EPSRC - Recent Oil and Gas Related Funding Awards

Emma Feltham (emma.feltham@epsrc.ac.uk) is Associate Programme Manager responsible for oil and gas at EPSRC. She reports on two new projects receiving EPSRC funding.

Capillary Driven Imbibition into Pores of Precisely Controlled Geometry (GR/S58096/01)

Oil is obtained from fractured reservoirs by brine imbibing into the pore space of the rock and displacing the oil. For this to happen the oil has to flow countercurrent to the brine and this behaviour is not properly understood. Mechanical models using rods will be used to create interconnecting channels behind a glass plate and the capillary behaviour of liquids displacing air will be studied. It should be possible to fit some of the experimental results using known theories.

The Principal Investigator is Dr Geoff Mason (G.Mason@lboro.ac.uk) of the Chemical Engineering Department at Loughborough University. The project is due to being in February 2004 and be completed by January 2007. The award value is £187k.

VGW - A Virtual Geoscience Workbench for Discontinuous Systems (GR/S42699/01)

The virtual geoscience workbench for discontinuous systems (VGW) will be developed. A network of users of VGW will be established, training provided and exploitation facilitated. VGW will be created using advanced discontinua techniques in the context of indicative geoscience phenomena and problems such as granular dynamics, packing and heap stability. VGW will be a synthesis of key developments in discrete element modelling (DEM), combined finite discrete elements (FEMIDEM), complex system modelling, continua modelling, software design and test-bed applications to both fundamental and applied research in earth science and earth engineering. It will incorporate world-leading in-house algorithms for complex shape collision dynamics, interaction between particles, fluid coupling, fracturing and fragmenting particles - that are ideally suited to dynamic, pseudo-static geological timescale systems. VGW will be open source, extendable, modular, object-orientated, transparent, portable, internet- and user-friendly. It will be easy to customise, configure and apply to an impressive range of problems. VGW will be tested and demonstrated on earth science and earth engineering case studies arising under the common theme: "a sedimentary rock process model - from genesis to brittle deformation". These will focus on the dependence of emergent behaviour on particle-scale interactions and will include sedimentation, avalanching, compaction, diagenesis, multi-phase flow through granular media, faulting and jointing.

The Principal Investigator is Dr John-Paul Latham (jp. latham @ imperial .ac.uk) of the Earth Science & Engineering Department at Imperial College in London. Other investigators are Professor PR King, Dr CC Pain, Professor MJ Blunt, Professor J Woods and Professor DJ Sanderson. Project Partners are WF Baird & Associates, Orica UK Limited, Rio Tinto Technology Development Ltd and Continuum Resources London. The project is due to start in May 2004 and be completed by April 2009. The award value is £470k.

Disclaimer: The material available on this website is designed to provide general information only. Whilst every effort has been made to ensure that the information provided is accurate, it does not constitute legal or other professional advice.
Please note: The Department of Trade and Industry cannot be held responsible for the contents of any pages referenced by an external link.