Rob Braden

Date of Award

Spring 5-2023

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science in Petroleum Engineering (MSPE)

Committee Chair

Lee Richards

First Advisor

Burt Todd

Second Advisor

John Robertson

Abstract

The topic of carbon sequestration has become increasingly popular in recent years as a solution to combat the increasing amounts of carbon dioxide in Earth’s atmosphere. Various industries have researched methods in which to implement carbon sequestration projects to offset the carbon dioxide emissions associated with their operations. The U.S. oil and gas exploration industry in particular has seen multi-billion-dollar investments by multiple firms into carbon sequestration and emission reduction projects. The largest single industrial emitter of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere currently is the production of cement, which accounts for 8% of all global industrial carbon dioxide emission (Ellis et al., 2020). The oil and gas exploration industry utilizes cement when constructing new oil and natural gas wells and also when plugging and abandoning wells. These cementing operations present an opportunity to store and sequester carbon by entrapping carbon-laden materials in the cement slurry, which would permanently store the carbon in the subsurface. This application of carbon sequestration would offset some of the emissions associated with the use of cement in oil and gas industry operations. This study examines three novel waste materials proposed as oilfield cement additives. These materials were selected due to their associated carbon sequestration capabilities. These three materials are hemp hurd, biochar, and non-recyclable plastic.

Comments

A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of

Master of Science in Petroleum Engineering

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