University of Aberdeen
3 PhD positions awarded (highlighted in blue) from 9 approved projects
- The thermal maturity, timing, geometric properties and geomechanical controls on fractures in shale multi-layers
- Oil-filled fractures in fractured basement: Towards a deeper understanding of a new hydrocarbon play West of Shetland (Lancaster Field)
- Deformation adjacent to mobile evaporite bodies – modelling approaches and outcrop examples from the Alps
- Extending the life of mature basins in the North Sea and imaging sub-basalt and sub-intrusive structures using seismic intensity monitoring (Supervisors: Dr Luca De Siena, Dr David Healy, Dr Nick Schofield) PhD student: Panayiota Sketsiou
- Unconventional sub-basalt imaging and geological interpretation in terms of porosity/permeability in buried volcanic basins
- Determining the main controls on fault-associated dolomitisation and their influence on reservoir quality distribution
- The seismic response of hydraulically-fractured, poorly-consolidated mudstone and sandstone
- Characterisation of glacigenic reservoirs and landsystems using sedimentology, geomorphology and virtual outcrop mapping (Supervisors: Dr Brice Rea, Prof. John Howell, Dr Matteo Spagnolo, Dr David Cornwell) PhD student: Bartosz Kurjanski
- Hydrocarbon prospectivity of the inshore basins along Scotland’s West Coast (Supervisors: Dr Nick Schofield, Prof. Adrian Hartley, Prof. John Howell, Dr David Muirhead, Prof. John Underhill (Heriot-Watt)) PhD student: Laura-Jane Fyfe
University of Birmingham
1 PhD position awarded (highlighted in blue) from 3 approved projects
- A micropalaeontological and sedimentological understanding of Mesozoic cyclic sedimentation
- Phytoplankton productivity and organic matter export in a marginal sea
- The Neogene evolution of the NE Atlantic: multi-proxy constraints on stratigraphy, palaeoclimate and palaeogeography (Supervisors: Dr Steve Jones, Dr James Bendle, Dr Tom Dunkley-Jones) PhD student: Jonathan Hall
Cardiff University
1 PhD position awarded (highlighted in blue) from 2 approved projects
- Fluid flow paths through sedimentary basins: Implications for exploration in challenging geological environments (Supervisors: Dr Tiago Alves, Dr Joana Gafeira (BGS)) PhD student: Chantelle Roelofse
- Megablocks on continental margins and their potential as reservoir units
University of Dundee
1 PhD position awarded (highlighted in blue) from 3 approved projects
- Future Liability for Abandonment Failures
- Investigating the effect of noise from Oil & Gas activities on the collective behaviour of fish and marine mammals
- Understanding hydrocarbon impacts on vegetation and detection with remote sensing (Supervisors: Dr Mark Cutler, Dr Glyn Bengough) PhD student: Raquel Serrano Calvo
University of Durham
3 PhD positions awarded (highlighted in blue) from 9 approved projects
- Geomechanics in Digital Rock Analysis
- Diagenetic Controls of Reservoir Quality in Carboniferous Tight Gas Sandstones
- Understanding the Controls on Fines Migration in Sandstones (Supervisors: Prof Chris Greenwell, Dr Nicola de Paola, Dr Pablo Bubillas, Ian Collins (BP)) PhD student: Catriona Sellick
- Fault-void fills – pervasive and persistent fluid flow pathways in fractured crystalline and carbonate reservoirs
- Structural geology and geomechanical significance of natural fractures in overburden successions
- Statistical characterisation of fluvial sandbodies: implications for complex reservoir models
- Permeability reduction due to salt precipitation in sandstone formations (Supervisors: Dr Simon Mathias, Dr Stefan Nielsen, Michelle Bentham (BGS)) PhD student: Charlotte Withers
- Structural and Thermal Evolution of Continent-Ocean Fracture Zones (Supervisors: Prof Ken McCaffrey, Dr Jeroen van Hunen, Prof Richard Davies (Newcastle), Dr Lara Kalnins) PhD student: Pavlos Farangitakis
- From the bottom to the top: identifying natural geological linkages from deep formations to the surface
University of Exeter (Camborne School of Mines)
2 awards
- An integrated remote sensing-numerical modelling approach for evaluation and optimisation of hydrocarbon reservoir performance
- Formation-scale changes in clay mineralogy of mudrocks – unravelling the contributions of source terrains, palaeoclimate, and diagenesis
- Sediment sources across the grain size spectrum
- Investigating Paleogene strata from Oman and the UAE; new insights from integrated chemostratigraphy, sedimentology and biostratigraphy
University of Glasgow
1 award
- The formation and evolution of continental rift flank topography and adjacent basins: analysis of the Rukwa-Malawi sector of the East African Rift
- A New Reservoir Characterisation Tool: A High Resolution Study on the Effect of Increasing Burial Depth and Temperature on the Carbonate Clumped Isotope Palaeothermometer
- Constraining the thermal histories of the Carboniferous Midland Valley of Scotland: a potential resource for unconventional gas and shale oil?
Heriot-Watt University
3 awards
- Prediction of flow through fractures and maximising recovery under geological uncertainty and geomechanical constraints
- Modelling of Geo-mechanical – Hydro-mechanical Coupling in Fractured Reservoirs
- Development of natural and sustainable bio-dispersants for the Oil & Gas industry
- Numerical Diagenesis of Reservoir Rocks
- Bots in Rocks: Intelligent Rock Deformation for Fault Rock Petrophysical Properties
- Analysis of shale mineralogy and fabric and its induced anisotropic seismic response for hydrocarbon exploration and production.
- Enhanced Geological Modelling of Turbidites Using Physical Models to Calibrate Erosion and Deposition Processes
- Evaluating the geological case for carbon dioxide gas storage capacity in depleted fields and saline aquifers
- Geomechanical, geophysical, and geothermal properties of gas hydrate-bearing permafrost sediments: Macro experiments and micro mechanisms
Imperial College London
3 awards
- Rapid and Reliable Numerical Tools for Design and Control in Reservoir Engineering
- Constraining reservoir distribution by linking stratigraphic architecture and sediment mass balance
- Inversion of downhole self-potential measurements for real-time waterfront imaging in hydrocarbon reservoirs
- Sedimentology and Thermal history of Carbonate-rich shales (Jura region, France and Switzerland): a dual approach combining fieldwork and clumped isotopes
- Geological life cycle inventory model development for conventional and unconventional hydrocarbon resources
- A new sub-grid scale modelling approach for reservoir simulation
- Pore scale modelling of foam flow in porous media
- Quantifying the relationship between structural growth rate and the morphology of submarine channels and reservoir facies from shelf-edge to deep water
Keele University
2 awards
- Structural, stratigraphic and geodynamic controls on the evolution of the Carboniferous succession of northern England and southern Scotland
- The Permian Whitehill Formation (Karoo Basin, South Africa): deciphering the complexity and potential of an unconventional gas resource
- Sedimentary controls on secondary processes: Deformation bands in reservoirs
- Climatic cyclicity and environmental interactions in arid continental basins: The Leman Sandstone, Southern North Sea
University of Manchester
3 awards
- Assessing the atmospheric impacts of exploration for shale gas in the UK
- The role of sedimentary process mix and sequence stratigraphy in prediction of reservoir quality and sealing capacity of shelf mudstones: the Magoffin Shale, central Appalachian basin, USA
- Pore-Scale Imaging of Cross Fault Flow in High Porosity Sandstones using High Pressure-Temperature Fluid Tomography
- Determination of basin-scale fluid flux to understand porosity distribution within mature carbonate basins
- Impact of glaciation on arctic petroleum systems: seismic geomorphology and petroleum systems modelling offshore West Greenland and West Norway
- An Integrated Study for Optimum Designing of Low Salinity Water Composition in Sandstone Reservoirs
- Syn-sedimentary sliding and substrate deformation in deep-marine lobe systems
- Deep-marine reservoir heterogeneity in steep-sided minibasins – influence of basin physiography on sedimentological processes and basin-fill character
- Influence of lithofacies, stress state and fluid saturation on shale permeability, with implications for enhanced effectiveness of shale gas recovery
Newcastle University
1 award
- The role of asphaltenes in emulsion stabilisation formed by ocean oil spills
- Evolution of mechanical properties of organic matter in fine grained rocks
University of Nottingham – University of Birmingham partnership
2 awards
- Novel characterization methods for pore systems of seal rocks in reservoirs used for downhole hydrogen production and storage.
- Unlocking Natural Catalysis in Subsurface Oil Recovery.
- In-situ Upgrading of Oil Using Naturally Occurring Clay Minerals and Hydrotalcites.
University of Oxford
3 awards
- Tracing oil and gas reservoir contributions to shallow fluid systems.
- The propagation and growth of polygonal faults.
- Exploiting sparse structures in seismic modelling and inversion.
- Calcite-Aragonite Seas and porosity prediction: A New Approach (EARTH-16-RR1).
- Palaeoenvironmental controls on the deposition and development of organic-rich sediments in the North Atlantic: insights into deep-water source rocks?
- Authigenic mineral corrosion and the origins of secondary porosity in lacustrine carbonate reservoirs: An experimental approach.
Royal Holloway University of London
2 awards
- New methods for forecasting the permeability of fractured reservoirs. Additional information available here.
- Methane emissions from the UK gas industry.
University of Southampton
3 awards
- Active fault kinematics during non-volcanic rifting in East Africa
- Bayesian analysis of marine controlled source electromagnetic data for a laterally-variable subsurface
- Characterising the permeability and structure of onshore and offshore chimney structures – relevance to Carbon Capture and Storage
- Clastic Shelf Plays, Reservoirs and Seals: New insights through the correlation of high resolution seismic imaging of Quaternary and terrestrial analogues
- Crustal and sedimentary structure of the Eastern Black Sea Basin from long-offset seismic reflection data
- Reconstructing the ocean floor shape in turbidite basins using seismic interpretation, forward modelling, and outcrop analogues
- Subsea impact assessment using active and passive acoustic inversion methods
- Triggering of giant submarine landslides and implications for hydrocarbon structures
- Unconventionals of Green River Formation Oil Shales
University of Strathclyde
1 award
- How likely is high-amplitude earthquake shaking for UK oil and gas installations?
- Crystal growth in pores: creating and controlling fracture.
- Assessment of potential NORM sources in UK Unconventional Gas Resources.