International Journal of Petrochemistry and Research

ISSN: 2638-1974

International Conference on Oil, Gas and Petrochemistry

April 3-5, 2017, Dubai, UAE
Poster Session Abstracts
DOI: 10.18689/2638-1974.a1.003

An effective approach to enhance catalytic activity in Propane oxidative dehydrogenation by surface grafted single site VOx moieties over catalytic supports

Kushal D Bhatte

King Abdullah University of science and technology, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

The oxidative dehydrogenation (ODH) of propane isregarded as a promising and advantageous strategy for theindustrial scale production of propylene which is highly demanded by the chemical industry. ODH represents a viable strategy to complementcurrently applied technologies such as cracking and non-oxidative hydrogenation. Exothermicity of ODH allows the process to operate under a thermodynamically favorableregime, whereas the presence of oxygen prevents coking at thecatalyst surface. Though this process is economically favorable, it suffers a major disadvantages of low selectivity of propylene due to itʼs over oxidation to COx. This problem can be solve by correlating structure and activity of catalytic species and deep understanding of mechanism of structural features in reaction. Surface grafting offers a unique feature to understand better structural catalytic activity of relationship and helps to enhance catalytic activity in propane ODH. In current study, with the help of surface grafting we prepared highly dispersed vanadiumspecies over different supports. These highly dispersed vanadium species were characterized by several analytical techniques. It has been observed that these highly dispersed species play a crucial role in order toachieve higher catalytic activity and selectivity towards propylene.

Biography:
Dr Kushal Deepak Bhatte Postdoctoral Fellow from February 2013- till present. He is one of the group members in the Prof. Jean Marie Basset research group, Catalysis Centre, KAUST, Jeddah, KSA. He completed his Ph.D. Science, April 2008 –October 2012 – Institute of Chemical technology, Mumbai, India under Prof. B. M. Bhanage. He had Industrial experience April 2007 to March 2008- IPCA LABS LTD, API R & D, Multistep drug synthesis.

Natural gas conversion to chemicals over a novel Ni catalyst

Dehua He

Tsinghua University, China

Natural gas (methane) can be converted to syngas through the reaction of CO2 reforming of methane (DRM), and Ni-based catalysts have been considered to be potential commercial catalysts. However, the sintering of Ni particles and carbon deposition on Ni-based catalysts limited their applications. Therefore, to develop highly active and stable Ni-based catalysts are of vital importance. Various methods have been proposed to improve the performances of Ni-based catalysts, among which the dispersion of active sites has been mostly focused. In present research, we report a P123 (PEG-PPG-PEG triblock copolymer) modified wet impregnation method for preparing highly-dispersed supported Ni catalysts and the results of the catalytic performances of these Ni catalysts in DRM reaction.

The silica-based ordered mesoporous SBA-15 was used as the support and synthesized using TEOS as the precursor and P123 as the template. Supported Ni catalysts were prepared by adding P123 solution into Ni(NO3)2.6H2O aqueous solution for the impregnation of the support, and the final obtained Ni catalysts were denoted as Ni/SBA15-P123 (1/X), in which 1/X indicates the molar ratio of nP123/nNi. The crystalline phases of the catalysts were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), and the morphologies were observed by Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM). The catalytic performances of the catalysts in CRM reaction were evaluated with a vertical fixed-bed quartz tube reactor.

The characterization results of as-prepared Ni/SBA15-P123 showed that P123 addition could dramatically promote the dispersion of Ni on SBA-15, with addition of an optimized amount of P123 (nP123/nNi) from 1/100 to 1/50. The reaction results of carbon dioxide reforming of methane revealed that the optimized Ni/SBA15-P123 (1/X) catalysts (1/X=1/100 - 1/50) exhibited much better stability than others during the 50 h test. The results of Raman, 1H-NMR, UV-Vis, FTIR, and TPO suggested that the oxygen atoms of PEO blocks would coordinate with Ni2+, NO3- and H2O to form crown-ether-type complexes, which improved the dispersion and stabilization of the precursor, and this kind interaction of Ni(NO3)2.6H2O and P123 would lead to a significantly improvement of Ni dispersion on SBA-15 support.

Biography:
Dr. Dehua He is currently a professor in the Department of Chemistry at Tsinghua University. He received his Bachelor degree on January 1982 at East China University of Science and Technology located in Shanghai, and completed his Master degree study on March 1987 at Okayama University, Japan. He obtained his Ph.D. degree on March 1990 at Tokyo Institute of Technology, Japan. He worked as a postdoctoral associate at Sagami Chemical Research Center (Japan) during April 1991 to August 1994. In 1995 he joined the Department of Chemistry at Tsinghua University as an associate professor. He was a guest researcher at Research Institute of Innovative Technology for the Earth (Japan) from April 1999 to March 2000, and a visiting scholar at The University of Virginia (USA) from November 2003 to May 2004. Dr. HE holds over 20 patents and publishes more than 150 papers in refereed professional journals.

Modifying the interface structure between LC and polymer network to improve PDLCʼS performance

Ruimao Hua

Tsinghua University, China

PDLC (polymer-dispersed liquid crystal) film can be switched from a scattering (haze) state to a transparent state (clear) by simple application of an alternating current field, leading to their promising applications as the light valves to construct the smart windows. Although there have many PDLC film products made by UV curing process, all of them have three key issues: (i) the weak adhesion between polymer networks with ITO surface; (ii) the high driving voltage; (iii) the narrow viewing angle. Therefore, in order to improve the quality of the practical PDLC film, the purposes of the present research work are to not only control the transmission and scattering by using the suitable components of monomers and LCs to form the suitable polymer network and LC droplets, but also use the UV curable reactive mesogen (RM) monomer to form the pretilt angle on the inside surface of polymer network to control LC director in the interface between LC and polymer network.

Biography:
Ruimao Hua has completed his PhD at Tokyo Instituted of Technology (Japan) in 1996, and he is now the professor of chemistry at Tsinghua University, Beijing, China.

Microbial activities at an oil sludge disposal site

Masaaki Morikawa

Hokkaido University, Japan

Until now, a number of microorganisms have been isolated from petroleum fields, and their community structures have been also analyzed. Among them, some microorganisms were reported to have degrading activity of oil constituents, such as alkanes or aromatic hydrocarbons. These microorganisms have been isolated mainly from oil-contaminated soils or oil production water. In this study we focused on the oil sludge samples that are disposed as wastes of the oil production processes in a Middle East petroleum field, where the daytime temperatures are higher than 40°C. The sludge at disposal sites is expected to be heated much higher than environmental temperatures. As far as we know, no study has been reported on the isolation of thermophilic bacteria from such environment.

In order to isolate bacteria from three samples of oil sludge in Middle East, we performed enrichment culture of thermophilic bacteria using nutrient broth and modified R2A medium with different carbon sources, temperatures, and gas phase conditions. Microorganisms grown on several culture conditions were successfully isolated by the roll-tube method or the limiting dilution method. In addition, microbial community structure was analyzed by constructing clone library of 16Sr RNA gene using e DNA extracted from the sludge samples.

No microbial growth was observed under aerobic conditions. As the result of enrichment culture under anaerobic condition at 70°C and 16Sr RNA gene sequencing, several bacterial strains were obtained and identified as Coprothermobacter sp. and Thermoanaerobacter sp. On the other hand, exhaustive 16Sr RNA gene analyses of non-overlapped 24 clones out of 41 clones using bacterial primers revealed that it contained seven phyla Thermotogae, Chloroflexi, Deferribacters, Bacteroidetes, Proteobacteria, Firmicutes, Synergistetes. The community structure analysis using archaeal primers revealed that it was composed of a single class Methanomicrobiain the phylum Euryarchaeota by the analysis of non-overlapped 10 clones out of 48 clones. Our experimental results suggest possibility of methane emission at oil sludge disposable sites in petroleum production field.

Biography:
Dr. Masaaki Morikawa has been appointed Professor of Environmental Molecular Biology, Faculty of Environmental Earth Science, Hokkaido University in May 2004. He has been studied mainly in the field of environmental microbiology, including thermophiles, psychrophiles, and hydrocarbon degrading bacteria. He also studied about the structure-function relationships of enzymes and bio surfactant molecules. A number of his achievements have been recognized by Best Paper Award of Journal Bioscience and Bioengineering (1992, 1993, 1998), The Takeda echno-Entrepreneurship Award 2001 (2001), Fermentation and Metabolisms Research Award (2003), The Amano Research Promoted Award on Enzyme Application (2007), and JSBBA Innovative Research Program Award (2011) etc. He is an editorial board member of journals, “Archaea”, “Journal of Petroleum & Environmental Microbiology”, and “Open Biotechnology. He is also a vice-president of Japanese Society for Environmental Biotechnology.

Ionic liquid supported membrane for CO2 sequestration

Ankit Kumar Singh1* and Vidit Sharma2

Department of Chemical Engineering, Pandit Deendayal Petroleum University, India

In this work, a supported ionic liquid membrane (SILM) can be prepared by impregnating different types of polymers with suitable novel Phosphonium-Based Ionic liquids (ILs). ILs have reached an enormous interest as CO2 solvents and other engineering applications due to their unique properties such as negligible vapour pressure and selectivity, making them very attractive in order to obtain stable supported liquid membranes. This work can appraise the preparation and use of a new class of supported liquid membranes. ILs are compounds that typically contain organic cations and inorganic anions with unique properties. These ILs can be synthesized by the reaction of phosphonium-based salts with different hydrogen bond donors. Phosphonium cations based ILs are a readily available family of ILs that in some applications after superior properties as compare to Nitrogen cation based ILs. Applications recently investigated include their use as Extraction solvents, Chemical synthesis solvents, electrolytes in batteries, and super capacitors anions combinations available commercially have also been increasing in recent years. Here we provide an overview of the properties of these interesting materials and the applications in which they are appearing. An evaluation of the membrane stability was carried out for stable SILMs can be experimentally determined.

Recent advances in post combustion CO2 capture by absorption

Neel Thakker1* and Mr. Anirban Dey2

Pandit Deendayal Petroleum University, India

Over past few decades, drastic climatic changes throughout the globe have gained the worldwide attention. There is a rapid increase in the amount of greenhouse gases, essentially carbon dioxide which is major concern for developing a sustainable future. Carbon dioxide concentrations have increased by 40% since pre-industrial times, primarily due to fossil fuel emissions. Due to which gas treating has become one of the significant areas of research. These processes are facing a transition over past few years. Various technologies have emerged at different stages of industrial expansion to reduce the emission of carbon dioxide in flue gases. Carbon dioxide can be captured out of air or fossil fuel power plant flue gas using various technologies viz adsorption gas separation, cryogenic separation, membrane separation or absorption technologies. Out of these, chemical absorption is the most promising method available that helps in CO2 capture. Amines are the leading carbon scrubbing solvents due to its high flexibility and easy retrofit in existing power plant. The operation of the chemical absorption process is reviewed in this work together with the use of absorbents such as the alkanolamines, and their blended solvents. In addition to this, a cost effective and energy efficient process is proposed for industrial application.

Carbon Dioxide capture using biphasic solvents

Ritika Kohli1* and Mr. Anirban Dey2

Pandit Deendayal Petroleum University, India

With increasing population, there is an abundant rise in energy demands which is subsequently leading to an increase in generation of Carbon Dioxide gas in the atmosphere. Total emission in 2014 amounts to 6870 Million Metric Tonnes of CO2 equivalent. Carbon dioxide also known as greenhouse gas is a leading contributor of global climate change and thus most industries are facing problem to alleviate its level. Industries have tested various technologies over all these years that give them cost effective and efficient solution to the problem of carbon dioxide capture. Absorption, Adsorption, Physical Separation and Hybrid Solutions are some techniques that are researched upon. Out of these, chemical absorption is one such method that is widely accepted by industries. Chemical Absorption processes using conventional amines like monoethanolamines as solvents are costly and is energy intensive. Therefore, a lot of research has been done in order to reduce the energy costs of this process. Carbon Dioxide removal using biphasic solvents is one such method. Biphasic solvents have huge potential in reducing energy requirements. This process features liquid-liquid separation of the solvent, one rich and one lean in CO2. The CO2 rich phase is used for stripping thus reducing the solvent required for stripping and facilitating the attainment of a higher stripping pressure. As a result, both the heat use for CO2 stripping and the CO2 compression work is required to deliver to a storage site is reduced. This work provides a brief analysis on removing carbon dioxide using biphasic solvents.

Formulation of an oil based drilling mud using waste engine oil

Dhruvil Sagar1* and Nirav Soni2

Pandit Deendayal Petroleum University, India

The commercial viability of using acheap waste engine oil collected from two wheeler automobiles as a base oil for the formulation of oil based drilling mud was investigated. The rheological and other properties of this formulation were compared with formulations from commercial 4 stroke engine oil JASO MA SAE 10W/30 whose composition principally consists of a hydrocarbon oil with aromatic components, primaly one- and two-ring naphthenes, sulfur and small quantities of nitrogen, along with molybdenum of molybdenum dithiocarbamate, phosphorus of zinc dithiophosphate, and a phenol-based antioxidant, commensurate to the total weight of the composition. The waste engine oil based drilling mud prepared by us, acts as a replica of the oil based muds prepared from other synthetic oils and is alkaline in nature which avoids corrosion in the tubing a, with a pH of 9.2 and also exhibits good filtration propertieswith a thin and robust filter cake of 3.2 mm when compared with the other formulations. The results obtained show that the waste engine oil based mud exhibited Bingham plastic rheological model with a viable yield point and gel strength. The mud density measurement showed that waste engine oil OBM was slightly denser than the original engine oil based mud with mud density values of 8.5 lb. /gal and 8.2 lb. /gal, respectively, at barite content of 63.2 g per lab barrel. Therefore, the formulated waste engine oil mud exhibited compatible drilling mud properties that would compare favorably with those of 4 T engine oil muds. The waste from engine formulation is toxic as it is a cocktail of naphthenic and aromatic hydrocarbons that may contain carbon remnants, sludge, aromatic and non-aromatic solvents, water, glycols, salts of metals used in construction of the engine body, antifoaming compounds, fuels, and other residue of oil additives. Though, the waste engine oil mud is currently non –ecofriendly, but if the waste engine oil is economically re-refined, it may be a viable and a cheap option.

Biography:
Mr. Dhruvil Sagar is pursuing his bachelors of technology in petroleum engineering from Pandit Deendayal Petroleum University where he holds a strong research interest in drilling fluids used in oil and gas industry. He has developed an innovative formulation for oil based mud used for HPHT wells.

Renewable portfolio standards and the law- the future of electricity energy generation in Nigeria

Aremu Abimbola W

University of Ibadan, Nigeria

The process of reforming the electric power sector has created opportunities for more innovation to be birth in the light of how best the sector can be more effective. On one hand policies have been used to promote renewable energy in revamping the electricity sector, and on the other hand, emphasis is placed on conductive institutional environment. However, conductive environment is achieved when there is a successful juxtaposition of policies and implementation facilitated by the necessary institutional agencies. This study therefore, was designed to highlight the potentials in RPS as a tool in aiding effective electricity generation in Nigeria, by adopting a questionnaire model, in order to gather cognitive information from certain principal actors in relevant Nigerian sectors, with focus on the Energy Commission of Nigeria (ECN) and the Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC). Specifically, this study examined the legal and institutional dimensions of renewable portfolio standards as the future of electricity in Nigeria, within the context of electricity reforms and the current global move towards increased deployment of renewable energy for electricity. Feedback from the Energy Commission of Nigeria revealed that as at June 13, 2014, Nigeria generated 4000MW, and a further feedback of 2,973MW. However, according to the feedback from Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission, as at the end of May 2014, current installed capacity was 11,165 MWs, while actual generation capability was limited to only 6416MW due to fuel supply challenges and Transmission &Distribution infrastructure limitations. Only about 1500MW of approximately 2600MW installed capacity of captive power exist in the country, is in use and 270WM of the rest is available for export to the grid, subject to adequate transmission infrastructure. Feedback from the ECN and NERC indicated that majority of renewable energy currently in Nigeria are federal projects, though some states have shown kin interests, especially in solar photovoltaic systems, embarked on by very few states, for electrification of critical infrastructures, such as rural clinics, schools and surveillance equipment, traffic lights, etc. Renewable energy projects are usually implemented in stages and a time frame is given due to many factors such as capital, environmental considerations and institutional guidelines for such projects. RPS is a policy tool in the National Energy Policy and Renewable Energy Master Plan but it has not been adopted presently, as there is no traceable percentage of Nigeriaʼs annual electricity generation from renewable energy sources. Supplemental efforts to significantly back up dwindling electricity energy in Nigeria has always met with various challenges, including lack of current operational expertise, insecurity, lack of appropriate policies, etc. According to ECN, Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON) is not yet involved in confirming the compliance level of renewable energy projects. The EPSR Act 2005 of Nigeria envisages that renewable energy will play a prominent role in rural electrification, it is thus, no doubt that institutional framework and legal framework are pivotal to realisation of policies but there had always been problems in implementing appropriate policies on electricity activities, as informed by this study. So, there is very urgent need for policies that will include renewable energy resources, such as solar, wind, ocean, hydropower, biomass, geothermal resources, and biofuels and hydrogen in generating additional electricity in the country.

Keywords: electric power sector, the Energy Commission of Nigeria, legal framework, Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission, renewable energy

Biography:
Abimbola Aremu is an energy lawyer with interests in renewable energy, legal research, energy policy and regulations. She had her first degree in Law from the University of Ibadan in 2010 and obtained her LL.M in Energy Law from the MacArthur Funded, Centre for Petroleum, Energy Economics and Law (CPEEL), University of Ibadan, Nigeria in 2013. She is currently a Graduate Research Assistant at the said Centre for Petroleum, Energy Economics and Law (CPEEL) alongside running a Ph.D. program in Renewable Energy. She has previously worked as a Counsel in the Chambers of Ekerete Udofot & Co., Akure, Ondo State, Nigeria. She is an esteemed mediator of the Institute of Chartered Mediators and Conciliators (ICMC) of Nigeria. She is also a student member of the Nigerian Association for Energy Economics (NAEE).

Man-made challenges facing the marginal fields industry in Nigeria

Kehinde Ogunsola-Saliu

University of Ibadan, Nigeria

Nigerian Marginal Fields, if adequately utilised can boost Nigeriaʼs oil and gas reserves, increase local companiesʼ participation in upstream and downstream oil-sector, as well as create employment opportunities. However, Nigerian Marginal Oil Fields are grossly under-explored and thereby, significantly under-utilised. This study therefore, tried to trace the history of the Federal Governmentʼs intervention in Nigerian Marginal Oil Fields, and also investigated the challenges responsible for the under-exploration and under-utilisation of Nigerian Marginal Oil Fields using descriptive-analytical approach. Cost of repairing or replacing vandalised pipeline/blown-up facilities, ransom paid to kidnappers and revenue lost as a result of annual shut-down were the main variables considered. This study informed that the Federal Government of Nigeria awarded 30 Nigerian Marginal Fields to indigenous oil and gas companies in 2003. In spite of this commendable initiative, only 12 out of the 30 marginal fields have started production and contributed just about three percent to the total crude oil production in 2015, while the PSC, Independent and Sole risks, AF-JV, JV contributed 42, 7, 16 and 32% respectively, to the total crude oil production in 2015. The major man-made challenge attributed to under-exploration and under-utilisation of Nigerian Marginal Oil Fields was due to emergence and activities of various insurgent groups, most popularly, the Niger Delta Militant Groups (NDMGs). Sensitivity analysis of the oil production data from offshore field showed that out of the three variables captured under militant insurgency, annual shutdown had the most impact of -34, -32 and 24% on NPV, IRR and PP respectively, while, replacement cost had an impact of -6, -7 and 9% on NPV, IRR and PP respectively. Estimated ransom paid had an impact of -2, -2 and 1% on NPV, IRR and PP respectively. For the onshore field, annual shutdown had an impact of -43, -42 and 37% respectively; replacement cost had an impact of -5, -6 and 10% on NPV, IRR and PP respectively, while estimated ransom paid had an impact of -3, -3 and 4% on NPV, IRR and PP respectively. In conclusion, frequency of insurgent attacks has resulted in collateral damage on the infrastructure, stability, development and success of the Marginal Fields. These require urgent and critical demand on the government and oil companies to adopt new management strategies that will address and contain the insurgency in Nigeria.

Keywords: Commercial fields, descriptive-analytical approach, insurgencies, marginal fields, Niger-Delta militant groups

Biography:
Kehinde Ogunsola-Saliu received her BSc. degree in Economics from Bowen University Iwo, Iwo, Osun State, Nigeria, in 2006, and her Masters in International Business from University of Wollongong in Dubai in 2007. She is currently undergoing PhD. in Energy Studies, with specialty in Oil and Gas Economics at the Centre for Petroleum Energy Economics and Law (CPEEL), University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria. Her present research interest focus is on Real Option Analysis and Oil and Gas Economics, and her current project involves Investment Analysis of Marginal Fieldsʼ Development in Nigeria using Real Options Approach. Kehinde served as a Lecturer at Ecole Professional Specialised Universitee, Cotonou between November 2015 and September 2016, and also acted as the Head of Department, School of Management Sciences for the same period. She also earlier worked as a Market Research Analyst/ Business Analyst at Matheko International Limited, Nigeria from April 2009 - December 2013.

Economic analysis of marginal fields development in Nigeria

Ogunsola-Saliu K

University of Ibadan, Nigeria

Marginal Fields are generally challenging to develop, given its economic sensitivity; however, there is a growing literature on the use of traditional approach models, such as the Discounted Cash Flow via the Net Present Value, Internal Rate of Return and Payback Period to evaluate investment analysis of Marginal Fields. Meanwhile, none of these studies incorporated the cost expended as a result of Niger Delta Militant Insurgency in the cash outflow. Thus, this study was designed to investigate the Economic Analysis of Marginal Fields in Nigeria with emphasis on Niger Delta militant Insurgency, using case studies from the offshore and onshore Marginal Fields. The traditional approach models were utilised to evaluate the profitability of Marginal fields at a standard discount rate of 12.5%. The models were modified by incorporating three new uncertainty variables captured under Niger Delta militant insurgencies [cost of repairing or replacing vandalised pipeline/blown-up facilities, ransom paid to Kidnappers Marginal Fields and revenue lost as a result of annual shut-down due to pipeline vandalisation/blown-up facilities]. Probabilistic model was also incorporated to assess the impact of the key uncertainty variables [Oil Price, Discount Rates, Annual shutdown, Gas Price, Petroleum Profit Tax, Capital Expenditure, Gas and Oil Operating Expenditure), Cost of repairing or replacing vandalised/ blown-up facilities and Ransom Paid] on the developed models, using the Monte Carlo simulation suite in @ Risk software. The investment in the marginal fields are profitable with offshore and on-shoreʼs.

Net Present Value of $200.2 million and $23.2 million, Internal Rate of Return; 21.5 % and 17.9% and Payback Period; five and six years, respectively. Based on the sensitivity analysis, Oil price was the most sensitive on the off-shoreʼs Net Present Value, Internal rate of return and payback period with an impact of 71.0%, 72.0% and -72.0%, respectively. The gas price, capital expenditure and oil price were the most sensitive on the on-shoreʼs Net present value, Internal Rate of Return and Payback period, with an impact of 53.0%, -57.0% and -53.0% respectively. The study concluded that marginal fieldsʼ investments are economically viable, even when faced with various human-made uncertainties.

Keywords: Marginal fieldsʼ investment analysis, militant insurgencies, probabilistic approach, traditional approach.

Biography:
Kehinde Ogunsola-Saliu received her BSc. degree in Economics from Bowen University Iwo, Iwo, Osun State, Nigeria, in 2006, and her Masters in International Business from University of Wollongong in Dubai in 2007. She is currently undergoing PhD. in Energy Studies, with specialty in Oil and Gas Economics at the Centre for Petroleum Energy Economics and Law (CPEEL), University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria. Her present research interest focus is on Real Option Analysis and Oil and Gas Economics, and her current project involves Investment Analysis of Marginal Fieldsʼ Development in Nigeria using Real Options Approach. Kehinde served as a Lecturer at Ecole Professional Specialised Universities, Cotonou between November 2015 and September 2016, and also acted as the Head of Department, School of Management Sciences for the same period. She also earlier worked as a Market Research Analyst/ Business Analyst at Matheko International Limited, Nigeria from April 2009 - December 2013.

Modelling the influence of nanoparticle size on oil recovery under injection with water-based nanofluid

Oshinibosi-Omotoso Yetunde

University of Ibadan, Nigeria

Nano-enhanced oil recovery has recently gained attention for applications in the Upstream Petroleum sector although it is yet to be applied in any oil field as of date in Nigeria. However, several laboratory experiments have been developed to validate the possibility of injecting nanofluid (nanoparticles dispersed in fluid, e.g. water, brine, alcohol, ethylene glycol, etc.) for enhanced oil recovery in oil field applications; and additional recoveries of approximately 10% have been recorded. Oil recovery by nanofluid results from two main mechanisms. These include IFT reduction and Wettability alteration. There are several factors that affect nanofluid flooding recovery. These include concentration of nanoparticles, size of nanoparticles, salinity, temperature, wettability of nanoparticles, the rock grain size, the clay content, reservoir permeability, and injection rate. However, the size and concentration of nanoparticles are the most dominant factors. This study investigated the effect of nanoparticle size on flooding recovery by analysing the laboratory results from three different sets of nanofluid experiments carried out at different locations while keeping other factors unchanged; the carrying fluid of the nanoparticles being brine. An existing mathematical flow model which describes how nanoparticles suspension is imbibed into a two-phase (oil and gas) system was modified to incorporate nanoparticle size. The extent of modification of fluid and solid properties due to addition of nanoparticles of different sizes were monitored and examined for possible enhancement to recovery. The oil recovery model generated results that were comparable to laboratory outcomes for the three different locations. The new nano-flow model incorporating variations in particle size could therefore be employed in future field applications.

Biography:
Yetunde Omotosho is a Petroleum Engineer with a strong drive for excellence in the Petroleum Engineering profession. She holds B.Sc. and M.Sc. degrees in Petroleum Engineering both from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria. Her research interest is in Enhanced Oil Recovery and Petroleum Economics. In addition to the PhD. programme, which runs at the Petroleum Engineering Department, University of Ibadan, she is currently a Research Assistant at the Centre for Petroleum, Energy Economics and Law (CPEEL), University of Ibadan. Yetunde is a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers, Nigeria Society of Engineers and Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria.

Probabilistic estimation of potential gas reserves for the emerging Nigerian gas market

Oshinibosi-Omotoso Yetunde

University of Ibadan, Nigeria

Proved reserves for the Emerging Nigerian Gas Market was estimated to be around 186 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) in 2015 but increased slightly to 192 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) in 2017. In the short to medium term, only 54% or approximately 100 Tcf will be available for utilisation, the remaining locked up as Gas Cap Gas, only available on the long term (constrained by OPEC production quota and lack of Gas Utilisation Infrastructure). The objective of this study therefore, was to estimate the growth potential of Associated Gas reserves and more importantly determine probabilistic estimates for potential reserves additions from the extensive Non-Associated Gas accumulations in the Niger Delta. The Niger Delta potential Associated Gas reserves growth (deterministic) was investigated using historical reserves figures. The Society of Petroleum Engineers Reserves classification framework was employed to categorise the Proved reserves (1P or P1) as Associated Gas Reserves and Reserves additions from Non-Associated Gas as P2 for Probable reserves (2P or P1+P2) generated as a cumulative distribution till 2050. The current impetus to commercialise gas and improve field development technologies would in all likelihood, alter the trend of the annual Associated Gas Reserves Growth Factors, consistent with what obtains in other developed basins. The probabilistic potential reserves additions from Non-Associated Gas were explored using simple triangular distributions. In terms of the Society of Petroleum Engineers reserves classification, by 2050, 1P for Nigeria gas reserves should be approximately 116 Tcf while 2P should be a value of 285.3 Tcf, as revealed by the estimations from this study. The distribution of reserves obtained will significantly improve future gas reserves availability estimates and plausible production profiles for prospective investors planning to participate in gas to power and other gas utilisation projects in the emerging Nigerian gas market.

Keywords: Gas reserves, Nigerian gas market, probable reserves, proved reserves, The Society of Petroleum Engineers.

Biography:
Yetunde Omotosho is a Petroleum Engineer with a strong drive for excellence in the Petroleum Engineering profession. She holds B.Sc. and M.Sc. degrees in Petroleum Engineering both from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria. Her research interest is in Enhanced Oil Recovery and Petroleum Economics. In addition to the PhD. programme, which runs at the Petroleum Engineering Department, University of Ibadan, she is currently a Research Assistant at the Centre for Petroleum, Energy Economics and Law (CPEEL), University of Ibadan. Yetunde is a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers, Nigeria Society of Engineers and Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria.

Renewables – a panacea to global warming concerns?

Emmanuel Omoniyi Falobi1*, Olugbenga A. Falode2 and Adenike A.O. Ogunshe3

1Emmanuel Omoniyi Falobi, Center for Petroleum, Energy Economics & Law (CPEEL), University of Ibadan, Nigeria
2Deputy Director, Center for Petroleum, Energy Economics & Law CPEEL, University of Ibadan, Nigeria
3Center for Petroleum, Energy Economics & Law CPEEL, University of Ibadan, Nigeria

Attendant pollution associated with fossil fuel has elicited the need to seek for alternate cleaner fuels. Globally, there has been a paradigm shift towards the renewables, especially biofuels, which are fast drawing increasing attention as substitutes for petroleum-derived transportation fuels to help address issues of energy security, energy costs and global warming concerns. Pursuant to this, the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), at various fora – Lima COP20, Paris COP21 in 2015, and lately, Marrakesh COP22 in 2016, discussed extensively and agreed to mitigating climate change by limiting the global temperature rises to well below 2 degrees Celsius (2°C). According to a recent release of the BP Statistical Review of World Energy (2015), world biofuels production increased by 7.4% in 2014, whilst the global ethanol production increased by 6%. Also, biodiesel production was reported to have increased by 10.3% in 2014, despite a decline from North America. These compare favourably well with IEA Analysis report over the same period. This paper attempts to examine the impact of renewables, especially, biofuels, as a plausible solution to global warming concerns. An empirical study was conducted on the impact of biofuels mandates and subsidies across the Americas and the European Union (EU), since renewable policies are being driven by government policies through such interventions across the world. Results obtained showed clearly that the use of renewables, particularly, biofuels gave a clean, friendly environment and promises a sustainable, viable alternate source of clean energy that will reduce dependency on depleting and finite fossil fuels source.

Keywords: Biofuels, Climate Change, Global Warming, Renewables.

An overview of thermal mass flow meters applicability in oil and gas industry

Bekraoui Amina

Development of Renewable Energies, CDER, Algeria

Measuring and modeling flow has played a central role in predicting its behavior and its effects on the surroundings. Flow measurement is the basis of trade between producers, transporters, process plants, state and public marketers. To improve transactional operation, thermal flowmeters could provide direct mass flow measurement of gases and vapors over a wide range of process conditions without the need for density corrections based on pressure and temperature. The flow meters are classified according to the domain in which they are used and their operating principle. The goal of this work is to provide an overview of using thermal flow meter in hydrocarbons industries. The applicability of thermal flow meters is discussed by a simulation using one-dimensional mathematical model of thermal flow sensor.

Keywords: flow, thermal flowmeter, dispersion flowmeter, hot wire anemometer, CTMF, ITMF.

Biography:
Bekraoui Amina, researcher at the Renewable Energies Research Unit in the Saharan Environment (URERMS), unit for the Development of Renewable Energies, CDER, Algeria. She holds a degree in Electronics Engineering from Adrar University, Algeria in 2010, and a Master's degree in Energy Physics from the same university (2014). Four yearsʼ experience in research, and 3 years as a vacant teacher at Adrar University. Her current interests include measuring and counting natural gas through thermal meters, studying the various counting systems used by Sonatrach (Algeria), modeling and simulation of energy systems, renewable energy, and thermal engine.

Geographic information system application in environmental impact assessment of mining on archaeological/ cultural elements in Nigeria

*Seun Sodipe1,2 and P. A. Oyelaran1

1Department of Archaeology & Anthropology, University of Ibadan, Nigeria
2Centre for Petroleum, Energy Economics and Law (CPEEL), University of Ibadan, Nigeria

Geographic Information System (GIS) increases the amount of information that can be analysed, manipulated, stored, and displayed, after being used to organise, analyse, visualise, and share different types of data and information, sometimes from different historical periods and at various scales of analysis, mostly in the form of maps, globes, reports and charts. This study elucidated how GIS can be used to enhance Environmental impact Assessment (EIA) in general, as well as the level of impact mining of iron on the environment, and the archaeological/cultural elements at Itakpe, Kogi State, Nigeria. The role of GIS in Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) was reviewed, and in addition, an investigation into the impact of iron ore mining on the environment of Itakpe, and on archaeological/cultural elements was undertaken. Both quantitative and qualitative methods were employed, including key informant interviews, photography, field surveys, with the aid of the Global Positioning System (GPS) device. These constituted primary data sources for the study, whilst secondary data were obtained from maps obtained from the Federal Department of Surveys in Lagos, as well as maps obtained from other sources, such as, the Nigerian Atlas. Obtained data were analysed using Arc Map 9.3 version of the ArcView GIS application. It was found that Itakpe was an iron ore smelting site with lots of artefacts like tuyeres and stone anvils. However, these along with the immediate environs of the iron ore mines have been negatively impacted by mining activities. Several ore-bearing rocks lay scattered around locations, corroding under the influence of oxygen and moisture, while several of the tuyeres were also broken and crushed either by heavy earth-moving machinery or due to some other anthropogenic activities. Erosion had also deformed the mines with several gullies formed, some reaching over 8 meters in depth and over 3 meters in width. Due to the data-intensive nature of environmental impact assessment, the GIS provides a veritable means of data manipulation and analysis. So, considering the mining relationship between iron ore and crude oil, and that some petrochemical industries tried to diversify into iron ore mining, this study thus, highlighted the significance of GIS to EIA, with particular reference to the impact of iron ore mining on the environment of Itakpe, as well as the archaeological/cultural elements found therein, all which are indicators of health hazards, exploitation of environmental resources and lack of environmental sustainability.

Keywords: ArcView GIS application, environmental impact assessment, geographic information system, iron ore mining, petrochemical.

Comparative evaluation of membrane and amine system for natural gas purification and carbon (IV) oxide utilisation offshore

Aderoju Kehinde Bewaji1,2,3 and Edward Gabina1

1Centre for Process Integration and Membrane Technology, Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen, Scotland, United Kingdom
2School of Engineering, Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen, Scotland, United Kingdom
3Centre for Petroleum, Energy Economics and Law (CPEEL), University of Ibadan, Nigeria

Membrane systems are commercially proven and attractive alternative for the purification of natural gas in place of existing amine sweetening and dehydration plants, and also known to be economical alternative for sweetening massive quantities of natural gas for removal of carbon dioxide and other contaminants to achieve 90% recovery for offshore and onshore plants. Evaluation of various membrane types for CO2 removal from natural gas stream was also done, with ceramic membrane being the preferred choice above the commonly used polymeric membrane material. Membrane system design, process selection criteria and economics and operations were also considered. Production of organic-inorganic hybrid membrane led to increase in membrane selectivity; thereby, reducing methane loss to CO2, which is termed to be an economic advantage. There was reduction in porosity of ceramic support with gas permeation occurring, based on solution-diffusion mechanism. Membrane seemed to have advantage in terms of low capital and operating cost, compact, size as well as simplicity of operation and maintenance. Achieving higher selectivity at expected level of production and reduction in membrane cost were also recorded, while the operating costs included labour, fuel, chemicals and maintenance charges.. Thus, since selectivity and permeability are two very important criteria needed for high membrane performance for removal of CO2 from natural gas stream, combining the advantage of the inorganic and organic membrane i.e., ceramic and polymeric materials, to generate organic-inorganic based hybrid material are recommended.

Biography:
Bewaji, Aderoju Kehinde, a qualified Chemical Engineer and holds a Bachelorʼs degree from Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Osun State, Nigeria and Masterʼs Degree in Oil and Gas Engineering fromThe Robert Gordon University Aberdeen, United Kingdom.
Bewaji, Aderoju Kehinde is currently a Doctorate student at the Centre for Petroleum, Energy Economics and Law (CPEEL), University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria.
Bewaji, Aderoju Kehinde is a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers, American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AICHE), Energy institute (EI), UK and Nigeria Association for Energy Economics (NAEE).

Conical spouted bed combustor for catalytic combustion of agricultural wastes of grapevine productions

M.J. San José, S. Alvarez and R. Lopez

University of the Basque Country, Spain

Global energy demand is increasing worldwide and this energy is obtained mainly by fossil fuels, which means negative environmental impact. This fact implies the need to search for energy alternatives such as renewable energy resources, to preserve natural resources as well as to prevent global pollution by reducing greenhouse gases. Biomass is currently one the most important renewable energy source.

Exploitation of biomass wastes as renewable energy sources by spouted beds technology may be a sustainable alternative. This technology has been proven to perform suitably with catalyst beds [1] and it has been previously successfully applied for thermal treatment of biomass wastes by combustion [2-5].

In this paper, a conical spouted bed combustor of environmental efficient has been applied for thermal exploitation of vine shoots waste by catalytic combustion. With this objective, system behavior has been analyzed and the minimum gas velocity necessary to achieve combustion of beds of vineyard waste has been determined from the values of pressure drop by decreasing slowly the gas flow as the point when the pressure drop levels off [6]. Catalytic combustion of vine shoot waste has been performed in a conical spouted bed combustor in the temperature range up to 550 °C. Combustion yields have been calculated from the gases concentration data [6-8] measured by Testo 350 gas analyzer during combustion process and the influence of the catalyst and inlet gas temperature on combustion yield has been analyzed. The use of Pd/Al2O3 catalyst gives way to lower minimum combustion temperatures than without catalyst and combustion yield values obtained are higher than without catalyst.

Acknowledgements

This work was carried out with financial support of the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (Project CTQ2014-59312-P) and co-funded by the European Union through ERDF funds.

Biography:
M.J. San José Chemical Engineering Professor of the University of the Basque Country, Member of the Academic Doctoral Commission of Master and Doctoral School. She gives lectures in Chemical Engineering Master three patents, more than 100 papers in Journals of high impact factor (JCR), 10 books chapters, 235 papers in congress proceedings. Books editor. Congress organizer and secretary of two international conferences (and referee of five international conferences. Reviewer of JCR engineering journals and of international congresses. Referee of research projects and grants of National Agency of Projects Evaluation (ANEP) of Spanish Ministry of Science and Technology. Coordinator of Industrial Technology of Agency of Projects Evaluation of Andalucía (DEVA). Expert Referee and Secretary of National Evaluation of Research Activity (CNEAI) of Spanish Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports. Coordinator and Expert Reviewer of National Agency of Research and Academic Quality (ANECA). Expert the Research Executive Agency of European Commission to evaluate the Projects H2020.

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