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Postgraduate Research Projects
Compressional Deformation and Uplift of Australia's 'Passive' Southern Margin
Supervisors: Dr. Simon Holford (simon.holford@adelaide.edu.au) and Prof. Richard Hillis
Project Level: PhD
According to classic plate tectonic theory, passive margins remain stable subsequent to their formation in association with continental breakup. However, Australia’s ‘passive’ southern margin has been extensively deformed and uplifted. We will determine the distribution, chronology and causes of the deformation of the southern margin, addressing particularly the roles of plate boundary and intraplate sources of stress and the processes that serve to localize deformation. To achieve these aims, we will integrate structural interpretation of seismic data with thermal and uplift history analysis (from fission track, vitrinite reflectance and compaction data), sediment mass balance calculations and present-day stress data.
Structural Evolution of Delta and Deepwater Fold-Thrust Belt Systems
Supervisors: Dr. Ros King (rosalind.king@adelaide.edu.au) and Prof. Richard Hillis
Project Level: PhD
The key aim of the project will be to advance our understanding of the geological processes that control the development of deltas, and of the fold-thrust belts located in deepwater adjacent to deltas, by analysis of five examples worldwide. Global hydrocarbon exploration is successfully moving to deepwater fold-thrust belts. One of Australia's key under-explored frontier petroleum provinces is the Australian Bight Basin. The prospective parts of this basin comprise delta/deepwater fold-thrust belt systems and analysis of more data-rich systems worldwide will help provide the geological knowledge required to help re-invigorate exploration in the Bight Basin.
Sediment and Asphaltite Transport by Canyon Upwelling
Supervisors: Assoc. Prof. Bruce Ainsworth (ASP; bainsworth@asp.adelaide.edu.au), Prof. Kliti Grice (Curtin) and Prof. Dave McKirdy (Uni Adelaide)
Project Level: PhD
The aim of the project is to investigate the role of upwelling currents in transporting material across the continental slope of the Morum Sub-Basin, Southern Australia using an integrated geological, oceanographic and organic geochemical approach. Such currents are thought to be responsible for carrying sediment and tar mats from the deep sea to the shorelines of Southern Australia via submarine canyons. The study could help confirm a new petroleum province in the offshore Otway Basin, as well as providing a novel generic mechanism for proving the existence of effective source rocks along other parts of the Australian continental margin. The scholarship funding is secured and is available immediately.
Reservoir Heterogeneities in Wave-influenced Coastal Depositional Systems
Supervisors: Assoc. Prof. Bruce Ainsworth (ASP; bainsworth@asp.adelaide.edu.au), Dr. Boyan Vakarelov (ASP) and Assoc. Prof. Simon Pattison (Brandon University, Canada)
Project Level: Post-doc (2 Years) and MSc
The WAVE Consortium, part of the Reservoir Analogues Research Group at the University of Adelaide, Australia, is seeking a research oriented geologist at Post-doc level and an MSc level student to undertake studies on sub-seismic scale reservoir heterogeneities in mixed-influence shallow marine systems. This work will involve examination of modern coastal systems (Gulf of Carpentaria, Australia) and outcrop sites (North America; Egypt) that will test the importance of the interactions of wave, fluvial and tidal energy on preserved stratigraphic architecture. The positions will provide the successful applicants with experience in clastic sedimentology, remote sensing, reservoir modelling and interaction with industry sponsors. The applicants must be willing to conduct field work in remote locations. A key part of the project will be collaboration with industry consortium members including working visits to sponsor locations (Austria, Canada, USA, Australia).
Reservoir Architecture and Sandbody Connectivity in the Donkey Bore Syncline Salt-withdrawal Mini-basin, Flinders Ranges, South Australia
Supervisors: Assoc. Prof. Bruce Ainsworth (ASP; bainsworth@asp.adelaide.edu.au), Dr. Boyan Vakarelov (ASP) and Dr. Carmen Krapf (ASP)
Project Level: Post-doc (2 Years)
This industry funded research project is focussed on improving geological models of deepwater sediment-filled, salt-withdrawal mini-basins in deepwater salt basins such as the Gulf of Mexico or West Africa. The work will focus on the Bunkers Sandstone in the Donkey Bore Syncline, Flinders Ranges, South Australia. Two phases are envisaged; 1) field work to generate a geometrical architectural element dataset and to establish a rigorous architectural framework for the turbidite sands in the study area, and 2) 3D reservoir modelling. This is an excellent opportunity to combine detailed field work with state-of-the-art industry focussed 3D reservoir model generation.
An Oil & Gas Decision-Making Taxonomy
Supervisors: Prof Steve Begg (steve.begg@adelaide.edu.au) and Dr Dan Navarro (daniel.navarro@adelaide.edu.au)
Project Level: PhD
Decisions in the oil and gas industry span a wide range of types, magnitudes and consequences, most made under conditions of uncertainty. This project will collect a set of decision features and use Hierarchical Bayesian Networks to develop a taxonomy of decision types. Optimal decision-making tools and processes will then be mapped to those types. It is expected that the rich characteristics of the O&G feature set will be typical of many other sectors and therefore the resulting taxonomy and mapping will have much broader applicability.
Evaluating Oil & Gas Investment Decisions with Real Options
Supervisors: Prof Steve Begg (steve.begg@adelaide.edu.au) and Dr John van Der Hoek (University of South Australia)
Project Level: PhD
There is much interest in applying, to real assets such as Oil & Gas, techniques that have been developed for managing risks in financial assets. However, there has been limited success due to inappropriate equivalence assumptions and/or impracticality of some techniques proposed. This project will define the circumstances under which existing approaches are, and are not, applicable. It will then build on some new ideas of the supervisors, with a view to developing a robust and practical approach to applying “options thinking” to oil & gas investment decisions.
Expert Opinions and Probability Assessments: Evidence and Belief Formation
Supervisors: Prof Steve Begg (steve.begg@adelaide.edu.au) and Dr Matthew Welsh (mathew.welsh@adelaide.edu.au)
Project Level: PhD
The aim is to develop and test new models of how people search for data and integrate information to form beliefs in complex decision environments, such as Oil & Gas, characterised by limited time, resources or opportunity to resolve high levels of uncertainty. It will extend current theory to resolve conflicts between observed and optimal behaviours in real-world decision situations. Expected outcomes are new models of belief formation along with practical advice on de-biasing and how to make optimal cost-confidence trade-offs in acquiring information to resolve uncertainty (eg number of appraisal wells to drill).
Multi-objective Optimization of Acid Fracture Treatment Parameters to Stimulate Tight Carbonate Formation
Supervisor: Dr. Motiur Rahman
Project Level: PhD
The aim is to develop a program/methodology for modelling acid fracturing in carbonates. The program will integrate fracture geometry, acid penetration and its flux loss, executable treatment parameters, various realistic constraints, post-fracture productivity model and economic model with an optimization algorithm, which needs to be developed. Optimization algorithm will perform based on more than one objective function and will be robust to deal with many non-linear and non-differentiable functions. This will extend the current knowledge of finding optimum design while compromising two conflicting objective functions. The expected outcome will be a new model of acid fracture optimization.
Investigation Potential of Microbial EOR Process in Australian Reservoirs
Supervisor: Prof. Hemanta Sarma
Project Level: MSc/PhD
MEOR using naturally-occurring microbes is a low-cost approach to improve waterflood efficiency and conformance control. Our preliminary study suggests that the process may have a potential in several Australian reservoirs that are relatively shallow and are at lower temperature. The objective of this study will be to conduct a thorough screening study in collaboration with the industry and research organizations active in this process.
Enhanced coal-bed methane recovery using CO2 and N2 (or air)
Supervisor: Prof. Hemanta Sarma
Project Level: MSc/PhD
Project looks into an experimental and simulation approach to investigate reservoir engineering aspects with regard to matrix shrinkage, enhanced gas recovery, CO2 storage and permeability variation due to injection in CBM reservoirs.
Using CO2 to produce methane from methane-hydrate reservoirs and to sequester green-house CO2 gases
Supervisor: Prof. Hemanta Sarma
Project Level: MSc/PhD
This project will look into theoretical (phase behaviour) aspects associated with recovering the methane held in hydrates through replacement with CO2, thus also providing concomitant CO2 disposal in methane hydrate. Given the vast methane hydrate reservoirs around the world, this project offers significant potential in our efforts to understand the exploitation of this relatively up-taped vast energy resource.
Development of tight-gas reservoirs: A study of the reservoir engineering and production aspects
Supervisor: Prof. Hemanta Sarma
Project Level: MSc
The objective of this project is to investigate, through a detailed simulation study, the challenges that operators face in terms of reservoir and production engineering aspects when developing a tight-gas reservoir. A series of parametric sensitivity studies will be undertaken. Time permitting; the study will also consider gas reservoirs in fractures shales and coals.
Investigation and modelling of asphaltenes precipitation and deposition in gas injection processes
Supervisor: Prof. Hemanta Sarma
Project Level: MSc/PhD
Asphaltene content in the oil could be deceptive as certain oils with high asphaltene content pose no problem whereas lighter oils with even a minute content could cause severe problems. In general, field data suggest that light oils with small asphaltene content are more prone to asphaltene problems than heavy oils.
Asphaltenes could cause serious and severe operational problems in primary depletion as well as in EOR processes. In particular, it is a big concern during gas injection into light oil reservoirs. During gas injection, changes occur in composition of the reservoir fluids resulting changes in densities, pH balances and pressures, and all such changes affect asphaltene stability in the reservoir oil. Therefore, prior investigative laboratory and simulation studies are a must before any gas injection process is applied in a reservoir that contains even a minute content of asphaltene. In this project, we intend to investigate asphaltenes problem with particular emphasis on the gas injection projects.
Use of polymer to improve waterflood efficiency through improved mobility and conformance control
Supervisor: Prof. Hemanta Sarma
Project Level: MSc
Polymer flood is also often referred to as a variation of waterflood. The main objective of a polymer flood is to control the mobility of the displacing phase so that the mobility ratio between the displacing and displaced phase becomes favourable. A favourable mobility ratio yields higher areal and vertical sweep efficiencies and help suppress viscous fingering. This is, indeed, the primary feature that makes it more efficient than a conventional waterflood. At microscopic level, however, both waterflood and polymer flood has the same efficiency as far as their ability to reduce the So is concerned.
Compared to other chemical methods, the polymer flood has been reasonably successful. Daqing oilfield in China and Marmul oilfield in Oman are good examples of highly successful polymer flood applications. Even by a conservative estimate, the polymer flood has helped achieve a 12% incremental oil recovery in Daqing oilfield (Oil viscosity = 7cP, k = 300mD, Salinity <8000 ppm and T<70oC).
As general overview of polymer project performance data reveals that both the molecular weight (MW) of the polymer and its concentration are the key to the success of the process. The dictum seems to be: “Use higher concentration of low to medium MW polymer rather than a lower concentration of high MW polymer”. These aspects will be investigated using open-file data using a commercial reservoir simulator. Efforts will also be made to further extend this study using some Australian waterflood field data.
Modelling for optimizing the arbitrary oriented well trajectory to maximize the production performance without sand production using stochastic based optimization tools
Supervisor: Dr. Mofazzal Hossain
Project Level: PhD
Sand production is a major problem in almost all fields worldwide. Excessive sand production can lead to significant impairment of hydrocarbon production performance; and can damage bottom-hole assemblies and production equipments. It could lead to shut-off the well being circulated excessive sands. The industry uses numerous tools to prevent sand production with variant limitations. There is no single universal method that can be applicable throughout the life of a well, due to its inherent dependency mainly on existing reservoir stresses, rock strength, wellbore flowing pressure and reservoir pressure or pressure drawdown. These parameters are further influenced by well configurations and borehole trajectory, specifically well inclination and deviation. Thus the maximum production can be achieved by optimizing all of theses parameters without sand production.
Development of shear dilation based fracture stimulation model for simulating geothermal reservoir
Supervisor: Dr. Mofazzal Hossain
Project Level: PhD
The fracture stimulation by shear dilation mechanism is found to be effective for reservoir having abundance of natural fractures, as is the case in geothermal reservoir. The fundamental mechanism of this technique involves dilating the existing fractures by injecting pressurized water or very low proppants fluid in order to create asperities between two mated surfaces of the existing fracture or flaws by shear slip. This asperities cause significant increase in the overall reservoir permeability, and hence enhance the production or recovery process. The success of these fracture treatments depends on many fracture parameters (size, orientation etc.); appropriate in-situ stress conditions and; responses of rock mechanical properties with fluid flow. The ultimate effectiveness of such stimulation depends on the collective response of numerous natural fractures with different parameters to the stimulation pressure and in-situ stresses. This study will be focussed on the development of numerical model for characterization (fracture geometry, size and orientation) and generation of randomly distributed natural fractures networks using probabilistic approach. The developed network model needs to couple with the shear dilation based numerical model to solve fluid flow and solid deformation due to shear displacement, and to simulate the reservoir model.
Particle sizing in drilling fluid to minimise formation damage and filtrate losses
Supervisor: Professor Pavel Bedrikovetsky
Project Level: PhD
Invasion of drilling fluid damaging reservoir takes place in drilling and completion of oil wells. The permeability damage is caused by capture of solid particles by the rock from invaded fluid. external filter cake also results in decreased return permeability. Correct choice of particle size distribution in the fluid would minimise particle invasion and consequent formation damage providing minimum losses of filtrate into formation during drilling.
Presently the design of injected fluid is performed experimentally. It is well known that tests on drilling fluid filtration and corefloods by injected water are complex and cumbersome, very time consuming. It puts significant constrain on number of tests necessary to optimise the fluid design. The limited number of tests is performed during drilling or injection in any oilfield.
This project uses recently developed mathematical model of particle penetration into porous media to design drilling/injection fluid. The project aims the development of a simple procedure of damage estimation and consequent fluid design to be used during drilling.
Field-data- and coreflood-data-based prediction of injectivity decline during produced water re-injection
Supervisor: Professor Pavel Bedrikovetsky
Project Level: PhD
Prediction of injectivity decline during injection of seawater based on mathematical modelling was recently developed and widely applied in oil industry.
Re-injection of produced water (PRWI) and consequent formation damage includes more complex processes of fluid-rock interaction and constrains to flows: rock clogging by oily particles, aggregation of solid particles and oil droplets in injected water and enhanced capture, effects of water salinity, pH and wettability on damage, deformation of filter cake and erosion of internal and external cakes.
The proposed project derives mathematical model for the above mentioned phenomena, develops analytical model, validates the model by laboratory corefloods by produced water and applies the work for wells in offshore waterflood projects.
The project also includes implementation of formation damage option into reservoir simulator Eclipse.
Laboratory and mathematical modelling of oilfield chemical scaling
Supervisor: Professor Pavel Bedrikovetsky and Dr Themis Carageorgos
Project Level: PhD
Chemical scaling of production wells is a wide spread disaster for waterflood projects – mixing of incompatible injection and formation waters results in precipitation of sulphate salts that reduces near-well permeability. Prediction of well productivity damage due to chemical scaling is important for design of water treatment and well stimulation planning.
A simple coreflood set-up for characterisation of scaling damage and prediction of scaling-induced damage was developed in 2004 and is currently used in several sea platforms and laboratories. Nevertheless, the modelling data can significantly deviate from the coreflood data, suggesting that the model must be improved.
The scope of the project is investigation of the reasons for deviation, consideration of different physics-chemical factors, developments of the model and set-up and its application in field studies.
Experimental verification of new basic equation for flow in porous media under precipitation of solid phase
Supervisor: Professor Pavel Bedrikovetsky
Project Level: PhD
Very simple speculations show the contradiction in traditional mass balance equation for flow in porous media under precipitation of solid phase. The model assumes that the solute may be located in porous space or deposited. In this case, the precipitant volume is equal to porosity decrease. Experimental data shows that the porosity reduction highly exceeds the precipitant volume. It suggests that the precipitant cuts of the pore space into accessible and inaccessible parts, which completely changes the basic equation for flow in porous media under precipitation of solid phase.
The scope of the work is experimental verification of a new model and its application in asphaltene deposition and formation damage.
Random walk model for solute/suspension transport in porous media
Supervisor: Professor Pavel Bedrikovetsky and Professor Alexander Shapiro (Tech U of Denmark)
Project Level: PhD
The Einstein's derivation of Brownian motion assumes micro velocity distribution which results in classical parabolic diffusion equations. Several generalisations of diffusive flux in fluid flow with inhomogeneous velocity profile result in delay effects leading to hyperbolic systems of diffusion.
The current project is based on the observation that there are two independent distributions in porous media which are pore radii and lengths. It results in elliptic equation of diffusion in porous media. The classical diffusion equation is a particular case of elliptic diffusion where either pore radius or length is constant. The subject of the project is derivation of a random walk model for solute/suspension transport in porous media.
The scope of the project also includes formulation of initial-boundary conditions for elliptic equation of diffusion, some exact analytical solutions and their physical interpretation. The new model may explain an old enigma in tracer analysis - why tracers propagate faster than Darcy's law predicts.
Development of new technology/lab tool to determine pore throat size distribution of rock
Supervisor: Professor Pavel Bedrikovetsky and Keith Boyle (Santos)
Project Level: PhD
Pore throat size distribution is a basic characteristic of natural rock highly affecting transport and geophysical properties like permeability, porosity, electric conductivity, etc. Each geology lab in oil company local headquarter has got a mercury porosimetry set-up. Despite a century-long development, the mercury porosimetry method has several negative features (no core recovery after the test, poor representation of porous space geometry, use of environmentally unfriendly mercury, deformation of the rock, etc). Displacement of brine by synthetic oil instead of mercury injection with simultaneous electric resistivity monitoring improves the quality of porosimetry. Yet, several faults remain.
The scope of the project is proposing a method of particle suspension injection into core measuring particle size distributions at core inlet and effluent. Developed in the last 3 years theory of particulate suspension transport in rocks, which is based on Einstein-Smoluhowski equations and operate with particle and pore size distributions, allows formulating inverse problems for determination of pore size distributions from inlet and effluent particle size distributions.
The project involves solution of the ill-posed inverse problem using method of matched asymptotic expansions, set of laboratory injections of different suspensions in core, development of techniques and technology for industrial method to determine pore size distribution of rocks.
Hyperbolic non-linear systems of enhanced oil recovery
Supervisor: Professor Pavel Bedrikovetsky and Professor Jim Denier
Project Level: PhD
Displacement of oil by carbon dioxide with precipitation of asphaltenes is a wide spread phenomenon and method for incremental oil production. The process is described by system of conservation laws. In large scale approximation, the dissipative effects of capillarity and diffusion are ignored. Nevertheless, recently it was found out that large scale hyperbolic solution depends on dissipation values. For example, a piston-like solution describing miscible displacement of oil by carbon dioxide without asphaltene deposition formally satisfies the system of equations but is physically meaningless.
Accounting for dissipative effects and using method of matched asymptotic expansions allows obtaining correct solution. The solution is applicable in commercial streamline simulators, in interpretation of field and laboratory data.
Thermodynamics of multi component fluids and topology of straight lines in Euclidian spaces
Supervisor: Professor Pavel Bedrikovetsky
Project Level: PhD
Lumping of hydrocarbon components into few pseudo components is a necessary procedure in order to perform compositional simulation in reservoir modelling, to interpret PVT data and tune EoS. Yet, theoretical thermodynamics does not provide with background for lamping procedure. The reason for this is that thermodynamics has only one simplified thermodynamic fluid, which is a mixture of an ideal gases and liquids. More complex fluid is described by a general equation of state. Nevertheless, there must be some "intermediate" simplified fluids.
Topological dimension of set of tie lines for ideal fluid is zero; that for general n-component fluid is n-2. What is the thermodynamic meaning of dimensions 1,2…n-3?
The scope of the work is analysis of gas-liquid fluids associated with sets of tie lines that have intermediate dimensions. The analysis uses methods of differential geometry and fibre bundles as well as basic Gibbs theory.
Analytical model for gas flooding with asphaltene precipitation and corresponding increase of sweep efficiency
Supervisor: Professor Pavel Bedrikovetsky and Professor Hemanta Sarma
Project Level: PhD
Recently it was found out that use of Lagrangian co-ordinate instead of time in compositional model resulted in splitting of the model into that of pure thermodynamics and of hydrodynamics. The independence of phase transitions and transport phenomena for two phase multi component flow in porous media allowed understanding of several enigmas of evaporation and condensation gas drives for gas-based oil- and condensate recovery. It also resulted in several analytical models for gas injection and chemical flooding.
The current project applies the splitting procedure to displacement of oil by CO2 and other gases with precipitation of ashaltenes. The obtained analytical model will be used for monitoring of gas-based EOR processes in order to increase sweep efficiency by managed precipitation of asphaltenes and induced formation damage. The model will be also used to interpret coreflood data.
Fines migration during water and gas flooding
Supervisor: Professor Pavel Bedrikovetsky and Keith Boyle (Santos)
Project Level: PhD
Release of fine particles off rock occurs during waterflooding - invasion of different salinity water decreases electric attraction particle-matrix in clays and injected water drags particles along the path injector-producer. The migrated particles are captured by the rock preferably near to production wells, resulting in permeability reduction and in consequent productivity decrease. Nevertheless, the particle capture in situ the reservoir decreases injected water velocity and increases sweep efficiency of waterflooding.
Existence of two competitive factors – increase of the reservoir sweep and well productivity decline – may result in optimal composition of injected water causing minimum formation damage and maximum sweep efficiency.
The effect is even more sounded during CO2 injection where the appearing carbonic acid destroys particle-matrix linkages.
The project scope includes laboratory corefloods of clay-containing rock by different salinity and pH waters, derivation of mathematical model and recommendations on injected water treatment.
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