SUSTAINABLE USE OF UNDERGROUND ENERGY RESOURCES

Synthetic program:

Introduction to reservoir engineering. Definition of the geological reserves; geo-resources (conventional and non-conventional resources); importance of geological reservoir characterization for energy engineering; discovery and recovery of conventional and unconventional hydrocarbons, mining and resources engineering, natural and enhanced geothermal energy, geological solutions for energy and resources (including geological disposal of energy wastes and sequestration of carbon dioxide); engineering applications and technology development related to energy and resources.

Key processes that control fluid movements in basin to reservoir scales. Fluid flow in porous and fractured media, saturation profiles. Permeability and relative permeability. Darcy’s Law (phenomenology and theoretical derivation). Anisotropic media and permeability tensor. Scale dependence of hydraulic properties and heterogeneity; theoretical and empirical correlations between flow parameters (specific storage, porosity, permeability). Interpretation of laboratory scale flow experiments on uniform and heterogeneous systems. Three- and two-dimensional models for single phase fluid flow in porous media. Initial and boundary conditions. Analytical solutions. Continuous models of fractured systems and discrete fracture networks.

Solute transport processes. Advection Dispersion Equation (ADE) for single species. Dispersivity tensor and scale effects. Laboratory and field- scale tracer tests and interpretation in unconsolidated and fractured systems. Dual porosity / dual permeability models and delayed diffusion. Multi-rate mass transfer models. Random Walk and continuous time random walk models. Multi-component reactive transport. Models of precipitation-dissolution, sorption and homogeneous reactions in porous media. Interpretation of laboratory experiments. Diagenesis in sedimentary basins.

Conceptual models for Geothermal Reservoir Engineering, mechanisms of geogenic CO2 generation and geological sequestration, fundamentals of hydrogen storage in the subsurface. Fundamentals of fluid/heat flow in sedimentary basins; convective/conductive regimes and temperature-activated geochemical reactions; comparison of options for geological sequestration in the underground; assessment of CO2 footprint; interpretation of geochemical, geological, and well data to determine reservoir properties/characteristics.

Data Integration for subsurface characterization. Inverse modeling and geostatistical approaches for subsurface characterization. Geostatistical analysis of permeability and geological data. Introduction and application of techniques aimed at incorporating reservoir scale data (including geological information) and dynamic reservoir behavior into subsurface characterization models; dynamic data in the form of pressure transient tests, tracer tests, or production histories.

Probabilistic Risk assessment. Uncertainty quantification in subsurface flow and transport process (Monte Carlo approaches). Risk assessment and environmental impacts of shale gas exploration and exploitation by hydraulic fracturing; environmental footprint of Enhanced Oil Recovery and shale gas development (state of the art process understanding, state of the art modeling techniques and risk assessment tools for site screening); experiences from shale gas sites in Europe and the United States; uncertainty and assessment of the risk of compound events during shale gas exploitation; scenarios with highest risk of negative environmental impacts; public concerns about management of risk related to fracking operations.