2nd Geoscience & Engineering in Energy Transition Conference

Emissions of greenhouse gasses (GHG) and particularly methane have strong negative effects on global atmospheric carbon balance and climate change. The methane emissions from the waste sector are about 18 % of the global, however large unexplored pools of unwanted emissions might come from industrial brownfields as former coal and oil shale quarries,, hydraulic fracturing potential fluid leakage zones, acid tar ponds and more. After landfill or industry site is closed, gas emissions are still active and in landfills has to be collected until some moment, but, significant amount of methane and other gasses remain trapped and degrades exponentially slower. Emissions can be reduced by collection, however, residual methane always remains and is still released. Methane might be degraded biologically in constructed engineered biocover layer by using reject material fine fraction from landfills. Novelty is succesful trial of waste-derived materials (lost to recycling) used in the production of the biocover, testing at operating landfill in pilot mode and extend in future opportunities for the use in remediation projects, e.g., dumps, partially treated acid tar ponds and oil industry brownfields supporting EU climate policy and achieving two UN sustainable development goals: SDG13 reduction of greenhouse gases, and SDG12 recovery of materials.

Current Upstream decarbonization roadmap would require Carbon Capture Storage projects not just to reduce emissions balance, but to achieve negative emissions. First step in this process of “green exploration”, in analogy with convention exploration, will be to screen out favorable basins. Main objective of this “green exploration” is to analyze (feasibility study) which subsurface options could progress on the project management decision process (Carbon Capture & Storage, CCS subsurface). There are evident advantages in mature Oil & Gas basins where producing fields, close to depletion, aligned with dry hole (potential saline aquifer’s) could speed up screening process feasibility. Based on a prior positive screening a project (depleted Oil & Gas Field) could be sanctioned for next milestone: computed 3D Geological Static model, which will integrate all available Geological, Geophysical & Logging data with required interpretation.

This paper summarizes main lessons learned gathered from in-house 3D geological modeling of depleted oil & gas fields and saline aquifers (upside green exploration in shallow producing fields horizons). Mentioned 3D Geological Static model has proven to be the corner stone of any further CO2 storage feasibility analysis and a starting point to explore for additional storage resources, outside producing reservoirs.

The development of improved technologies for carbon capture, utilization and sequestration requires a wide spectrum of expertise and calls for cross-disciplinary work in engineering, science, regulations, and strong collaborations between academia, industry, and government. Within the design of the monitoring strategy, we need to understand what is to be monitored (e.g., CO2 injection, well integrity, leakage, plume movement, etc.) as well as the variations in properties (e.g., pressure, temperature, CO2 saturation, resistivity, density, seismicity, etc.) and how those variations will occur (i.e., over time, within a specific range, etc.). For a monitoring strategy to meet its objectives in terms of assurance, verification, and cost optimization, a holistic solution design and modeling workflow is required.

Critical to the success of the monitoring strategy design is the incorporation of dynamic modeling, such that subsurface behavior can be predicted, and the key parameters and their uncertainties can be identified. This allows for the design and planning of the appropriate geophysical measurements. A successful monitoring strategy would therefore be able to history match the dynamic modelling against field observation, identify anomalies and update the sub-surface model, monitoring strategy and risk model accordingly.

Geothermal energy has the potential to play an increasingly important role in the sustainable energy mix. There are, however, inherent technical challenges that need to be understood and overcome to de- risk geothermal development and production and to help accelerate commercial uptake. Previous geothermal projects provide valuable lessons learned for future development, and the oil and gas industry can offer further insights on shared difficulties. The long history of geothermal exploration and production contains abundant examples of problems of corrosion and scale, and when first encountered these often had a serious impact on project economics. Today, a range of engineering solutions have been established for these problems and can be designed into a new project from the outset. Looking forward, the geothermal fluids in sedimentary basins tend to be more benign than those in the historical volcanic-associated systems and petroleum industry experience is relevant to the types of problem and their mitigation. This paper aims to give a holistic overview of different technical challenges faced by geothermal projects globally, and to comment on areas of overlap with the petroleum industry.

Unlocking the deep geothermal potential is often hindered by economic challenges like the lack of risk capital for funding early project development phases. Community-based financing like crowdfunding can be a promising concept to provide access to additional funds while at the same time increasing the chances for project support and a Social License to Operate. Especially with respect to the exploration risk, community funding models must however be accompanied by appropriate risk management and risk mitigation strategies for both project developers and crowd investors.

As part of the Horizon 2020 project CROWDTHERMAL, the opportunities of different alternative finance methods were assessed along with their potential risks and possible mitigation measures. Recommendations were formulated for a novel risk mitigation framework that can complement alternative financing solutions for deep geothermal projects throughout Europe.

A support mechanism is proposed that addresses several of the main barriers to geothermal market development. It can reduce the amount of risk capital required by project developers and can help more projects become economically feasible. At the same time, it can mitigate the financial risk for crowd investors and broaden the applicability of community funding schemes.

The geothermal brines associated with granitic rocks in Cornwall have been proven to have globally significant lithium grades. These hot-brines are often localized along faults and fractures and alter the surrounding country rocks.

The clay and iron minerals associated with hydrothermal alteration have characteristic spectral signatures that can be identified by satellites. Multispectral and hyperspectral satellites were used to map the alteration and generate target areas for fieldwork. High spatial and spectral resolution airborne hyperspectral data and 3D drone imagery were also integrated to enable more precise target detection. Fieldwork follow-up with a field-spectrometer confirmed the presence of alteration.

Combined with the spectral mapping, satellite elevation data sets and airborne LiDAR were used to generate semi-automated fault mapping workflow. Machine learning algorithms and automated workflows resulted in the rapid processing, interpretation, and delineation of possible faulted areas. The outputs from these were integrated with the mineral alteration mapping to geologically contextualize the target areas.

Using these targets, geologists from Cornish Lithium undertook a ground validation campaign as a key element of the iterative approach that the machine learning model took. This allowed for a highly accurate prospectively map to be generated and the improved delineation of field target areas.

Underground hydrogen storage (UHS) will play a key role in the future energy system by providing flexibility to balance the supply and demand of energy. With this technology, hydrogen can be stored in large quantities in salt caverns and (potentially) in porous reservoirs. While UHS in salt caverns is already operational at four locations in the world, UHS in porous reservoirs is not yet a mature technology and only limited number of field experiences have been realized.

In this paper, we investigate the feasibility of UHS in the depleted gas field of Roden in the northeast of the Netherlands. We run several simulations to assess the potential to use the reservoir for both seasonal and peak-shaver storage. For this purpose we used operational data from two underground gas storages nearby and hydrogen demand and supply forecasts generated for the Netherlands for the year 2050. We run different scenarios with different storage capacities (working pressure ranges) and investigate the implications of using nitrogen as cushion gas (instead of the more costly hydrogen) and the degree of mixing. Furthermore, we investigate the performance of this field and determine the number of additional wells required when using it as peak-shaver storage.

At present, crude oil and natural gas comprise ~54.3 % of the global energy supply. Rapidly replacing this with lower carbon sources is challenging, resulting in oil and gas forming a significant part of the energy mix in future predictions, even in scenarios that strive to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement. An analysis of multiple, recently published, rapid energy transition scenarios suggest 943.3 Bbbl of oil and 4,733.5 Tcf of gas will be required in the next three decades. 357.1 –284.1 Bbbl of oil and 2,274.6 – 2,170.2 Tcf of gas will need to be found to complement existing recoverable reserves. To meet this demand will require the exploration and production of low carbon intensity (and cost efficient). ‘advantaged’ hydrocarbons. Primary controls on ‘advantage’ are geological factors including fluid type and the geological complexity of a reservoir since they will influence drilling and production strategy. A broader consideration of ‘advantage’ includes proximity to infrastructure and subsequent transportation distance. Stimulus is needed to realise the carbon capture and storage capacity that will be needed to mitigate the consequences of the ongoing reliance on fossil fuels.

The presentation provides a detailed collation of geological storage options and the status of capacity assessment, as well as the current advancement on CCS project implementation from research to commercial scale, in 32 European countries as of December 31^st 2020. Furthermore, drivers and challenges for CCS project implementation are assessed shedding light on current national policies and climate-protection strategies, research priorities and legislation and regulations in place that affect CO2 storage operations. A first assessment made in 2013, a predecessor of the present study, was concentrated essentially on power generation. Our current summary reveals a broader application of CCS in Europe, now focusing on CO2 emissions from industrial sectors that are more challenging to abate, such as chemical, steel and cement plants as well as geothermal plants and the decarbonisation of hydrogen production. In addition, transport networks with hubs and clusters have developed in recent years with so- called “projects of common interest” as nuclei. At the same time, companies and sites offering a ‘CO2 transport and storage service’ are emerging. Overall, in the last few years, a clear progress can be observed in the roll-out of CO2 storage in Europe through new national climate targets, policies and commercial/demonstration projects.

Geological subsurface exploitation is an important contribution of ecological transition and sustainable development for energy consumption. However, geological interventions are being a controversial topic especially among the general public. This opposition can be assimilated to a lack of knowledge, but findings show that providing knowledge hardly improves the perceptions and attitudes notably towards Carbon Capture and Storage. As geological subsurface exploitation involves many stakeholders, the public may be confused on the variety of technical and scientific information and would hardly identify which party to give their trust to. Thus, in order to better understand how education and communication of geological subsurface exploitation should be considered, we would like to present a framework and a methodology of informed dialogue in three parts. First, we would like to identify the representations of a non-expert population on the geological subsurface properties and exploitation technics with the development of a diagnostic instrument. Second, we plan to analyze the variety and quality of online information in order to comprehend the representations previously identified. Third, we will present the development of an innovative pedagogical material to initiate interest and discussion based on a serious game.