Critical Resources – Rare Earth Elements

Date: 26 - 28 Feb 2024
Time: 10.5 hrs; 2pm-5.30pm GMT
Location: Online
Tutor: Holly Elliott: Lecturer at the University of Derby 

This course covers all aspects of rare earth elements (REE) as critical resources, both in terms of technological advancement and combating climate change. We shall delve into the major sources of these elements, their tectonic settings and the enrichment processes that lead to deposit formation. The characteristics of major REE deposits shall be investigated, using international case studies, to determine typical exploration methods and factors affecting processing.

You will learn to:

• Understand the characteristics and behavior of REE in these geological environments.
• Understand the geological processes leading to formation of different deposit types.
• Understand and identify the multiple enrichment mechanisms that lead to REE-enrichment.
• Identify typical rocks and minerals associated with REE deposits.
• Evaluate typical features of REE deposits to determine appropriate exploration techniques.
• Interpret geochemical and exploration data associated with REE deposits.
• Assess the economic viability of deposits using typical characteristics.

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The Fundamentals of Wind and Solar Power

Date: 16 Apr 2024
Time: 3hrs, 2pm-5pm BST
Location: Online
Tutor: Brian Matthews: Independent Consultant, Founder and Managing Director of TerraUrsa 

The aim of this course is to provide an overview of wind and solar power technology, how it works and its role in decarbonization and the energy transition.

The course is aimed at non-technical staff and those who do not have a scientific background but want a basic introduction into the topic. The subject matter will be covered from very basic principles and be of interest to staff from a range of departments including legal, graphics, administration and technical support.

You will learn to:

• Understand why there is a need to transition to renewable energy.
• Recall the challenges of a Net Zero energy transition.
• Appreciate how wind and solar power technology works and what the management of an asset looks like through its life.
• Describe what the business opportunities are for using, developing and investing in renewable energy.
• Have an awareness of what the policy and government strategies are that support a Net Zero transition.

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An Introduction to Geospatial Workflows

Date: 15 - 17 Apr 2024
Time: 10.5 hrs; 2:00pm-5.30pm BST
Location: Online
Tutor: Richard Jones, Geospatial Research Ltd

This course provides a broad overview of geoinformatics and the practical application of geospatial technologies to tackle key challenges of the GeoEnergy Transition.

You will learn to:

• Recognise different types of spatial data, and how they can be represented and stored in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and related software.
• Describe the pros and cons of 2-D and 3-D geospatial user interfaces as a primary way to organise and access data.
• Understand spatial resolution, precision and accuracy.
• Assess different approaches to evaluating spatial data, including geostatistics and geospatial analysis.
• Download and process earth observation satellite imagery.
• Acquire and process Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) data for high precision spatial positioning.
• Evaluate current trends in the GeoEnergy Transition.

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Seals, Containment and Risk for CCS and Hydrogen Storage

Date: 22 - 25 Apr 2024
Time: 14 hrs, 20m-5.30pm BST
Location: Online
Tutor: Richard Swarbrick, Manager, Swarbrick GeoPressure Consultancy

This course examines the nature and properties of seals as they relate to containment for permanent storage of CO2, and cyclical storage of hydrogen and/or compressed air. The course will provide a grounding in the geomechanics of seals and how seals and their properties are created in the subsurface. Whilst most data and analysis relating to seals has been acquired from and applied to oil and gas exploration and containment this course will show how such data can be applied to CCS and gas storage. Particular attention will be given to the different sealing requirements of CO2 and hydrogen relative to oil/gas and water.

You will learn to:

• Evaluate the nature of containment seals and their properties in the deep earth (>1.0 km below surface).
• Apply knowledge of seal integrity to estimates of column heights and associated storage volumes.
• Assess the concepts of seal integrity and how to predict risk of seal breach/failure.
• Appraise current knowledge of seal behaviour.
• Manage the requirements for permanent CO2 storage using CCS with short-term/cyclic storage for hydrogen/air.
• Characterise data requirements and limitations to assess seal integrity and risk (mainly sourced from oil/gas boreholes).
• Evaluate different trapping requirements for gas storage (currently data-poor) relative to oil/gas (historically data-rich)

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Carbon Capture and Storage Masterclass

Date: 20 - 24 May 2024
Time: 17.5 hrs; 2pm-5.30pm BST
Location: Online
Tutor: Richard Worden, Professor in the Department of Earth Ocean and Ecological Sciences, University of Liverpool, UK

This course will provide participants with awareness of the geoscience needs for CCS projects; namely subsurface CO2 storage volumetrics, CO2 flow in the subsurface away from injector wells, the goal of safe and permanent storage of CO2 and cost-benefit issues linked to aquifer depth, well design, etc. The course will establish basics, such as how much CCS is needed to make a difference to global warming, and explore what types of CO2 injection are already happening, including information from CO2-enhanced oil recovery projects. The course will deal with CO2 as a fluid phase and how much CO2 can be stored per cubic meter in terms of porosity and over entire aquifers. It will deal with how quickly CO2 can be injected and the role of aquifer permeability. The course then moves on to the all-important geomechanical effects of CO2 injection and feedbacks between induced mineral dissolution and rock strength and other rock properties. The full range of possible interaction between CO2 and both aquifer and top-seal will be covered, as will the range of possible leakage mechanisms that need to be assessed. The course will conclude with consideration of monitoring strategies.

You will learn to:

• Develop awareness of the role of geoscience in CCS and of CCS in CO2 emissions reductions.
• Appreciate what CO2 injection projects have occurred so far and how they differ from industrial CCS.
• Understand CO2 as a fluid in the subsurface and the fluid injection pressure and effective stress regimes that CO2 injection will involve.
• Build awareness of the volumetrics of CO2 storage from the micro (pore-scale) to the macro (aquifer volumes).
• Gain an appreciation of the question of CO2 flow away from injector wells controlled by permeability and aquifer architecture.
• Understand the range of effects that CO2 can have on the host aquifer, from geomechanical to geochemical.
• Assess the role of top-seal and fault-seal properties and how they will influence CO2 storage, from risk of fracking, or induced seismicity, to mineral dissolution.
• Understand the range of ways that CO2 could escape from the planned storage sites.
• Develop an awareness of the range of monitoring strategies that could be employed to ensure safe and long-term storage of CO2.

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The Fundamentals of Hydrogen Energy

Date: 22 May 2024
Time: 3hrs, 2pm-5pm BST
Location: Online
Tutor: Kevin Taylor, Professor in Energy Geoscience, University of Manchester

The aim of this course is to give an overview of the fundamental aspects of the current hydrogen energy landscape. This will include a range of topics, including what hydrogen is and why it can potentially be a significant fuel and energy carrier, the different methods in which it can be produced, its potential role in decarbonization of energy and heat, how it can be stored in the subsurface, and its place overall within the energy transition.

The course is aimed at non-technical staff and those who do not have a scientific background but want a basic introduction to the topic. The subject matter will be covered from very basic principles and will be of interest to staff from a range of departments, including legal, graphics, administration and technical support.

You will learn to:

• Understand what hydrogen is and why it can be used as a fuel and energy carrier.
• Describe how hydrogen can be produced and the resulting different types and terminology.
• Appreciate the role hydrogen can play in decarbonizing energy and heat, and the competing demands in the hydrogen energy landscape.
• Appreciate the different storage options for hydrogen, particularly in the subsurface.
• Recall details of the developing hydrogen supply chains, including infrastructure and distribution networks.

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Transition Skills: From Oil and Gas to Geothermal

Date: 10 - 12 Jun 2024
Location: Houston
Tutor: Malcolm Ross: Lecturer, Rice University, Texas

This course will offer geoscientists an understanding of how they can use and adapt their expertise gained in the oil and gas industry to the growing geothermal industry. Participants will be introduced to the fundamentals of a variety of geothermal system styles and be guided through the exploration and development of a project, focusing on subsurface workflows based on those used for oil and gas. The course is intended as an introduction to the entire lifecycle of a geothermal resource, covering aspects of geoscience and some engineering.

This course is designed specifically for geoscientists wanting to transition from the oil and gas industry to the geothermal sector.

You will learn to:

• Describe the fundamentals of geothermal energy and how it is harnessed and used.
• Understand the key subsurface characteristics of geothermal resources and reservoirs.
• Understand what exploration tools (seismic, potential fields, geochemistry), exploration data (bottom hole temperatures, gradient surveys) and exploration approaches (basin modelling, play-based exploration) are used in geothermal exploration, which ones are in common with oil and gas, and how their uses differ.
• Define the subsurface geoscience requirements for a geothermal project, including the key similarities and differences with an oil and gas project.
• Appreciate the data types and subsurface workflows involved in a geothermal project.
• Examine the key project risks and uncertainties in developing geothermal resources and how they are mitigated.

Full details

The Fundamentals of Carbon Capture and Storage

Date: 25 Jun 2024
Time: 3hrs; 2pm-5pm BST
Location: Online
Tutor: Richard Worden, Professor in the Department of Earth Ocean and Ecological Sciences, University of Liverpool, UK

The aim of this course is to provide an overview of what carbon capture and storage is, how it works and its role in decarbonization and the energy transition.

The course is aimed at non-technical staff and those who do not have a scientific background but want a basic introduction into the topic. The subject matter will be covered from very basic principles and be of interest to staff from a range of departments, including legal, graphics, administration and technical support.

You will learn to:

• Understand what carbon capture and storage is.
• Appreciate why carbon capture and storage is needed to reduce emissions.
• Outline how carbon capture and storage works.
• Discuss carbon capture and storage project risks and uncertainties.

Full details

Women in Energy Field Experience: The Role of Salt in Hydrocarbon Exploitation, Energy Storage and Carbon-reduction Mechanisms, Utah and Colorado

Date: 30 Sep - 04 Oct 2024
Location: Colorado and Utah
Tutors: Kate Giles, and Professor Earth Sciences, University of Texas at El Paso and Cindy Yeilding, NE Director, Denbury Inc.

This course is aimed exclusively at women working in the energy industry, particularly in the geoscience, geotechnical and engineering fields. The primary technical goal is to provide a widely applicable introduction to the interrelationship between sedimentation and structural geology with a particular focus on salt tectonics and salt-sediment interaction. The geology is examined with reference to energy production, including hydrocarbon exploration and production, along with discussions around energy transition topics (CCUS, geothermal, hydrogen and energy storage). While the technical aspects are paramount, the course is also designed to provide networking and professional development opportunities. Evening discussions and activities will allow for exchange of ideas and experiences in a supportive and open atmosphere.

This is a 5-day field course starting and finishing in Grand Junction, Colorado, comprising a mixture of field exercises, activities and networking.

You will learn to:

• Describe the regional stratigraphy and principal structural features of the Paradox Basin, Utah.
• Characterize and interpret controls on Paradox Basin salt-related structures and key features of passive diapiric systems, including halokinetic sequences, caprock development, non-evaporite stringers / inclusions, welds, megaflaps, counter-regional faults, radial faults and burial wedges.
• Examine stratal geometries and halokinetic sequences and how these relate to intervals of salt inflation / evacuation and sediment flux.
• Assess the controls on basin fill architecture, fluid flow and deformation within the Paradox Basin and compare this to analogous salt basins worldwide.
• Understand the importance of salt basins to the energy industry for hydrocarbon production.

Full details

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