An article about the ShaleXenvironmenT project results has been published on the European Commission’s Community Research and Development Information Service (CORDIS). The article highlights the main project findings and achievements of ShaleXenvironmenT consortium. Prof. Alberto Striolo, the Coordinator of the project, expects that, “in due time, these contributions will promote progress toward several grand scientific challenges”.

The article also emphasized the fact that, according to the research team, “the public is the ultimate decision-maker with respect to what resources are to be exploited and how they should be exploited”.

To read the full article, please click here.

Advanced Science News features the recently published article in WIREs Energy and Environment ‘Addressing the risks of induced seismicity in subsurface energy operations‘.

The article reviews a number of induced seismicity case studies that have occurred in the last 15 years and were caused by different industrial activities including sub-surface energy operations.

The authors (Richard T.J. Porter, Alberto Striolo, Haroun Mahgerefteh, Joanna Faure Walker) discuss possible causal mechanisms and the public perception and give an outlook to procedures and strategies that could be implemented to help prevent and mitigate future occurrences are highlighted.

Read more:

Advanced Science News: Risk Assessment of Induced Seismicity in Subsurface Energy Operations

WIREs Energy and Environment: Addressing the risks of induced seismicity in subsurface energy operations

The 3rd Edition of the Shaleology Forum gathered around 70 participants from academia, industry and government to present and discuss the state-of-the art of Shale Gas research in Europe. The forum triggered an interesting discussion around shale gas from different perspectives and the future potential of unconventional sources of energy.

Follow the links below to watch the recording of this event.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

 

The 2018 Summer Challenge ‘Engineering Solutions from Nature’ has just been completed. A dozen pupils have been learning about Chemical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Biochemical Engineering and Earth Sciences during a 5-week programme offered by University College London. The pupils have completed an open-ended research project to propose solutions that tackle current technological challenges using inspiration from Nature and fundamental understanding from the various disciplines listed above. The final meeting was held on Tuesday, July 10th, when the students presented their ideas.

 

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Between June 10^th-12^th 2018, the ShaleXenvironmenT consortium gathered in Alicante, Spain for its Final Annual meeting. During the two-day meeting, all the Work Package leaders presented an update on their progress, and External Advisory Board members gave their valuable feedback on each WP. The project will officially terminate on 31^st August 2018, and 3 months before the end it looks like significant results have been achieved. The Consortium will meet again in October for a Final Review Meeting to present all the results to the European Commission.

During the Final ShaleXenvironmenT consortium meeting, the “Induced Seismicity Potential in Energy Technologies” report by the U.S. National Research Council (2013) has been brought to the consortium’s’ attention with regards to the work of the WP9 “Risk Assessment”. The full report is available for download free of charge here.

Cuadrilla revealed on 29th March 2018 that it has successfully completed drilling the UK’s first ever horizontal shale gas well at its exploration site at Preston New Road in Lancashire. The well was drilled through the Lower Bowland shale at a depth of approximately 8,858 feet below ground and extends laterally for around 2,624 feet through the shale gas reservoir.

 Please click here to read the full article.

On March 18th 2018, Texas A&M at Qatar hosted shale gas experts from Qatar, Europe, the United States and Australia for a daylong symposium to present results of ShaleXenvironmenT project. About 80 people from Qatar’s local industry and academic institutions, as well as SXT representatives attended the symposium. A press release was published on Texas A&M at Qatar and Qatar Foundation websites.

You can consult the presentations using the following links:

• Welcome remarks – Dr. Ioannis Economou, Texas A&M University at Qatar
• “SXT: Assessing the Environmental Impacts of Shale Gas Exploration and Production”, Dr. Alberto Striolo, University College London, UK
• “Multi-scale 3D and 4D Imaging of Shale Reservoirs: Quantifying Pore, Pore Networks and Fractures”, Dr. Kevin Taylor, University of Manchester, UK
• “Uncertainty Assessment of Volumetric of Original Hydrocarbons in Place for Oil and Gas Shales”, Dr. Dominique Guérillot, Texas A&M University at Qatar
• “Engineering Research in Texas A&M University”, Dr. Dimitris Lagoudas, Texas A&M University, USA
• “Current Progress in the Development of Green Formulations for Shale Gas Extraction”, Duccio Tatini and Filippo Sarri, Center for Colloid and Surface Science, Italy
• “Adsorption and Transport of Naturally Occurring Radioactive Materials (NORM) in Clays — Atomistic Computational Modeling Approach”, Dr. Andrey Kalinichev, ARMINES/Subatech, France
• “Modeling of Adsorption and Diffusion in Dual-porosity Materials: Applications to Shale Gas”, Dr. Martin Lísal, Institute of Chemical Process Fundamentals, Czech Republic
• “Addressing the Risks of Induced Seismicity in Sub-surface Energy Operations”, Dr.  Richard Porter, University College London, UK
• “Fluids Under Confinement in Shale Formations: A Molecular Modeling Approach”,
  Dr. Loukas Peristeras, National Center for Scientific Research “Demokritos,” Greece
• “Modeling Hazardous Consequences of an Accidental Blowout of Shale Gas Well”,
  Dr. Sergey Martynov, University College London, UK
• “Molecular Modeling of Fluids in Confinement”, Dr. Mirella Santos, Texas A&M University at Qatar
• “Approaches to the Regulation of Shale Gas Exploitation in the Public Interest”, Christine Trenorden, University College London, Australia
• “High-pressure Gas Sorption Studies on Shales”, Dr. Ronni Pini, Imperial College London, UK
• “Lateral Heterogeneity in Mudstone: A Case Study from the Bowland Shale”, Dr. Jabraan Ahmed, University College London, UK

The welcome note and the introduction to SXT project were recorded, you can access the videos by clicking on the links below:

• Welcome note – Ioannis Economou
• Introduction to SXT project – Alberto Striolo

In collaboration with Texas A&M University at Qatar, the ShaleXenvironmenT consortium is organising a public dissemination event in Doha, Qatar. The event will take place on 18th March 2018 and will bring together academics and industry representatives to discuss challenges associated with the shale gas technology. The programme of the event and the list of speakers can be found here.

 

The new academic year kick-started with the second edition of the Shaleology Forum, hosted by the Geological Society London on 6^th October 2017. More than 50 attendees from academia, government and industry joined the event, including approximately 20 students from UCL’s MSc in Global Management of Natural Resources. The forum triggered an interesting discussion around shale gas from different perspectives and the future potential of unconventional sources of energy.

Don’t worry if you missed this year’s forum – you can watch the recordings following the links below!

Morning session Part 1

Morning session Part 2

Morning session Part 3

Afternoon session Part 1

Afternoon session Part 2

After a very successful first edition in December 2016, Shaleology Forum comes back to Geological Society London for its second edition! On Friday, 6th October 2017, a number of speakers from Academia, Industry and Government will present the latest developments in the Shale Gas research, save the date!

To learn more about this event, please consult the Agenda and the List of Speakers.

You can register here 

Between June 11^th-14^th 2017, the ShaleXenvironmenT consortium gathered in Florence, Italy for its Second Annual meeting. On June 12^th, the consortium presented project results to the members of International Advisory ant Industry Practitioners boards, as well as to the external reviewers appointed by the European Commission as part of Mid-Term review. 22 months into the project, substantial progress has been achieved since the last annual meeting.

A public dissemination event was organised on June 13^th, where colleagues from other shale-related projects were given the opportunity to present their work. International Advisory ant Industry Practitioners board members gathered in the afternoon and produced a detailed report with recommendations that are very valuable for the success of the project.

In parallel to various sessions, students from different research groups participated in poster presentation. Amongst 11 posters presented, the boards selected 3 best posters and awarded their authors: Filippo Sarri, Tai Duc Bui and Johannes Herrmann.

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After holding a very successful 1st Annual Meeting in Liblice, Czech Republic, ShaleXenvironmenT consortium will hold its next annual meeting in Florence, Italy on 11th – 14th of June 2017. Public dissemination activities will take place on 13th of June in the afternoon, please see the Agenda and Practical Information Document for Registration and other tips!

A few days before Christmas the ShaleXenvironmenT consortium hosted “Shaleology: Forum on Shale Gas Research”. The event took place on December, 19^th at the Geological Society London and was attended by approximately 50 attendees from academia, government and the private sector. The presentations were followed by a panel discussion in the afternoon, which allowed interesting exchanges amongst the participants.

If you missed the event, you can follow the links below to watch the full recording:

Morning Session Part 1

Morning Session Part 2

Afternoon Session Part 1

Afternoon Session Part 2

This forum was the first among a series of events that ShaleXenvironmenT Consortium will be organising, stay tuned for the next one!

Last month, the CSGI team presented 3 posters showcasing their work in SXT, at ECIS 2016: the 30th Conference of the European Colloid and interface Society, which took place in Rome, between September 4-9.

Lo Nostro P. “Innovative systems for the control of viscosity of polymer dispersions for shale gas applications” [See PDF]

Tatini D. “Physico-chemical properties of green hydraulic fracturing fluids for European shale gas extraction” [See PDF]

Sarri F. “Rheology of green gelling agents in fracturing fluid formulations for shale gas exploitation” [See PDF]

On July 26th, 10 talented prospective engineers completed the first ShaleXenvironmenT ‘Summer Challenge’. They learned about the UCL departments of Chemical Engineering and Biochemical Engineering, and about the Institute of Making.

They learned about shale gas, hydraulic fracturing, fuel cells, fluorescent algae and catalysts, among other things, and they also saw how chemical engineers contribute to producing pharmaceuticals. Inspired by nature, the 10 students then successfully completed an individual project and presented enthusiastically their refreshing ideas.

We wish these young scientists the best of luck for their future career, and we hope to see them in our classrooms in 2017.

Learn more about the UCL Summer Challenge programme.

The ShaleXenvironmenT consortium gathered in Liblice, Czech Republic for its First Annual Meeting between June 19-22, 2016.

10 months into the project,  this meeting was an opportunity for all the researchers working on the project to meet and update each other on their research progress. Moreover, students in the different research groups joined the meeting, and a poster presentation of their work was organised.

It was the first time the Industry Practitioners and the External Advisory Boards (see members here) had a chance to meet, and they fed back valuable advice to the consortium.

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Lukas Michalec, a PhD student at ICPF, presented a poster (PDF) about his project within ShalexenvironmenT at the  14th International Conference on Properties and Phase Equilibria for Product and Process Design (PPEPPD). The Conference took place in Porto, Portugal on May 22-26. More information…