BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//Talks.cam//talks.cam.ac.uk// X-WR-CALNAME:Talks.cam BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:Imperial College London - Qatar Carbonates and Carbon Storage Rese arch Centre: Status update after three years of fundamental research - Dr. Iain Macdonald\, Dr. Geoff Maitland DTSTART:20130221T180000Z DTEND:20130221T193000Z UID:TALK43595@talks.cam.ac.uk CONTACT:G. Ibrahim DESCRIPTION:There are still specific areas where our knowledge of carbon s torage is in need of improvement\, particularly in carbonate reservoirs\, since currently we extrapolate data from limited sources or and the predic tive modelling technologies currently employed have a level of uncertainty that needs to be addressed. We will highlight our efforts through the Qat ar Carbonates and Carbon Storage Research Centre (a $70 million\, 10 year research programme with currently over 20 PhD students and 8 Post-Doctoral researchers along with seventeen faculty members) to investigate the unde rlying science and engineering concerning carbonate reservoir characterisa tion\, rock-fluid-CO2 interactions and multiphase flow experiments under r eservoir conditions linked to complimentary simulation and modelling advan ces\, including the rapidly developing field of digital rocks.\n \nThis ha s involved developing unique HTHP experimental rigs and pioneering new mod elling techniques\, enhancing the toolbox available to engineers and geo-s cientists to select suitable reservoirs and optimally design CO2 storage p rocesses. These capabilities extend over molecular-pore-core-field scales. We have four focused research laboratories (Qatar Stable Isotope Lab\; Qa tar Thermophysical Property Lab\; Qatar Complex Fluids Lab\; Qatar CCS Mul tiscale Imaging Lab) that were officially opened in September 2012.\n \nWe will discuss the highlights of major research findings to date in the con text of carbon storage in the Middle East. These include findings from the research have helped broaden and deepen our understanding of carbonate re servoirs relevant to CCS in Qatar. On a fundamental level\, we have deter mined the signature of transport in complex carbonates combining imaging a nd pore-space modelling\, found rules for rock pore filling during imbibi tion through the use of a novel reservoir-condition micromodel rig complim ented by modelling\, established a comprehensive understanding and predict ive capability of CO2 – brine density and interfacial tension and acquir ed the first images of super-critical CO2-brine-carbonate capillary trappi ng\, combined with the first use of a confocal laser scanning microscope t o analyse reservoir rocks. At the field scale\, we have the first results of an innovative approach to reservoir simulation\, combining geologicall y-controlled reservoir description with a new adaptive mesh flow code.\n \ nTechnology and knowledge transfer from London to Qatar is another major c hallenge to be overcome in the near future as the balance of research shif ts from London to Doha.\n\nAbout the speakers:\n\nDr. Iain Macdonald is a Marine Scientist and has a BSc\, MSc and PhD from UK Universities. He has been a commercial diver\, environmental engineer\, and research scientist. After completing his PhD on carbonate reef accretion he spent nearly 6 ye ars with the LNG industry in Qatar and two projects he managed won local ( Qatar Today Green Awards\, 2008) and regional (RESCO Offshore Arabia\, 200 9) environmental awards. He joined Imperial College London in 2009 as the Qatar Carbonates and Carbon Storage Research Centre Programme Manager to m anage their biggest industry sponsored research programme.\n\nDr. Geoff Ma itland is a Physical Chemist who was a student in Oxford (as an undergradu ate and DPhil research student 1965-72)\, had an academic career in Bristo l (as an ICI Postdoctoral Fellow) and at Imperial College (as Lecturer/Sen ior Lecturer in Chemical Engineering) and for the last 20 years has worked in the oil and gas industry with Schlumberger. The common thread running through his research interests over the years has been the links between interactions at the molecular/colloidal level and the bulk properties of m aterials. This started with simple molecular fluids but moved on to polym er dynamics\, rheology and reactors at Imperial College. On joining Schlu mberger in 1986\, he initiated research on characterising and understandin g the flow of drilling fluids and other complex oilfield materials. Betwe en 1988 and 2005 he has held several research director roles in the areas of fluid physics\, chemistry and process engineering. His research intere sts included rock-fluid interactions\, chemical characterisation of multic omponent fluids\, the development of new hydrocarbon recovery processes an d the application of biological processes to oil recovery. He sits on a n umber of EPSRC and DTI committees\, has held several visiting chairs at UK universities and has spent much of his time stimulating and engaging in o ilfield-related research with university and industrial collaborators. He moved to a Chair of Energy Engineering at Imperial College in September 2 005. Since 2009 he has also been the Director of the Qatar Carbonates and Carbon Storage Research Centre.\n\n** This event is in collaboration with CU Arabsoc LOCATION:LR5\, Baker Building\, Engineering Department - Trumpington Stree t END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR