Mudstones as methane sources: gas production from coal seam interburden. Carbonaceous mudstones associated with coal measures already exploited for gas present an attractive reservoir of methane. This project seeks to provide methods for accessing this gas. Mudstone associated with coal seam gas developments are very extensive and gas quantities may exceed even that in the coal itself. Further infrastructure and access permits are already in place for coal seam gas recovery. Unlike shale, which ....Mudstones as methane sources: gas production from coal seam interburden. Carbonaceous mudstones associated with coal measures already exploited for gas present an attractive reservoir of methane. This project seeks to provide methods for accessing this gas. Mudstone associated with coal seam gas developments are very extensive and gas quantities may exceed even that in the coal itself. Further infrastructure and access permits are already in place for coal seam gas recovery. Unlike shale, which is fissile, mudstone is much softer, more malleable and plastic, and consequently will respond abnormally to hydraulic fracturing and propping, so new methods proposed to be developed in this project are needed for stimulation.Read moreRead less
Particle-scale modelling of particle-fluid flows in gas and oil extraction. Particle-scale modelling of particle-fluid flows in gas and oil extraction. This project aims to develop a particle scale model to study the pipeline transport of petroleum fluids. It will use a combined theoretical and experimental program, involving state-of-the-art discrete element modelling and simulation techniques, to describe the complex particle-fluid flow and erosion of pipeline transport in gas and oil extracti ....Particle-scale modelling of particle-fluid flows in gas and oil extraction. Particle-scale modelling of particle-fluid flows in gas and oil extraction. This project aims to develop a particle scale model to study the pipeline transport of petroleum fluids. It will use a combined theoretical and experimental program, involving state-of-the-art discrete element modelling and simulation techniques, to describe the complex particle-fluid flow and erosion of pipeline transport in gas and oil extraction, quantify the effects of key variables, and formulate strategies for optimum process control under different conditions. The research outcomes are expected to be useful for the process control of pipeline transport in Australia’s important petroleum and energy-related industries.Read moreRead less
Controlling hydrate slurry flow to enable deepwater oil and gas production. This project aims to investigate the plugging of hydrate slurries in pipelines to determine under what conditions they will flow satisfactorily without forming a blockage. Hydrate blockages are expensive and hazardous occurrences in oil and gas operations, so current prevention systems aim to avoid hydrate formation altogether through over-design. These over-designed hydrate prevention systems are extremely expensive to ....Controlling hydrate slurry flow to enable deepwater oil and gas production. This project aims to investigate the plugging of hydrate slurries in pipelines to determine under what conditions they will flow satisfactorily without forming a blockage. Hydrate blockages are expensive and hazardous occurrences in oil and gas operations, so current prevention systems aim to avoid hydrate formation altogether through over-design. These over-designed hydrate prevention systems are extremely expensive to build and costly to run during the operations phase. The project intends to examine the behaviour of hydrate slurry flow as a function of the oil's properties, amount of water and degree of turbulence. Outcomes are intended to be a sophisticated approach to avoiding hydrate blockages that is safe but more efficient and less costly.Read moreRead less