CGeol - Chartered Geologist, Geological Society of London
Chair Of Energy Geoscience
- About
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- Telephone Number
- +44 (0)1224 273713
- School/Department
- School of Geosciences
Biography
How and why sediment is deposited, the processes by which it consolidates and lithifies, and its micro- and macro-mineralogy fascinate me. I integrate data from global to sub-micro-scale, examining basin evolution, sediment provenance and its relationship to climate change including weathering and erosion and diagenesis. While focussing on understanding process, my research has a strong element of resource evaluation, and its contribution to the inventory of Earth resources.
For more than 25 years, the Sand Injection Research Group (SIRG) studied the natural injection of fluidised sand into actively propagating hydraulic fractures, and their influence on fluid migration and expulsion. This is significant for resource entrapment and recovery, and waste (nuclear, CO2) or resource (hydrogen, CH4) sequestration. Other research includes a) self-sufficient low C energy systems in rural environments, b) the origin, physical characterisation, and climatic significance of loessite, specifically associated with mass extinction events, c) modelling the effect of micro-scale granular features on rock physical characteristics, d) mineral-chemical stratigraphy.
Since 1992 I held the Chair in Production Geoscience (now Energy Geoscience). I am a former Director of MSc IPG and taught MSc IPG, OGEM & Oil & Gas Engineering, as well as level 1 and 4 UG courses. In 2015 I was awarded a Blaustein Professorship at Stanford University.
I was an elected Trustee of the Geological Society of London and served on various GSL committees. I served on senior committees in the AAPG and EAGE and I am an active member of the International Association of Sedimentology. I co-founded and was Chief Editor of Petroleum Geoscience (GSL/EAGE). As part of the Deepwater Horizon Trial between 2011 and 2014, I was engaged as an expert witness for the prosecution during which I was cross examined in court.
Sand Injection Research Group (SIRG)
Sand injectites - Regional development of natural hydraulic fractures in the shallow crust, and concomitant sand fluidisation and injection; their role in the evolution of sedimentary basins.
Loessite – Origin and provenance of loessite and its significance as extra-basinal fill and as an indicator of ancient atmospheric circulation patterns.
Green rural energy – Self-sustainable energy by repurposing domestic waste, integrating agricultural waste with energy crops, and reduction of transport.
Qualifications
- PhD Geology1981 - University of Reading
- BSc Hons Geology & Mineralogy1977 - University of Aberdeen
Memberships and Affiliations
- Internal Memberships
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Throughout my career I assiduously avoided serving on University of Aberdeen committees.
- External Memberships
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I am member of the: Geological Society of London (C Geol), European Association of Geoscientists and Engineers (EAGE), American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG), International Association of Sedimentologists (IAS), and Geoscience Energy Society of Great Britain.
Latest Publications
Investigation of coupled hydro-mechanical modelling of hydraulic fracture propagation and interaction with natural fractures
International Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining Sciences, vol. 169, 105418Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijrmms.2023.105418
- [ONLINE] View publication in Scopus
Outcrop Characterization and Modelling of Sand Injection Complexes
Chapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: Conference Proceedings- [ONLINE] View publication in Scopus
Provenance Variability in Coeval Slope Channel Systems: Hermod S2 Member Sandstone (Eocene), South Viking Graben (North Sea)
Geosciences (Switzerland), vol. 12, no. 12, 450Contributions to Journals: ArticlesPermeability heterogeneity of sandstone intrusion fluid-escape systems, Panoche Hills, California: Implications for sedimentary basins globally
Sedimentology, vol. 69, no. 6, pp. 2463–2485Contributions to Journals: ArticlesA giant sand injection complex: Processes and implications for basin evolution and subsurface fluid flow
American Journal of Science, vol. 322, no. 6, pp. 729-794Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.2475/06.2022.01
- [ONLINE] View publication in Scopus
Prizes and Awards
1993 William Smith Award (Geological Society of London)
2004 Wegener Medal (European Association of Geoscientists & Engineers)
2007 Distinguished Service Award (American Association of Petroleum Geologists)
2012 Grover E Murray Distinguished Educator Award (American Association of Petroleum Geologists)
2015 Blaustein Professor in Geology, Stanford University
- Research
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Research Areas
Funding and Grants
Since 1998 research on sand injectites became a huge part of my research activity. Chevron UK initiated the first 2-year project in 1998 that in 2000 became the Sand Injection Research Group (SIRG) consortium, which remains active today. Almost 40 energy companies have invested in SIRG consortia
- Publications
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Page 5 of 11 Results 41 to 50 of 109
Sand Injectites - Implications for overpressure and compaction
Chapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: Conference Proceedings- [ONLINE] View publication in Scopus
Physical characteristics of sand injectites
Earth Science Reviews, vol. 106, no. 3-4, pp. 215-246Contributions to Journals: Literature Reviews- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2011.02.004
Regional sand injectite architecture as a record of pore-pressure evolution and sand redistribution in the shallow crust: insights from the Panoche Giant Injection Complex, California
Journal of the Geological Society , vol. 167, no. 5, pp. 889-904Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1144/0016-76492010-004
Three-dimensional seismic characterisation of large-scale sandstone intrusions in the lower Palaeogene of the North Sea: completely injected vs. in situ remobilised sandbodies
Basin Research, vol. 22, no. 4, pp. 517-532Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2117.2010.00469.x
Benchmarking methods of enhanced heavy oil recovery using a microscaled bead-pack
Lab on a Chip, vol. 10, no. 7, pp. 819-823Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1039/b926815d
Deserts: modern studies influence interpretation of origins and demise of ancient deserts
Horizons in Earth Science Research. Veress, B., Szigethy, J. (eds.). Nova Science Publishers, pp. 141-162, 22 pagesChapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: ChaptersPredicting reservoir characteristics from drilling and hydrocarbon-gas data using advanced computational mathematics
Chapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: Conference Proceedings- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.2118/123785-MS
- [ONLINE] View publication in Scopus
The Process of Sand Injection: Internal Structures and Relationships with Host Strata (Yellowbank Creek Injectite Complex, California, U.S.A.)
Journal of Sedimentary Research, vol. 79, no. 8, pp. 568-583Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.2110/jsr.2009.062
Sedimentary flow units in hydrocarbon reservoirs: Some shortcomings and a case for high-resolution permeability data
The Geological Modelling of Hydrocarbon Reservoirs and Outcrop Analogues. Flint, S. S., Bryant, I. D. (eds.). Wiley, pp. 190-204, 15 pagesChapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: Chapters- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/9781444303957.ch12
- [ONLINE] View publication in Scopus
Mass-wasting of ancient aeolian dunes and sand fluidization during a period of global warming and inferred brief high precipitation: the Hopeman Sandstone (late Permian), Scotland
Terra Nova, vol. 20, no. 4, pp. 274-279Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-3121.2008.00817.x