Local scour below offshore pipelines on calcareous sediments. This project will improve predictions of erosion around subsea structures in calcareous sediment, allowing potential pipeline self-burial. This will reduce the considerable costs currently spent on pipeline stabilisation and increase the viability of Australia's offshore resources and the competitiveness of the Australian oil and gas industry.
Predicting scour and scour-induced settlement of subsea infrastructure. This project aims to develop improved predictions and understanding of the potential and extent of scour and scour-induced settlement of subsea infrastructure on mobile seabeds. This is expected to enable scour and settlement to be accounted for directly in engineering stability and serviceability design, overturning current practice which ignores both effects on the basis of using scour protection and costly maintenance and ....Predicting scour and scour-induced settlement of subsea infrastructure. This project aims to develop improved predictions and understanding of the potential and extent of scour and scour-induced settlement of subsea infrastructure on mobile seabeds. This is expected to enable scour and settlement to be accounted for directly in engineering stability and serviceability design, overturning current practice which ignores both effects on the basis of using scour protection and costly maintenance and remediation. Development of accurate predictions is expected to be achieved through physical model testing, numerical modelling and analysis of field data. Predictions should improve subsea reliability and lead to omission of scour protection in some situations, increasing international competitiveness of our offshore oil and gas industry.Read moreRead less
Computational modelling of hydraulic fracture. The project aims to develop new computational methods and software for simulating hydraulic fracture (commonly known as 'fracking'), which is now being used to extract natural gas from some Australian coal seams. This form of natural gas recovery has the potential to be a major economic driver, but the benefits are currently being tempered by widespread community concern over possible adverse impacts on the environment. The expected outcome is new m ....Computational modelling of hydraulic fracture. The project aims to develop new computational methods and software for simulating hydraulic fracture (commonly known as 'fracking'), which is now being used to extract natural gas from some Australian coal seams. This form of natural gas recovery has the potential to be a major economic driver, but the benefits are currently being tempered by widespread community concern over possible adverse impacts on the environment. The expected outcome is new methods, supported by scientific publications and software, which can be used to guide the natural gas industry and inform regulatory authorities of the risks inherent in hydraulic fracturing.Read moreRead less
The micro-mechanics of faulting and fluid flow in porous reservoir rocks. The project will improve the understanding of the mechanics and physics of reservoir rocks under various loading conditions. This will have impact on the recovery of hydrocarbon energy resources, storage of carbon dioxide in depleted oil reservoirs, and extraction of energy from geothermal reservoirs in Australia.
Reactive flow through porous media by micro-imaging. Australia is embarking on the development of major gas fields offshore Western Australia. These developments are very costly and techniques to manage the risk in development are well sought after. This project assists in risk management of tertiary recovery methods and CO2 storage. Further, it can contribute significantly to the accurate forward modelling of storage of hazardous materials and pollution remediation strategies. The project could ....Reactive flow through porous media by micro-imaging. Australia is embarking on the development of major gas fields offshore Western Australia. These developments are very costly and techniques to manage the risk in development are well sought after. This project assists in risk management of tertiary recovery methods and CO2 storage. Further, it can contribute significantly to the accurate forward modelling of storage of hazardous materials and pollution remediation strategies. The project could shape important decisions in the future and impact on environmental risk assessment.Read moreRead less
Aggressive corrosion of steel infrastructure in marine environments. Marine corrosion is known to be aggressive, but how aggressive it can be under long term exposures is the critical question for the safety and economics of much industrial infrastructure, including harbour, coastal and offshore oil industry facilities. Bacterial and microbiological activity is known to contribute. However, recent findings have observed very aggressive corrosion also under sterile and apparently benign condition ....Aggressive corrosion of steel infrastructure in marine environments. Marine corrosion is known to be aggressive, but how aggressive it can be under long term exposures is the critical question for the safety and economics of much industrial infrastructure, including harbour, coastal and offshore oil industry facilities. Bacterial and microbiological activity is known to contribute. However, recent findings have observed very aggressive corrosion also under sterile and apparently benign conditions. No theory to explain these observations currently exists. A new hypothesis is proposed that in certain circumstances second-phase constituents of steels will facilitate autocatalytic corrosion under anoxic conditions. This project investigates the problem and explores mechanisms and conditions. Read moreRead less
Microbiological and abiotic marine corrosion of steel in particulate media. This project aims to study the complex interfacial physicochemical interaction between structural steel and inert particles in marine environments, including microbial growth influences. It will use field-testing and electrochemical laboratory experiments to understand the short- and long-term corrosion processes. It will develop mathematical models to predict likely corrosion loss and pitting, based on physicochemical c ....Microbiological and abiotic marine corrosion of steel in particulate media. This project aims to study the complex interfacial physicochemical interaction between structural steel and inert particles in marine environments, including microbial growth influences. It will use field-testing and electrochemical laboratory experiments to understand the short- and long-term corrosion processes. It will develop mathematical models to predict likely corrosion loss and pitting, based on physicochemical corrosion principles. Industry increasingly needs such models to manage major infrastructure not protected against corrosion, including offshore energy systems, coastal structures and buried pipelines. These outcomes are expected to benefit Australian engineering consultants in the offshore energy industry, with potential for large foreign exchange earnings.Read moreRead less
Longer-term progression of localised corrosion of critical infrastructure. This project aims to help Australian and international industry better predict the severity of localised corrosion at structural steel details, over years and decades. This is significant for the safety, reliability and economics of critical steel infrastructure, such as offshore structures and pipelines and defence facilities operating in and near marine environments. To reduce first cost, these often are not provided wi ....Longer-term progression of localised corrosion of critical infrastructure. This project aims to help Australian and international industry better predict the severity of localised corrosion at structural steel details, over years and decades. This is significant for the safety, reliability and economics of critical steel infrastructure, such as offshore structures and pipelines and defence facilities operating in and near marine environments. To reduce first cost, these often are not provided with coatings (paints) or other protection. The expected outcomes include improved scientific understanding and world-leading corrosion prediction models. Benefits can be expected for Australian industry, infrastructure and economics, and keeping Australian engineering consultants internationally competitive. Read moreRead less
Multiscale modelling of multiphase interactions in shale gas reservoirs. As conventional oil and gas become depleted in most of the producing basins, extraction of unconventional gas trapped in shale formations needs to become more viable. Since Australian shales have different characteristics from North American ones, the existing knowledge cannot be directly applied. We aim to develop a novel multiscale framework for deep understanding of the complex multiphase interactions in shale gas reserv ....Multiscale modelling of multiphase interactions in shale gas reservoirs. As conventional oil and gas become depleted in most of the producing basins, extraction of unconventional gas trapped in shale formations needs to become more viable. Since Australian shales have different characteristics from North American ones, the existing knowledge cannot be directly applied. We aim to develop a novel multiscale framework for deep understanding of the complex multiphase interactions in shale gas reservoirs. The outcomes will not only enable us to effectively assess the viability of gas extraction from Australian shale reservoirs with accurate long-term production forecasting, but help to develop strategies to effectively extract this relatively low carbon-emitting fossil fuel in the transition to a renewable economy.Read moreRead less
Beyond Darcy’s Law: Influence of wettability on multiphase flow in rocks. The project aims to provide new insights into the ways that Australia’s abundant energy resources can be utilized for energy security and environmental stewardship. The simulation workflows and fundamental insights on wettability and porous media flows investigated are intended to provide significant outcomes toward the national priorities. These developments are paramount for various subsurface applications, such as geolo ....Beyond Darcy’s Law: Influence of wettability on multiphase flow in rocks. The project aims to provide new insights into the ways that Australia’s abundant energy resources can be utilized for energy security and environmental stewardship. The simulation workflows and fundamental insights on wettability and porous media flows investigated are intended to provide significant outcomes toward the national priorities. These developments are paramount for various subsurface applications, such as geological storage of CO2, oil/gas recovery, groundwater remediation and energy storage. The oil/gas industry spend hundreds of millions of dollars on core analysis for the determination of rock properties; the proposed research aims to provide the fundamental insights necessary to advance the utility of these measurement. Read moreRead less