CO2 Storage Project Design and Optimization (Saline Aquifers)

Instructor: Prof. Phil Ringrose (Norwegian University of Science & Technology, Norway)
Language: English
Level: Intermediate
Duration and formats:
Online: 2 live sessions of 3-4 hours each CPD Points: 5
Classroom: 1 day CPD Points: 8

Course Description

The course will explain the overall design of CO2 storage projects, focusing on sandstone (siliciclastic) saline aquifer systems, and covering:

  • The project timeline
  • Site characterisation needs
  • Trapping mechanisms
  • The main fluid dynamical controls
  • Methods for storage capacity estimation
  • Well design and placement Basics of CO2 transport and management
  • Injectivity, geomechanical and pressure management
  • Overview of monitoring methods
  • Approaches for long-term storage assurance

Course Objectives

Upon completion of the course, participants will gain a rounded understanding of the design of CO2 storage projects covering the full timeline – before, during and after the operational phase.

Participants’ Profile

The course is designed for geoscientists and engineers working in the emerging low-carbon energy sector, the oil and gas sector, technical service companies and research organizations.

Prerequisites

Participants should have basic knowledge of geology, geophysics and reservoir engineering.

About the Instructor

Philip Ringrose is Professor in Energy Transition Geoscience at NTNU, based at the Centre for Geophysics Forecasting. He is also Honorary Professor (2018–2024) in Sustainable Geoenergy at the University of Edinburgh, School of Geosciences. He was previously at Equinor, where he worked on various developments in CCS and on several large-scale CO2 storage projects. His many years of industry and research experience, include positions as Lead Geologist and Advisor for Geological Reservoir Modelling (at Statoil). Between 1990 and 1997, he was a Lecturer and Research Fellow at the Heriot-Watt Institute of Petroleum Engineering, Edinburgh, UK.

He has published widely on reservoir geoscience and flow in rock media and has recently published textbooks on ‘Reservoir Model Design’ (2021) together with Mark Bentley and ‘How to Store CO2 underground’ (2020). He has been honoured with several awards, including the 2023 SINTEF-NTNU CCS Award, the EAGE 2022 Norman Falcon Award (with others), the 2021 Energy Group Medal from the Geological Society of London, and the EAGE 2018 Louis Cagniard Award (with Dr Nazarian). He is a member of The Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences and Letters (DKNVS) and the Norwegian Academy of Technological Sciences.