Events

Faculty Candidate Dr. Nicolas Espinoza, Postdoctoral Researcher at the Laboratoire Navier, École des Ponts ParisTech, will give a talk entitled "Petroleum geomechanics: challenges and selected examples" as part of the Claude R. Hocott Lectureship Series.

Abstract:

Steady oil & gas production together with safe carbon dioxide geological disposal bring about new challenges to Petroleum Engineering. Understanding multiphase fluid flow and improving recovery efficiency have led to great rewards in the last decades. However, new petroleum applications involve significant thermal, chemical, hydraulic, and mechanical coupled loadings imposed to a variety of sedimentary rocks. Sediment and rock large-deformation and failure may induce important changes in reservoir permeability and may even promote well and casing failure. This presentation shows three examples of Petroleum Engineering applications in which geomechanics plays an important role: (1) CO2-enhanced recovery from hydrate-bearing sediments, (2) sealing ability of clay caprocks at CO2 storage sites, and (3) gas recovery from unmineable coal beds.