Events
Enhancing hydrocarbon recovery with smart fluids and processes
| Date: | Wednesday 20 February 2008 16:00 - 17:00 |
| Location: | Eng 325 |
Prof. Geoffrey C Maitland FREng
Professor of Energy Engineering
Director of Research
Department of Chemical Engineering
Imperial College
Abstract: The talk aims to illustrate how advances in a number of areas – sensors, process simulation, fluids engineering – are combining to enhance the production and recovery of oil and gas from reservoirs, both for conventional hydrocarbons (hence delaying the timing of ‘peak oil’) and for non-conventional hydrocarbons such as tar sands (whose clean, economic recovery will extend the supply and use of fossil fuels for many decades). Four problem scenarios will be selected: inefficient reservoir sweep, low reservoir permeability, reservoir heterogeneity and unstable-weak formations. For each case, the nature of the problem will be outlined and solutions based on recent research described.
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ABOUT THE SPEAKER: Geoffrey Maitland studied Chemistry at Oxford University where he also obtained his doctorate in Physical Chemistry. After a period as an ICI Research Fellow at Bristol University, he was appointed to a lectureship in Chemical Engineering at Imperial College in 1974. His research focused on molecular interactions and the thermophysical properties of fluids, polymer dynamics/rheology and polymer reaction engineering. He spent a secondment with ICI Plastics Division from 1979-81 and became a senior lecturer in 1983. In 1986 he moved to the oil and gas industry with Schlumberger, where he carried out research in oilfield fluids engineering, mainly for well construction, reservoir stimulation and production enhancement. He held a number of research management positions in Cambridge and Paris, most recently as Research Director for Chemistry and Biology. He rejoined Imperial College in September 2005 as Professor of Energy Engineering and his current research covers clean and efficient fossil fuel production with particular emphasis on carbon dioxide as a reservoir process fluid, methane hydrate production and energy-related reactor engineering. Geoff was awarded the Hutchison Medal by the Institution of Chemical Engineers in 1998 and served as President of the British Society of Rheology from 2002-2005.
