Unconventional Resources
Research focuses on understanding the geologic factors controlling both the formation and cost effective production of unconventional hydrocarbon reservoirs such as shales, tight gas sands, and low-pressure gas. Projects address the flow of fluids from the pore to the reservoir scale, depositional and diagenetic effects on reservoir quality, and the combined effects of faults, natural fractures, and hydraulic fracturing on flow and production.
Faculty
 | Critical minerals, economic geology, ore deposits, empirical and conceptual exploration targeting, translithospheric mass transfer, ethical and sustainable mining
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 | Exploration Geophysics, in particular rock physics applications and seismic inversion techniques for reservoir characterization.
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Lecturers
 | Geochemist - 20 years of stable isotope geochemistry laboratory development (ThermoElectron GasBench, Conflo, MAT252, DeltaXL. 15 years of Gas Chromatography method development and automation (Agilent 6890 GC-MS), sample loop injection development, high temperature and cryogenic chromatography. 8 years of X-ray Fluorescence analysis (Bruker T5 handheld and benchtop units). Expert in a wide ...
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Affiliated Faculty
 | geological modeling, geostatistics, spatial statistics, data analytics, machine learning
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Emeritus
 | Basin analysis, sequence stratigraphy, depositional systems, petroleum geology, resource assessment, energy policy
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Research Scientists
 | Experimental rock mechanics
Geotechnical laboratory testing
Measurement of porosity and permeability in gas and oil shales
Digital-image-based deformation measurements
Microstructure characterization of soils and rocks
Constitutive and numerical modeling of soils and rocks
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| Petrophysics, Formation Evaluation, Quantitative Seismic Interpretation, Machine Learning, Integrated Subsurface Characterization, Carbon Sequestration
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 | Expertise in geomechanic and geochemistry applied to: risks associated with CO2 sequestration; hydraulic fracturing for shale gas production; environmental impact of hydraulic fracturing; and the water-energy nexus. Current research focuses on the scientific, environmental and public policy aspects of unconventional natural gas production, the water-energy nexus, and carbon capture and ...
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| Source Rock Characterization
Geochemistry (Organic, Biomarker, Gas Isotope)
Mudrock Characterization
Petrography, SEM
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 | Petrography and geochemistry of siliciclastic rocks; diagenesis; electron microbeam methods: X-ray mapping, cathodoluminescence imaging; micro-scale reservoir characterization
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Research Staff
| Program Manager for the Advanced Energy Consortium
Managing multidisciplinary nanosensor, miniaturized electronics, and smart materials research for the assessment of subsurface properties in various applications, including energy exploration, geothermal, CCUS, etc.
https://www.beg.utexas.edu/aec/
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 | 3D geological interpretation and modeling
- Integrated reservoir characterization
- Petroleum Geology
- Petroleum Engineering
- Carbonate sequence stratigraphy
- Conventional and unconventional reservoir exploration and development
- Oil field exploration and production reservoir management
- Petrophysics
- Geostatistics
- Reservoir simulation
- Software development
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| Petrophysics; mainly creation of core-calibrated interpretation models for well logs.
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 | Personnel management, fiscal reporting, budget management, contract negotiation, management of geological samples
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 | Microstructural analysis of rocks, particularly small-scale deformation structures and pores in mudrocks.
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 | Sequence stratigraphic interpretations (well logs, 3-D seismic), integrated reservoir characterization, subsurface correlation and mapping (using workstation and PC) and subsurface structural interpretation (using 3-D seismic), project management, CO2 sequestration
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