Reservoir Engineering

Reservoir Engineering

Our research mission is understanding process interactions and the emergent system behaviour that is hidden in the sub-surface. Sub-surface processes are complex and, traditionally, progress in their understanding was made when this complexity could be unraveled into component processes studied in isolation. With this understanding, engineering measures can be optimised and unwanted side effects eliminated.

The subsurface has now become a multi-stakeholder environment demanding a holistic engineering approach in the search for sustainable resource management solutions. Complex subsurface phenomena can be captured and reproduced by sophisticated numerical simulations that utilise accurate models of subsurface structures and component physics.

Herein lies the challenge of the Reservoir Engineering team as an applied scientific discipline that is crucial for the human condition in the twenty-first century:
*It guarantees supply and efficient recovery of natural energy resources with a minimal environmental footprint.
*It offers crucial expertise to create a carbon-neutral economy.
*It has a key role to play in preserving the world’s fresh water supply and its protection from pollutants.

Core of our strategy is to resolve modelling and simulation challenges as a continuous development of the object-oriented finite element – finite volume software
This software allows engineers and scientists to more realistically model real-world systems, conclusively answering What-If? questions when and where it matters. It underpins novel software tools adding to the characterisation, modelling, and simulation of flow and transport processes in hydrocarbon reservoirs CO2 geo-storage sites and geothermal systems.