Sustainability of Worldwide Unconventional Oil, Gas and Energy Resources: New Advances & Challenges
摘要截稿:
全文截稿: 2018-12-30
影响因子: 5.578
期刊难度:
CCF分类: 无
中科院JCR分区:
• 大类 : 工程技术 - 1区
• 小类 : 能源与燃料 - 2区
• 小类 : 工程:化工 - 1区
Overview
1. Objectives and focus of the special issue
Despite the major contribution of conventional oil and gas to worldwide energy supply, both shale and tight oil and gas have made a significant impact on worldwide energy supply and markets over the past decade or so. The rapid growth in so-called “unconventional oil and gas” production from several North American basins has played a decisive role in precipitating the glut that has put downward pressure on oil and gas prices beginning in 2014. Ongoing and expanding production from unconventional oil in China is likely to have an increasing impact on Asian markets.
Meanwhile, the exploration and development of natural gas hydrates, geothermal energy and other renewable energy sources in the Americas and in Asia is likely to grow and its contribution to worldwide energy supply may further disrupt existing energy markets. This is despite the large associated investments and operational cost that hamper the further expansion of the recovery of unconventional oil and gas resources, but also public concerns of “fracking” and “induced seismicity” that have become amplified by its opponents. This has led to restrictions against the development of unconventional resources in many areas, and outright bans in some jurisdictions (e.g., France, Germany, and New York).
Furthermore, the expansion and diversification of renewable and alternative energy sources that are more-environmentally-friendly, and their promotion by both governments and the public, are placing pressure on communities to question their dependence on fossil fuels. This awareness has fuelled the debate on the sustainability of unconventional oil and gas resources, despite its increasing impact on the world energy economy. Rigorous and transparent scientific and engineering studies are urgently required to identify, modify, and apply improved techniques that can demonstrate that unconventional and alternative energy sources can be recovered on a large scale in an economically-viable and environmentally-friendly manner.
These pressing issues and requirements are motivating worldwide debate and discussion on the trade-off of risks and opportunities associated with unconventional oil and gas resources. This includes the compilation and dissemination of ongoing research and advances in industry practices to address related challenges and problems. This special issue aims to bridge the gaps among fundamental theories, applied technologies and field practice to study recent and new advances related to the sustainable development of unconventional energy resources through multi-disciplinary efforts.
This special issue will consider for inclusion technical papers on various topics, including, but not limited to, unconventional oil & gas, natural gas hydrates, geothermal resource exploration and assessment, drilling, completions, production, enhanced recovery processes, environmental risks and hazards, and related regulatory and policy developments.
Key words:
Unconventional oil & gas; Sustainability; Resource recovery & development; Geothermal energy; Natural gas hydrates; Energy production; Hydraulic fracturing; Environmental impacts and controls; Enhanced oil & gas recovery.
2. Invitation to contribute
We invite prospective authors working in unconventional oil and gas, natural gas hydrates and geothermal energy in the broad disciplinary areas of petroleum engineering, geology, geophysics, geochemistry, chemical, mechanical and thermal engineering, environmental sciences, policy and strategy, to contribute to this special volume on “Sustainability of Worldwide Unconventional Oil, Gas and Energy Resources: New Advances & Challenges” with original, full-length research articles, experimental studies, review articles, case studies and discussions. Potential topics include, but are not limited to:
1. New discovery and evaluation of significant global unconventional oil & gas, natural gas hydrate and geothermal resources, and their associated distributions and challenges.
2. New theories and mechanisms of generation, migration, accumulation and storage of unconventional oil & gas, gas hydrate and geothermal reservoirs, and their associated mineralogy, depositional history and geological characteristics.
3. Novel theories and advanced techniques of sub-surface measurements (geological, geophysical, petrophysical, geochemical, geomechanical, well logging, seismic assessment and well testing) and their interpretation.
4. Advances in well drilling and completion techniques, including drilling mud, fracturing fluids, proppants, stimulation methods, tools and designs.
5. Novel insight on transport phenomenon, fundamental theoretical treatments, advanced numerical and analytical modelling, and performance analysis of multiphysics multiphase multicomponent flow in unconventional oil, gas and energy reservoirs.
6. Enhanced unconventional oil & gas, and gas hydrate, and enhanced geothermal design and systems, including experimental evidence, mechanistic theories, and field applications.
7. Environmental issues and challenges related to unconventional resources, for instance, induced seismicity, subsidence, disposal and reuse of fracking water and chemicals, groundwater contamination, air emissions, and related federal regulations and policies.
8. Nanotechnology applied to reservoir characterization and management, well drilling & completion, production and enhanced oil recovery, and waste/produced-water treatment, in disciplines of petroleum engineering, chemical engineering, environmental engineering, and mechanical and thermal engineering.
9. How “big” data and analytics are changing the unconventional oil and gas industry and enhancing development efficiencies.
10. Debate and discussion on how to make unconventional resources more sustainable, from the perspective of worldwide energy consumers and policy makers.