Preprints
Filtering by Subject: Oil, Gas, and Energy
PoMELO Passive Blind Test Results: Emissions detection and quantification
Published: 2025-02-19
Subjects: Environmental Monitoring, Oil, Gas, and Energy, Operations Research, Systems Engineering and Industrial Engineering
PoMELO Passive is a technology that combines vehicle-based pollution measurements from public roads with cloud-based software to: (i) detect emissions from oil and gas sites, and (ii) quantify emissions rates. Automated attribution and plume modeling algorithms provide results with little human intervention, facilitating large scale monitoring programs. PoMELO Passive is operationally deployed at [...]
Enhanced Oil Recovery using carbon dioxide directly captured from air does not enable carbon-neutral oil
Published: 2025-01-23
Subjects: Chemical Engineering, Environmental Sciences, Oil, Gas, and Energy, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
This study evaluates the feasibility of producing carbon neutral oil via CO2 Enhanced Oil Recovery (CO2-EOR) coupled with direct air capture. Existing analyses often provide case-specific insights based on short-term operations that do not encompass the full life cycle of reservoir exploitation. In contrast, we propose a novel, top-down approach based on mass and volume conservation, expanding [...]
Climate change impacts on compound renewable energy droughts under evolving infrastructure in the Western United States
Published: 2025-01-14
Subjects: Oil, Gas, and Energy, Power and Energy, Sustainability
If renewable energy resources continue to become a larger part of the generation mix in the United States (U.S.), so does the potential impact of prolonged periods of low wind and solar generation, known as variable renewable energy (VRE) droughts. In such a future, naturally occurring VRE droughts need to be evaluated for their potential impact on grid reliability. This study is the first of its [...]
Hydrogenotrophic metabolisms in the subsurface and their implications for underground hydrogen storage and natural hydrogen prospecting
Published: 2025-01-08
Subjects: Biogeochemistry, Earth Sciences, Environmental Microbiology and Microbial Ecology Life Sciences, Oil, Gas, and Energy
Hydrogen is a fundamental electron donor in diverse microbial metabolisms and it is considered the energetic currency exchanged within microbial communities in anaerobic environments. Hydrogen is also the major actor in the transition to alternative low-carbon energy sources, primarily due to its dual role as energy source and energy carrier and to the production of water as a byproduct of its [...]
Seasonal compound renewable energy droughts in the Unites States
Published: 2025-01-07
Subjects: Hydrology, Oil, Gas, and Energy, Power and Energy
Variable renewable energy (VRE) droughts are periods of low renewable electricity production due to natural variability in the weather and climate. These compound renewable energy droughts occur when two or more (typically wind and solar) generation sources are in low availability conditions at the same time. Compound wind and solar droughts are most commonly studied at the hourly and daily [...]
Favorability mapping for carbon storage in basaltic rocks of the Paraná Basin
Published: 2024-12-19
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geology, Oil, Gas, and Energy, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is a critical technology to mitigate climate change by reducing atmospheric CO₂. The Paraná Basin, with its extensive basaltic formations, offers potential for large-scale CO₂ storage. However, determining the most favorable areas for CCS remains challenging due to the complex interplay of geological, geochemical, and logistical factors. This study addresses this [...]
Effective permeability of fluvial lithofacies in the Bunter Sandstone Formation, UK
Published: 2024-11-29
Subjects: Oil, Gas, and Energy, Sedimentology, Water Resource Management
Understanding effective permeability is crucial for predicting fluid migration and trapping in subsurface reservoirs. The Bunter Sandstone of North-West Europe hosts major groundwater and geothermal resources and is targeted for CO2 and hydrogen storage projects. Here the effective permeability of fluvial facies within the Bunter Sandstone Formation was assessed using facies-scale models. Twelve [...]
Geological and Environmental Implications of Enhanced Oil Recovery Techniques: Balancing Efficiency with Sustainability
Published: 2024-10-31
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Environmental Sciences, Geology, Oil, Gas, and Energy, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
This research paper explores the geological and environmental impacts of enhanced oil recovery (EOR) technology, focusing on the balance between efficiency and sustainability in fossil fuel extraction. EOR methods, including thermal recovery, gas injection, and chemical flooding, are critical to maximizing reservoir recovery, especially as global energy demand increases and conventional reserves [...]
Application of machine learning methods to forecast petrophysical properties in basalts of the Serra Geral Group: Implications for carbon storage
Published: 2024-10-22
Subjects: Artificial Intelligence and Robotics, Computer Sciences, Earth Sciences, Environmental Sciences, Geophysics and Seismology, Oil, Gas, and Energy, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
This study applies machine learning techniques for forecasting petrophysical properties (density, porosity, and permeability) in the basalts of the Serra Geral Group, located in the Paraná Basin, Brazil. These properties are crucial for the successful implementation of carbon capture and storage (CCS), an important technology to combat climate change. Employing machine learning models—XGBoost, [...]
Efficiency and heat transport processes of low-temperature aquifer thermal energy storage systems: new insights from global sensitivity analyses
Published: 2024-10-07
Subjects: Geology, Natural Resources and Conservation, Oil, Gas, and Energy, Sustainability
Aquifer Thermal Energy Storage (ATES) has great potential to mitigate CO2 emissions associated with the heating and cooling of buildings and offers wide applicability. Thick productive aquifer layers have been targeted first, as these are the most promising areas for ATES. Regardless, there is currently an increasing trend to target more complex aquifers such as low-transmissivity and alluvial [...]
A new expression for fluid factor using AVO intercept and gradient: theory and application on deep marine reservoir
Published: 2024-09-18
Subjects: Geology, Geophysics and Seismology, Oil, Gas, and Energy
Numerous AVO fluid indicators have been introduced and proven to be sensitive to hydrocarbon presence. Mathematically, fluid indicators measure the deviation of seismic responses of hydrocarbon-saturated reservoirs from their background in a specific domain. We introduce a new expression for the fluid factor commonly used in AVO analysis and interpretation. The expression is a function of common [...]
Frictional Properties of Simulated Fault Gouges subject to Normal Stress Oscillation and Implications for Induced Seismicity
Published: 2024-08-24
Subjects: Geophysics and Seismology, Oil, Gas, and Energy, Risk Analysis
Under critical conditions where experimental fault slip exhibits self-sustained oscillation, effects of normal stress oscillation (NSO) on fault strength and stability remain poorly understood, as do potential effects of NSO on natural and induced seismicity. In this study, we employed double direct shear testing to investigate the frictional behavior of a synthetic, slightly velocity-weakening [...]
Relating Multi-Scale Plume Detection and Area Estimates of Methane Emissions: A Theoretical and Empirical Analysis
Published: 2024-07-22
Subjects: Biogeochemistry, Earth Sciences, Environmental Sciences, Oil, Gas, and Energy, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Methodologies for inferring surface emissions of atmospheric trace gases can be categorized into plume detection and area-scale estimation. Plume detections are observations of emissions from either individual or clustered point sources. Area estimates are derived from top-down atmospheric flux inversion models or bottom-up inventories, which infer mean emissions typically over spatial scales [...]
Wastewaters co-produced with shale gas drive slight regional salinization of groundwater
Published: 2024-04-04
Subjects: Geochemistry, Oil, Gas, and Energy, Water Resource Management
While unconventional oil and gas (UOG) development is changing the world economy, processes that are used during UOG development such as high-volume hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) have been linked with water contamination. Water quality risks include leaks of gas and salty fluids (brines) that are co-produced at wellpads. Identifying the cause of contamination is difficult, however, because [...]
Problems with Greenhouse Gas Life Cycle Analyses of U.S. LNG Exports and Locally Produced Coal
Published: 2024-04-01
Subjects: Climate, Environmental Indicators and Impact Assessment, Oil, Gas, and Energy
Exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the United States are growing rapidly, and the United States government must balance a multiplicity of interests in deciding to what extent the growth of LNG exports should be further encouraged. Its decisions must be consistent with the Natural Gas Act, which mandates that exports of natural gas be in the public interest. In the current administration, [...]