Dr Jan Vinogradov

Research Overview

I am an academic at the School of Engineering with research interests residing in the field of earth sciences,  sustainable earth systems and energy resources.

In particular, my active research projects rely on fundamental geological fluid mechanics, reservoir and interfacial physics, self- and zeta potential phenomena, all of which are applied to wettability characterisation, carbon geological storage, underground hydrogen storage, geothermal resources and hydrocarbon recovery. The used methods span across cutting-edge laboratory experiments, novel field geophysical techniques, analytical and numerical modelling on multiple scales.

Current Research

My research focuses on self-potential (SP) methods applied to enhanced oil recovery via controlled salinity waterflooding, hydrodynamics of saline intrusion, flows in fractured systems, wettability characterisation, geothermal resources, geological storage of CO₂ and H₂, and harvesting of subsurface energy.

SP arises in porous media saturated with electrolytes and other NAPF (non-aqueous phase fluid) in response to pressure, concentration or temperature gradients. SP measurements and interpreted from them zeta potential improve our understanding of underlying physics of many complex interfacial phenomena. The method complemented by other petrophysical properties and geophysical methods has already demonstrated its potential to:

1. Accurately quantify wettability;
2. Characterise flows in fractured rock systems;
3. Monitor fluid fronts 100s of meter away from instrumented boreholes;
4. Design composition and concentration of injected brines for maximum oil recovery;
5. Predict residual gas saturation in porous formations.

Other potential applications of SP measurements include:

1. Pre-screening formations for the most efficient subsurface storage of CO₂/H₂;
2. Real-time monitoring and characterisation of geothermal sources;
3. Harvesting subsurface electrical energy.

Collaborations

Current collaborations:

Imperial College London, UK

British Geological Survey, UK

Curtin University, Australia

Edith Cowan University, Austarlia

Bureau de Recherches Géologiques et Minières, France

Sorbonne Université, France

Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Germany

Past collaborations:

Southern Water, UK

Atkins, UK

TotalEnergies (TOTAL S.A.), France

Shell, Netherlands

Funding and Grants

• Australian Research Council Discovery Grant (ARC-Discovery), "Improved hydrogen geological storage via zeta potential measurements" (co-PI with Edith Cowan University), 2022-2025;
• Society of Petrophysicists and Well Log Analysists, "Investigation of Interactions between Rock-Brine and CO₂-Brine Interfaces" (PI), 2021-2023;
• Aberdeen Formation Evaluation Society (AFES), "Streaming potential measurement in intact core samples at reservoir conditions with the application to enhanced oil recovery and underground gas storage via miscible CO₂ and CO₂ sequestration" (PI), 2021-2023;
• Aberdeen Formation Evaluation Society (AFES), "Comprehensive Investigation of Chemical and Miscible Flooding in Enhanced Oil in Natural Rocks" (PI), 2021-2022;
• Petroleum Technology Development Fund, "Miscible-CO₂/Chemical Injection EOR - a Comprehensive Study" (PI), 2019-2022;
• Edith Cowan University, "Zeta Potential Measurements in Intact Core Samples at Reservoir Conditions with the Application to CO₂ Geological Storage" (PI), 2018-2019.

Teaching Responsibilities

Reservoir Engineering I-Fundamentals - coordinator

Well Testing: Analysis and Desing - coordinator

Well Plugging And Abandonment - contributor (50%)

Near Surface & Environmental Geophysics - contributor

Topics In Advanced Applied Geophysics - contributor