17.02.2004
The University of Brighton is leading the way in international research that will help improve oil and gas exploration.
With a prestigious £241,000 award from the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), University of Brighton researchers will pioneer work on the South Saskatchewan River in western Canada to help understand how sand-bed rivers transport and deposit their sediment.
The South Saskatchewan is an oil-industry standard example of the rivers that deposited alluvium millions of years ago and now make up some of the world’s most valuable hydrocarbon reservoirs.
A time series of aerial photographs will track how sediment moves because the South Saskatchewan is one of a handful of rivers in the world where you can see right through the water to the bed. Ground Penetrating Radar, as used by the police and forensic scientists, will image how the sediments are assembled in the subsurface to 8 metres depth.
Since the 1 km wide South Saskatchewan River completely freezes over in the minus 40oC winter temperatures it will be possible to use skidoos to travel on top of the channels and image through the ice to the river bed sediments.
"This is the first time this has ever been attempted in a large sand-bed river. We will be using survival suits and all the electronics will be protected to ensure operation in extreme temperatures,"
said Phil Ashworth, Professor of Physical Geography in the university’s School of the Environment.
Global oil giant ExxonMobil are collaborative partners on the project and will use the data produced by University of Brighton researchers to improve yields and drilling methods.
"We are delighted to receive substantial funding for our international research on river dynamics and sedimentology and aim to show how academia can inform and influence the oil business,"
said Professor Ashworth, an adviser to the oil industry for 15 years.
The NERC grant has been awarded jointly to researchers at the universities of Brighton, Leeds and Birmingham.
Contact: Marketing and Communications, University of Brighton, 01273 643022
