The new model could save the oil and gas
industry time and money searching for
petroleum.
Image: iStockphoto
A French PhD student has developed a predictive model for analysing petroleum deposits under the Earth’s surface at Curtin University of Technology.
Dr Luc Fusetti, of the French Institute of Petroleum (IFP), said his model could save the oil and gas industry a great deal of money and time in exploration efforts.
“Oil companies are very interested in possessing a tool that will allow them to quantify the different sources of natural gas,” he said.
“This model has so far been developed for predicting the stable carbon isotopic composition of the methane generated from 1,2,4-trimethylbenzene. The ultimate goal is to predict the stable carbon isotopic composition of natural gas generated during thermal cracking of oil.
“The reason that we only focused on a single model compound was due to the fact that this was a pioneering model and the feasibility of such an approach needed to be demonstrated before dealing with the entire spectrum of oil.
“In the long term, the aim is to extend this approach to all compounds within oil and also to other sources of gas.
“This will provide oil and gas exploration companies with a tool that could discriminate and quantify the various sources of the natural gas accumulation they have discovered.
“I believe that this will be very important, since the answer would tremendously influence further exploration prospects in the same sedimentary basin.”
The stable carbon isotopic composition of gases has always been regarded as the key analytical tool to discriminate gas sources. However, previous models have lacked precision.
Dr Fusetti’s model has so far proven to be superior to previous models especially in terms of its dependability on time and temperature conditions.
“Although the current model is a pilot, we hope to develop new tools for basin modelling that the industry can use to more accurately predict petroleum reserves and remove some of the risk associated with petroleum exploration,” Dr Fusetti said.
“In some parts of the world, this can mean savings millions of dollars.”
“It was this possibility that led the Institute of Petroleum to invest a significant amount of money into this project, paying for me to travel to Perth and work at Curtin.
“This was to make sure I would be able to work with one of the best stable isotope labs in the world.
“Working at Curtin has allowed me to develop and calibrate models with the most accurate data possible.”
Dr Fusetti worked at Curtin as part of French-Australian Cotutelle program under the supervision of Professor Kliti Grice (Curtin), Dr Francoise Behar (IFP) and Professor Sylvie Derenne (Pierre and Marie Curie University, Paris).
During his time in Perth, Dr Fusetti worked within the Western Australian Organic and Isotope Geochemistry Centre (WAOIGC), which is a part of Curtin’s Department of Applied Chemistry. The WAOIGC will be moving into the new $115 million Resources and Chemistry Precinct on the University’s Bentley Campus later in 2009.
The Cotutelle program was established by the French Government to develop partnerships between French institutions and others in different countries. Approximately 100 Australian students have participated.
Editor's Note: Original news release can be found here.
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