graphics, administration and technical support.

You will learn to:

• Understand what hydrogen is and why it can be used as a fuel and energy carrier.
• Describe how hydrogen can be produced and the resulting different types and terminology.
• Appreciate the role hydrogen can play in decarbonizing energy and heat, and the competing demands in the hydrogen energy landscape.
• Appreciate the different storage options for hydrogen, particularly in the subsurface.
• Recall details of the developing hydrogen supply chains, including infrastructure and distribution networks.

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Practical Seismic Interpretation

Date: 24 - 27 Jun 2024
Location: Houston
Tutors: Rachel Newrick, Consultant Geophysicist, Racian Ventures and John Randolph, Consultant Geophysicist

This class provides an overview of seismic wave propagation, discusses important issues related to seismic data acquisition and imaging, and introduces students to practical seismic interpretation workflows, including mapping techniques. Additional topics, such as seismic attributes, borehole geophysics, reservoir characterization and reservoir surveillance, are also included. Technical discussions will cover both conventional and unconventional reservoir topics.

You will learn to:

1. Explain the fundamentals of seismic wave propagation and factors affecting resolution at the reservoir level.
2. Calibrate seismic data using well data.
3. Communicate effectively with data acquisition and processing specialists.
4. Execute an effective interpretation workflow for a 2-D seismic project.
5. Apply interpretation fundamentals to design a 3-D workflow on a workstation.
6. Utilize multiple offset volumes to perform reconnaissance AVO analysis.
7. Apply basic seismic sequence stratigraphic interpretation principles.
8. Perform time-to-depth conversions using simplified velocity models.
9. Utilize common seismic attributes to characterize reservoirs.
10. Generate volumetric estimates of recoverable reserves (EUR).

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THE FUNDAMENTALS OF CARBON CAPTURE AND STORAGE

Date: 25 Jun 2024
Time: 3hrs; 2pm-5pm BST
Location: Online
Tutor: Richard Worden, Professor in the Department of Earth Ocean and Ecological Sciences, University of Liverpool, UK

The aim of this course is to provide an overview of what carbon capture and storage is, how it works and its role in decarbonization and the energy transition.

The course is aimed at non-technical staff and those who do not have a scientific background but want a basic introduction into the topic. The subject matter will be covered from very basic principles and be of interest to staff from a range of departments, including legal, graphics, administration and technical support.

You will learn to:

• Understand what carbon capture and storage is.
• Appreciate why carbon capture and storage is needed to reduce emissions.
• Outline how carbon capture and storage works.
• Discuss carbon capture and storage project risks and uncertainties.

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Lessons Learned from Carbon Capture and Storage Projects to Date

Date: 10 Jul 2024
Location: London
Tutor: Matthew Healey: Pace CCS

This course is designed to provide information vital to anyone involved with CCS project design. It will provide an introduction to CCS design with a focus on sharing lessons learned from CCS projects in design and operation today. Technical analysis, useful references and practical solutions will be provided.

Advanced. This course is suitable for all management and technical staff engaged in carbon capture and storage design and operations. It will provide clear, actionable, technical information that will be immediately applicable to CCS project design.

You will learn to:

• Understand the key elements in the CCS chain, from capture to disposal.
• Understand the unique challenges faced by CCS, and how these are different from oil and gas, CO2-EOR and midstream projects, with primary reference to project experience and lessons learned.
• Apply fundamentals of CO2 design, including thermodynamics, chemical reactions, carbon capture, dehydration and compositional control.
• Understand the risk to CCS pipeline and well integrity due to corrosion, with primary reference to project experience and lessons learned.
• Review the behavior of CO2 and challenges associated with very low temperatures during operation, with primary reference to project experience and lessons learned.
• Understand the challenges related to design in order to manage planned and unplanned CO2 releases to atmosphere from CCS projects, with primary reference to project experience and lessons learned.
• Review the key commercial drivers and risks for CCS that inform design, and understand how these are managed, with primary reference to project experience and lessons learned.
• Review lessons learned from application of project management and organizational processes to CCS deliver teams, in order to understand how best to deliver CCS project design and execution.

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Salt Tectonics of the Gulf of Mexico

Date: 13 - 15 Aug 2024
Location: Houston
Tutor: Mark G. Rowan: President, Rowan Consulting, Inc.

The objective of this 3-day course is to provide geoscientists with a detailed explanation of those aspects of salt tectonics applicable to the northern and southern Gulf of Mexico (GoM) salt basins. It consists primarily of lectures, with examples from the GoM and other basins, that are supplemented by practical exercises. The emphasis is on fundamental mechanics and processes, structural geometries and evolution, salt-sediment interaction and the implications for hydrocarbon exploration and production.

You will learn to:

1. Understand the implications of layered-evaporite sequences for velocity-model building and seismic interpretation.
2. Describe how halite differs from other lithologies and how that impacts deformation in salt basins.
3. Characterize the ways in which extension, contraction and differential loading trigger salt flow and diapir initiation / growth.
4. Interpret typical salt and stratal geometries associated with salt evacuation and diapirism.
5. Predict how drape folding around passive diapirs impacts stratal geometries, faulting and reservoir distribution in diapir-flank traps.
6. Understand why and how allochthonous salt forms and how salt sheets / canopies evolve.
7. Assess the effects of salt on various aspects of the petroleum system, including trap formation, reservoir presence, hydrocarbon maturation and migration and seal.

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