Geological Engineering Commons^™

Experimental Study On Co2-Sensitive Polyacrylamide As Potential In-Situ Sealing Agent For Co2 Leakage Pathways In Geological Storage Sites, Iris Laihmen Quan Lopez

Theses and Dissertations

As the world pushes for ‘greener’ technologies and carbon neutrality, efforts have focused on creating novel ways to mitigate humankind’s carbon footprint. Carbon capture and storage (CCS) has become a prevalent technique that has proven to be an effective long-term method to safely relocate excess carbon dioxide (CO₂) into subsurface formations. However, CCS is a newer technique which requires constant monitoring due to potential leakage pathways present in CO₂ storage sites; therefore, a preventive approach to seal leakage pathways is recommended. This dissertation explores the potential of CO₂-sensitive polyacrylamide (CO₂-SPAM) as a novel …

Whitening Of Calcium Carbonate Tailings Using Attrition Process: A Case Study Of Khar Toum Deposit, Lopburi Province, Thailand, Bancha Wongkaewphothong

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

Calcium carbonate (CaCO3) is one of the industrial minerals that usually use in various applications in many industries (e.g., plastic, rubber, paint, paper). However, salable CaCO3 products need to meet the requirement for each application. Whiteness is one of property that really important especially the application that concern about the color like paint and paper industries. In this study, to recover and utilize out of spec ores, the effects of attrition scrubbing process (i.e., retention time and solid in pulp) on the whiteness of the CaCO3 tailings were investigated. The CaCO3 samples were screened to obtain –300, +300–600, +600–1000, +1000–2360, …

Simulation Study On Co2 Enhanced Oil Recovery For Offshore Area In Thailand, Pariwat Wongsriraksa

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

Fossil fuels are widely used all over the world. It generates carbon dioxide (CO2) which is one of the main causes for climate change and global warming. One practical technology to reduce CO2 emission is carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) which includes the use of CO2 for enhanced oil recovery (CO2EOR) and storage in the geological reservoir. In Thailand, there are some potential geological reservoirs for CO2EOR due to crude properties, depth of the reservoir and oil saturation, especially in the Gulf of Thailand. However, the high temperatures gradient in the Gulf of Thailand can lead to higher minimum …

Physical Property Measurement Of Surfactant Coupled With Nanoparticles For Enhanced Oil Recovery, Phoo Pwint Nandar

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

The residual oil remained in the reservoir after the primary recovery and water flooding can either be produced by increasing the mobility of the oil or by altering the reservoir rock wetting behavior and diminishing the oil water interfacial tension. The surfactant flooding is one of the chemical enhanced oil recovery methods. At the optimal concentration, the surfactant flooding can provide the low interfacial tension favoring to the enhanced oil recovery. In contrast, the loss of the surfactant at the solid-liquid interface due to an adsorption lessens the amount of the surfactant required for oil displacement during the flooding. Therefore, …

Pore Pressure Prediction Using Combination Drilling Efficiency And Hydro-Mechanical Specific Energy Methods, Munawir Arge Pratama Otolomo

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

Several methods of pore pressure prediction using drilling parameters were introduced and improved to meet the challenges of accurate prediction at a relatively low cost. Knowledge of pore pressure is essential for safe well planning, cost-effective drilling, and operational decision-making. Conventional methods in pore pressure prediction using drilling parameters have limitations on its application of making the normal compaction trendline that is only applicable in clean shale intervals. In this work, the concept of drilling efficiency (DE) and hydro-mechanical specific energy (HMSE) for predicting formation pore pressure is proposed. This method, termed DE-HMSE, is based on the theory that the …

Effect Of Salinity Contrast Between Formation Water And Injected Low Salinity Water On Low Salinity Waterflooding In Shaly-Sandstone Formation, Sarun Phuenghansaporn

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

Low salinity waterflooding is an improving oil recovery technique that is highly mentioned nowadays as it is cost-efficient and environmentally friendly. The technique involves injecting water with lower salinity compared to formation salinity to shift the surface equilibrium toward the liberation of oil from the rock surface. Nevertheless, successful of this technique depends on many parameters especially the presence of clays. Several types of clays can be found in oil reservoirs, and they may react to different cations in inject low salinity in different ways, resulting in different magnitudes of oil recovery. Moreover, the contrast of salinity between formation water …

Predictions Of Produced Water Quality And Recycled Water Optimization For Spatially-Distributed Wells In Point Pleasant Formation, Armel Quentin Mbakop

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

The treatment of produced water as a fracturing fluid is becoming an increasingly important aspect of water management surrounding the booming of the unconventional oil and gas industry. Two main problems facing the oil and gas industry are the availability of water for well drilling and completion and disposal of the produced water. Unconventional well drilling and completion in the Utica shale requires large amounts of water. The wastewater that results after production—containing high levels of organic and inorganic matter— is usually disposed of through deep well injection. A new approach reuses this produced water as part of subsequent fracturing …

A Workflow For Unconventional Reservoirs Optimization Using Supervised Machine Learning In Conjunction With Orthorhombic Elasticity Modeling, Aymen Ab Ali Alhemdi

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Due to the anisotropy and heterogeneous nature of unconventional reservoirs like shale, a comprehensive parametric study to optimize hydraulic fracture treatment for such reservoirs is a tough challenge, especially when natural fractures are present. Most of the current frac simulators do not consider the anisotropy of rock elasticity in the shales. Besides, using the fracture simulation linked with reservoir simulation for the parametric study to understand the impact of multiple different design parameters on fracture propagation and production is time expensive and low efficient. The study proposes a workflow including a new orthorhombic (OB) rock algorithm to interpret geomechanical properties …

Effect Of Salinity Contrast Between Formation Water And Injected Low Salinity Water On Low Salinty Water Flooding In Dolostone Formation, Nuttapol Junput

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

Low Salinity Waterflooding (LSWF) has gained substantial prominence in current scientific method for oil recovery improvement, owing to its simplicity, cost-effectiveness, and environmental friendliness as an Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) technique. Various studies have highlighted the crucial role of injected brine salinity and the concentration of Potential Determining Ions (PDI) in stimulate oil recovery mechanisms. However, the majority of these studies have predominantly concentrated on sandstone reservoirs. In light of the fact that over 50% of hydrocarbon reserves are situated in carbonate reservoirs, this research focuses specifically on dolomite reservoirs to examine the applicability and feasibility of implementing LSWF in …

Optimization Of Blast Design For Better Fragmentation & Reduction Of Ground Vibration At Khao Mai Nuan Pyrophyllite Mine, Saraburi Province, Thailand, Arif Khan

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

Control blasting with better fragmentation is very important to decrease the environmental impacts of blasting and the cost of downstream mining operations such as loading, transportation, crushing, and milling. Proper blasting designs with optimized parameters such as burden, spacing, stemming, sub-drilling, and amount of explosive ensure the required fragmentation with ground vibration within the standards set by different monitoring agencies. This study dealt with the blasting design parameters, fragmentation, and ground vibration at the Khao Mai Nuan Pyrophyllite quarry Saraburi province, Thailand. First, grab samples were collected from the quarry's active benches and tested in a lab for strength, compositions …

Quality Control Of Chemical Grade Calcium Carbonate From Lopburi Limestone Deposit In Thailand, Pimpichcha Teawpanich

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

Calcium carbonate (CaCO3) is naturally produced from calcite, limestone, chalk, and marble. It is being used as raw material in various industries (e.g., cement, plastic, paint, paper, and pharmaceutical industries). The low-grade CaCO3 samples obtained from a calcite plant at Khoktum Sub-district, Muang Lopburi District, Lopburi Province, Thailand were used in this study. These samples contain more than 98% of CaCO3 while Fe2O3 contents are higher than 0.1% and increased after finished the process. Because of this problem, the products could not be sold since lower Fe2O3 contents are required (e.g., ≤0.05% for filler grade and ≤ 0.1% for animal …

Downhole Water Drainage From A Gas Reservoir For Water Dumpflood In An Underlying Oil Reservoir, Htet Myet Zin Naing

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

For wells drilled in a bottom water-drive gas reservoir, water coning may lead to a considerable amount of water production which diminishes the gas recovery. If the gas reservoir has an oil reservoir underneath, a method called “Downhole Water Drain for Water Dumpflood” (DWDDF) can be performed to drain water from the aquifer underneath the gas reservoir and dump it into the oil reservoir to perform waterflooding. DWDDF technique can help increase gas production from the upper gas reservoir and oil production from the lower reservoir at the same time. In this study, a simple reservoir model having common rock …

Effects Of Clay Minerals On Oil Recovery Mechanism In Low Salinity Waterflooding In Shaly-Sandstone Formation, Tri Yudha Putra

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

Low Salinity Waterflooding (LSWF) is one of Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) techniques that are often mentioned nowadays. Several studies showed that injecting low salinity water leads to Multi-component Ion Exchange (MIE) which is one of oil recovery mechanisms provided by this technique. This study was performed to investigate the effects of specific clay mineral in rock and ion in injected water. First, representative clays were analytically tested to ensure their mineral compositions and the selected representative clays were tested by filtration with different water formulations to identify ionic capacities in MIE for each clay. Results obtained from filtration test and …

An Integrated Wellbore Stability Study To Mitigate Expensive Wellbore Instability Problems While Drilling Into Zubair Shale/Sand Sequence, Southern Iraq, Ahmed Khudhair Abbas

Doctoral Dissertations

”The Zubair Formation is the most prolific reservoir in Iraq, which is comprised of sandstones interbedded with shale sequences. Due to the weak nature of the shale sequence, the instability of a wellbore is one of the most critical challenges that continuously appears during drilling across this formation. Historically, over 90% of wellbore problems in the Zubair Formation were due to wellbore instability. Problems associated with wellbore instability, such as tight hole, shale caving, stuck logging tools along with subsequent fishing, stuck pipe, and sidetracking result in increasing the non-productive time. This non-productive time has cost an enormous amount of …

Comparative Study Of Gross Split And Cost Recovery Production Sharing Contracts In Indonesia, Mohammad Ubaidillah

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

In upstream oil and gas business, Indonesian has introduced Production Sharing Contract Cost Recovery (PSC CR) in 1966 and still implementing that fiscal system until nowadays. In January 2017, The Indonesian Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources (MEMR or ESDM) introduce new PSC system called Production Sharing Contract Gross Split (PSC GS) following with three amendments until 2019. Ministries believe this new Fiscal regime can attract more investor to invest Oil & Gas business in Indonesia by delivering three main values which are certainty, efficiency, and simplicity policies. This study evaluates and compares the financial aspect of new Indonesian fiscal …

Data Analytics Of Natural Gas Injection Enhanced Oil Recovery For Unconventional Reservoirs, Ali Waqar

Masters Theses

"Unconventional Enhanced Oil recovery, via the injection of natural gas has attracted great attention, as studies and projects have shown to be promising. An overview of pertinent studies has been carried out. Core Scale Laboratory Experiments, Core Scale Simulation, Field Scale simulation and pilot projects are analyzed. Data is collected for Core, Reservoir, Operational, and recovery information. Thereafter, Data analysis techniques are applied to identify data ranges, distributions, trends, relationships, and to eventually reach conclusions.

Huff and Puff injection is the preferred mode of injection, delivering most promising results for unconventional reservoirs. Across all the studies, with increase in amount …

Ore Reserve Estimation By Using A Geostatistical Tool At Heinda Mine,Tanintharyi Region,Union Of Myanmar, Aye Min Tun -

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

Heinda mine is one of major tin producers in Myanmar. The mine has been operated for over 100 years. The mine falls at Latitude 14° 8’ N and Longitude 98° 27’ E, approximately about 45 kilometers to the east of Dawei. The ore reserve is the principal factor of mining venture. The aim of this study is to improve the ore reserve estimation by using geostatistical method (ordinary kriging) compared with conventional method (polygonal method) In geostatistical evaluation, it involved variogram analysis, variogram modelling and kriging estimation. The exponential variogram modelling was used to calculate the ordinary kriging estimation. The …

Correlation Development Of Wax Deposition Prediction From Fang Oil Field, Aung Thwin Thu Aye

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

In petroleum industry, wax deposition is a critical operational challenge. It occurs in various locations in the petroleum production chain including well tubing. Hexane, chemical inhibitor, is used to prevent the wax problem of oil from Fang oilfield by the measurement of pour point, wax appearance temperature (WAT) and wax deposition. An increasing shear rate can reduce WAT and the deposited amount increases with lowering the temperature in Fang crude oil. Moreover, the non-linear regression analysis of Fang crude oil with and without hexane in different conditions are done for all three tests. Those regression analysis equations can predict WAT …

Pre-Feasibility Study On Granite Quarry For Aggregate: A Case Study At Kanchanaburi Province, Thailand, Bee Ziyivang

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

This study aims to develop long term mine planning and design, equipment requirement calculation, and financial model analysis of mining and crushing plant. The ore reserve estimation and pit design carried out by using MineSight software (Ver. 9.50). A discounted cash flow model (DCF) and sensitivity analysis used to evaluate the financial project. Based on our study, the open-pit mining method was advisable for mine planning and design. Ore reserve estimated to 48.4 Mtons under the mining operation of 2.4 Mtos per year. The project time frame is 22 years which spends 21 years for operation and one year for …

Pre-Feasibility Study Of Improving Quality Of Low-Grade Fluorite. A Case Study At Phanomthuan Deposit, Kanchanaburi, Thailand, Keosaychai Souvannavong

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

In this study was presented the pre-feasibility study of improving quality of low-grade fluorite from Phanomthuan deposit, Kanchanaburi province, Thailand. The purpose of this study aims to explore the optimal condition in order to remove the impurities which contained high SiO2, CaCO3 and other minerals, also evaluate the project in term of economic. Therefore, the improvement quality of fluorite by using froth flotation techniques was reach the ceramic grade. The raw material characterization contains CaF2 = 29.4 Wt.%, SiO2 = 43.9 Wt.% and CaCO3 = 6.9 Wt.%. After flotation process the optimal condition result which contains CaF2 = 96.46 Wt.%, …

Geomechanical Modeling Of Salt Cavern Stability For Carbon Dioxide Storage In The Maha Arakham Formation, Northeastern Thailand, Narumas Pajonpai

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

In Thailand, CO2 emissions quadrupled over the past three decades since 1989, with the power generation sector as the main contributor by burning fossil fuels to produce electricity. Therefore, the power generating industry has come under scrutiny and been pressed by society to take responsibility. Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) is one of the many methods to deal with CO2 emissions. Generally, CO2 is captured and stored in geological formations, e.g. rock salt deposits. Salt caverns have been intensively studied regarding their usage for CO2 storage because of their favourable characteristics. In this research, the Finite Element Method (FEM, ANSYS …

Effectiveness Evaluation Of Fluorescent Tracer In Shaly-Sandstone Reservoir, Harid Pataveepaisit

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

In petroleum exploration and production industry, tracer is a compound added to injected fluids, and can be easily detected even in a trace amount. Fluorescein sodium, a chemical tracer that can illuminate upon receiving a specific wavelength of light, was mentioned by several literatures due to its strong fluorescence at low concentration, non-toxicity, and non-biodegradability. In this study, fluorescein sodium in the form of fluorescein solution was evaluated with shaly-sandstone to observe their interactions. The first half of this study focused on the evaluation of the chemical characteristics of fluorescein. First, the detection limit of fluorescein solution in deionized water …

Thermomechanical Analysis Of Rock Asperity In Fractures Of Enhanced Geothermal Systems, Chao Zeng

Doctoral Dissertations

"Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS) offer great potential for dramatically expanding the use of geothermal energy and become a promising supplement for fossil energy. The EGS is to extract heat by creating a subsurface system to which cold water can be added through injection wells. Injected water is heated by contact with rock and returns to the surface through production well. Fracture provides the primary conduit for fluid flow and heat transfer in natural rock. Fracture is propped by fracture roughness with varying heights which is called asperity. The stability of asperity determines fracture aperture and hence imposes substantial effect on …

Ore Reserves Estimation Of The Nam Nga Coal Deposit, Lao Pdr, Using Geostatistical Method, Tongvang Bliachongvang

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

This research study focuses on estimating the coal deposit quantity and qualities as CV and AC at Nam Nga coal deposit, Lao PDR using OK and SGS geostatistical methods. A total of 295 assays data from 51 exploration drill holes collected from LID Company were used. The results reveal that OK produces geological resource of 2.2 MT with an average CV of 3,733 kcal/kg and an average AC of 48.68 %. The mineable reserve computed from OK's ultimate pit design and pit adjustment are 0.55 MT. The OK method produces 9.32 MT of wastes, yielding a stripping ratio of 10.4:1. …

Using Artificial Intelligence And Machine Learning To Develop Synthetic Well Logs, Marwan Mohammed Alnuaimi

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

There has been an increase in the need for energy in the recent past. Oil and gas stand as the source of energy that are widely used. The oil and gas reservoirs are targeted for the purposes of field development. The conventional methods of reservoir characteristics require computing techniques that are unique and complex, some of which are labor and time intensive. Mohaghegh argues that all efforts must be tried and made possible to apply Petroleum Data analytics in production and management of reservoir so as to earn a maximum return (Mohaghegh, Shale Analytics, 2017). Different methodologies have been applied …

Effects Of Monovalent Ions On Low Salinity Waterflooding In Shaly-Sandstone Reservoir, Ativish Yomchan

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

Multi-component Ion Exchange (MIE) was proved to be a major mechanism occurred during Low Salinity Waterflooding (LSWF). Reduction of both total salinity and concentration of divalent ions of injected water together with a presence of monovalent ion results in dissolution of divalent ions linking between rock surface and oil. As a consequence, oil is liberated from rock surface. This study aims to study effects of monovalent ions in MIE mechanism. Stirring test is performed and results show that ion with less hydration radius tends to be more active in MIE; hence, potassium ion and cesium ion illustrate potential in oil …

Evaluation Of Wax Deposition Prevention For Crude Oil Production From Mae Soon Oil Field, Htet Myat Min

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

Waxy crude oils are normally found in petroleum reservoirs. Crude oil with the wax formation is one of the crucial problems for flow assurance of pipeline transportation in oil and gas production. This issue can commonly cause wax deposition problem and it has made a huge amount of economic losses such as production, time and maintenance cost. Therefore, it is a critical aspect to deal with wax deposition for crude oil flow assurance, especially at the surface region in cold climate. In this study, n-heptane and poly (maleic anhydride-alt-1-octadecane) or MA as the inhibitors with different concentrations will be measured …

Effectiveness Of Ammonium Ion In Low Salinity Waterflooding In Shaly-Sandstone Reservoir, Hung Vu Quoc

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

In this study was presented the pre-feasibility study of silica sand processing plant in Sihanoukville province. The resources approximately 8,750,000 tons, would be a high potential deposit for the glass industry. In this study focuses on the characteristics of the silica sand, methodology to remove the impurities which contained high Fe2O3, Al2O3 and another major oxide element, and economic evaluation technique. To identification of silica sand which used sieve analysis, Frantz isodynamic magnetic separator following by electrical microscope, XRD, and XRF. Therefore, to upgrade the quality of silica sand, which is using Shaking Table, Wet High-Intensity Magnetic Separator, and Reverse …

Pre-Feasibility Study Of Silica Sand Processing Plant In Sihanoukville Province, Cambodia, Sochea Ros

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

Nowadays, bottom ash and flue gas desulfurization (FGD) gypsum are by-products of the coal combustion process from coal-fired power plant. Bottom ash has been applied in many applications such as landfill, cement industry etc., and FGD gypsum is applied in cement and wallboard industry. Also, they can be used in agricultural activities for soil amendment but the amount of bottom ash and FGD used in this function is still low. Furthermore, biochar has long been used to improve soil fertility. The positive impacts of biochar amendment on soils are that it can increase soil capacity to adsorb plant nutrients, decrease …

Utilization Of Biochar Coupled With Coal Combustion Products For Degraded Soil Amendment, Thidphavanh Sengsingkham

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

Low Salinity Waterflooding (LSWF) has been intensively studied worldwide as it is a low-cost technique. By injecting water with very low salinity compared to formation water in the reservoir, the method changes equilibrium between rock surface, oil and surrounding water, causing wettability alteration through Multi-component Ion Exchange (MIE) mechanism. In this study, ammonium ion is added into low salinity water to facilitate the MIE mechanism in shaly-sandstones reservoir. Experiments are performed with shaly-sandstone rock as it contains both calcium and magnesium ions as part of clays and ammonium ion can express its potential by triggering MIE mechanism. Stirring test, spontaneous …