ERE
Energy, Resources and the Environment

ERE Matters

The main goal of the Energy, Resources and the Environment (ERE) Division is to be a leading forum on discussions regarding the provision of adequate and reliable supplies of affordable energy and other resources, in environmentally sustainable ways. As such, it has many links to the other EGU Divisions, such as Hydrology, Natural Hazards, and Tectonics and Structural Geology.

What to see at EGU?: Words on Wednesday – The Green River Natural Analogue as A Field Laboratory To Study the Long-term Fate of CO2 in the subsurface

April 8, 2015

Words on Wednesday aims at promoting interesting/fun/exciting publications on topics related to Energy, Resources and the Environment. If you would like to be featured on WoW, please send us a link of the paper, or your own post, at ERE.Matters@gmail.com.

If you are interested in today’s WoW, some of the results will be presented during the EGU in session ERE5.2 Field methods and analysis of field data for CO2 geological storage, on Thursday at 15.30h in room R8. So go check it out! 🙂

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Busch, A. Kampman, N. Hangx, S.J.T., Snippe, J., Bickle, M. Bertier, P., Chapman, H., Spiers, C.J., Pijnenburg, R.Samuelson, J. Evans, J.P., Maskell, A., Nicholl, J., Pipich, V., Di, Z., Rother, G., Schaller, M., 2014. The Green River Natural Analogue as a field laboratory to study the long-term faith of CO2 in the subsurface. Energy Procedia 63, 2821-2830.

Abstract:

Understanding the long-term response of CO2 injected into porous reservoirs is one of the most important aspects to demonstrate safe and permanent storage. In order to provide quantitative constraints on the long-term impacts of CO2-charged fluids on the integrity of reservoir-caprock systems we recovered some 300m of core from a scientific drill hole through a natural CO2 reservoir, near Green River, Utah. We obtained geomechanical, mineralogical, geochemical, petrophysical and mineralogical laboratory data along the entire length of the core and from non CO2-charged control samples. Furthermore, we performed more detailed studies through portions of low permeability layers in direct contact with CO2-charged layers. This was done to constrain the nature and penetration depths of CO2-promoted fluid-mineral reaction fronts. The major reactions identified include the dissolution of diagenetic dolomite cements and hematite grain coatings, and the precipitation of ankerite and pyrite and have been used as input for geochemical 1D reactive transport modelling, to constrain the magnitude and velocity of the mineral-fluid reaction front.

In addition, we compared geomechanical data from the CO2-exposed core and related unreacted control samples to assess the mechanical stability of reservoir and seal rocks in a CO2 storage complex following mineral dissolution and precipitation for thousands of years. The obtained mechanical parameters were coupled to mineralogy and porosity. Key aim of this work was to better quantify the effect of long-term chemical CO2/brine/rock interactions on the mechanical strength and elastic properties of the studied formations.

 

Entrada formation from surface to top Carmel Fm with CO2-charged sandstone layer, overlain by a low permeability clayey siltstone showing bleaching and CO2 reaction features. A sharp contact between bleached and unbleached is observed.

Entrada formation from surface to top Carmel Fm with CO2-charged sandstone layer, overlain by a low permeability clayey siltstone showing bleaching and CO2 reaction features. A sharp contact between bleached and unbleached is observed.

What to see at EGU?: ERE 1.3 Fractures, mechanics and flow in tight reservoirs

April 7, 2015

Within a week the EGU General Assembly will kick off! This year the topic will be A Voyage Through Scales. For those that will attend for the first time, the scale of EGU itself may be impressive enough already. So how do you decide where to go? Here we hope to point you to a few interesting sessions, in case you get completely lost.

Today we asked Dr. Maartje Houben, one of the Young Scientists co-convening an ERE session, what we can expect from her session.

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Fractures, mechanics and flow in tight reservoirs matter as well!

Unconventional oil and gas is often trapped in badly connected or even unconnected pores in the host rock (e.g. shales, tight sandstones). Hence, the presence of natural and/or induced fractures has become increasingly important in the exploitation of these natural resources. Especially in rocks with low matrix permeability’s the presence of fractures is crucial for reaching sufficient flow rates to economically produce hydrocarbons from these rocks. In addition, in order to extract heat or electricity from low-permeable geothermal reservoirs a natural or mechanical induced fracture network is also needed to improve fluid migration pathways into these reservoirs.

To discuss the interaction between fractures, mechanics and flow in all these tight reservoirs we organize the new ERE1.3 PICO session on Tuesday afternoon between 13 and 15 hrs. The session is a multi-disciplinary session and the contributors will give new insights through fast and interactive PICO presentations. A series of short 2-min madness presentations of each contribution will be followed by circa 1 hour of lively discussions in front of interactive PICO screens. The contributions will show (sub)surface fracture arrangements in tight reservoirs, either natural or modelled, and their relation to mechanical changes and changed flow behavior in these reservoirs on a multitude of scales.

Please join us on Tuesday afternoon for this exciting new session!

Schematic diagram of a tight reservoir

Schematic diagram of a tight reservoir

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For those who are curious about what PICO is…

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What to see at EGU?: Young Scientist events

April 6, 2015

Within a week the EGU General Assembly will kick off! This year the topic will be A Voyage Through Scales. For those that will attend for the first time, the scale of EGU itself may be impressive enough already. So how do you decide where to go? Here we hope to point you to a few interesting sessions, in case you get completely lost.

To start with, there are a number of interesting events for Young Scientists. For you! 🙂

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Ice Breaker Reception

On Sunday evening the EGU General Assembly 2015 will be kicked off with the Ice Breaker Reception, at 18.30h in Foyer E. A gathering point for young scientists provides the opportunity to meet like-minded fellows, especially if it is your first time at the General Assembly or you are coming alone.

The Young Scientist Forum

The YS Forum takes place on Tuesday at 12.15 to 13.15h in room G8. Come along and meet your young scientist representatives, find out what the EGU does for young scientists and take the chance to become more involved in the Union. This forum is a great opportunity to let us know what you would like from the EGU, find out how you can get involved in the Assembly and meet other scientists in the EGU young scientist community.

Young Scientists’ Lounge

For the Young Scientists, on the Red Level of the conference centre you can find a place to take a break, grab a free coffee or soft drink and gather your thoughts away from the buzz of the Assembly. The lounge is also a great place to catch up with colleagues you haven’t seen in a while and perhaps strike up a new collaboration. On the notice boards you can find information about cultural activities on offer in Vienna. There is also the opportunity to provide feedback via suggestion boards.

Young Scientists Lounge

Young Scientists’ Lounge

Young Scientist Reception and Medallist Reception

To bring together Young Scientists and past EGU-medallists, there will be a reception with drinks and light snacks. The reception take place on Tuesday 14 April, from 19:00 to 20:30 in room Y1.

This networking reception will provide an informal setting in which scientists can establish links with outstanding early career researchers and established scientists; offering an opportunity for young scientists to find answers to specific questions, which often cannot be found in your usual textbook. It offers a great opportunity for medallists to share their experience with researchers embarking on their academic career. To attend the reception, you need to register for the event in advance via this online form. Places at the reception are limited and will be allocated on a first come, first served basis. Your place is guaranteed only once you receive a confirmation email from the EGU Communications Officer, Laura Roberts.

Sessions for YS at the General Assembly

In addition to the above networking events, there are a number of other sessions catering the YS. A short list of these sessions with a strong YS focus can be found here. Of special interest are the two career workshops, focussing on: 1) Adding value to your research experience, and 2) Job applications and interviews. Note that you must register for the workshops in advance via the links provided!

What to see at EGU?: A Voyage Through Scales

April 5, 2015

Within a week the EGU General Assembly will kick off! This year the topic will be A Voyage Through Scales. For those that will attend for the first time, the scale of EGU itself may be impressive enough already. So how do you decide where to go? Here we hope to point you to a few interesting sessions, in case you get completely lost.

A number of events will take place concerned with this year’s theme: A Voyage Through Scales. Zoom into a cloud. Zoom out of a rock. Watch the volcano explode, the lightning strike, an aurora undulate. Imagine ice sheets expanding, retreating – pulsating – while continents continue their leisurely collisions. Everywhere there are structures within structures … within structures. A voyage through scales is an invitation to contemplate the earth’s extraordinary variability extending from milliseconds to its age, from microns to the size of the planet. The range of scales in space, in time – in space-time – is truly mindboggling. Their complexity challenges our ability to measure, to model to comprehend.

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Lectures for a general geoscience audience (GL)
Theme exhibition

To illustrate this year’s theme, there are four exhibitions interpreting ‘A voyage through scales:

  • The scales of the General Assembly: experience the evolution of the conference during the week; space, time, and volume – the EGU2015 in numbers.
  • The scales of peer review: experience a voyage through the interactive quality assurance of EGU’s journals; space, time, and volume – watch peer review from a different perspective.
  • The scales in EGU journals: experience the beauty of science through the lens of our publications; impressions from this year’s photo book.
  • The scales in art: experience the dialogue between science and art; watch the artistic interpretation of the theme developing over the week.
Cover of the photo book for A Voyage Through Scales

Cover of the photo book for A Voyage Through Scales

Photo book

A high-quality photo book has been compiled and will be presented at the Assembly. Through the lens of our journals, scientists write about scaling in their disciplines and visualize their work through beautiful photos. The book is published by EGU and Edition Lammerhuber and will be handed-out to the participants upon registration.