STARR Sharing Knowledge of Earth Resources Across Texas

December 8, 2024

The STARR group at the Bureau of Economic Geology is focused on geoscience and engineering research that advances the production and profitability of Earth resources in Texas — from oil and gas to hydrogen to mineral exploration.

During the past two years, researchers from STARR — which stands for State of Texas Advanced Resource Recovery — gave presentations on a range of hot topics in Earth resources across the state. In April 2023, STARR principal investigator Lorena Moscardelli gave a talk on the hydrogen economy and subsurface storage to TOPCORP, a program for state and federal regulators, field inspectors and policymakers to learn about the technologies used in energy field operations.

Moscardelli emphasized how hydrogen storage in salt caverns could help support the emerging hydrogen economy in the state. And STARR postdoctoral researcher Ander Martinez-Doñate showcased a series of cores from bedded salt formations in West Texas and Louann domal salt from the Texas Gulf Coast.

A month later, STARR researchers traveled to the Southwest Section of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG) in Wichita Falls to present research at the annual convention and 100th anniversary of the organization. Lucy Ko, Peter Flaig, Kelly Hattori, Bill Ambrose and Eric Radjef delivered a series of technical talks and shared research news from STARR, including research on the Strawn Formation, Cisco Group and Barnett Shale.

STARR closed out 2024 with a series of core workshops, sharing insights on formations that could assist with oil and gas exploration and production, carbon dioxide storage, geothermal energy and waste disposal. The workshops included the Strawn Core Workshop at the Fort Worth Oil Library in September, a two-day Wilcox Core Workshop and Bastrop field trip in October, and the Ordovician Ellenburger Core Workshop in Austin in November.

To stay updated on future STARR events, visit: starr.beg.utexas.edu/newsevents/calendar