PhD Position Reservoir Simulations of Underground Hydrogen Storage (UHS) in Depleted Hydrocarbon Fields

4 Jan 2024
Job Information

Organisation/Company

Delft University of Technology (TU Delft)

Research Field

Technology

Researcher Profile

First Stage Researcher (R1)

Country

Netherlands

Application Deadline

4 Feb 2024 - 22:59 (UTC)

Type of Contract

Temporary

Job Status

Not Applicable

Hours Per Week

40.0

Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme?

Not funded by an EU programme

Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure?

No

Offer Description

The Dutch government has funded the HyTROS consortium to investigate and enable Hydrogen Transport, Offshore and Storage in the Netherlands. The consortium consists of 11 universities, 2 research institutes, 2 universities of applied sciences, and 19 industrial partners. As part of the Task “Large-scale hydrogen storage” of HyTROS consortium, the Department of Geoscience and Engineering at TU Delft is seeking to recruit 2 fully funded PhD positions for 4 years each. The PhD candidates will work on underground hydrogen storage (UHS) in depleted hydrocarbon fields, specifically on field-scale characterization, performance analyses and monitoring of UHS to enable its efficient and secure operation in a potential pilot site. The successful applicants will work in close cooperation with each other under the supervision of researchers from the sections Applied Geophysics and Petrophysics, Reservoir Engineering, Applied Geology, and Delphi consortium .

PhD 1 project will concentrate on utilization of reservoir simulations for the quantification of the dynamic behaviour of cyclic storage of hydrogen in field-relevant scenarios with the aim to assess the purity and recoverability of hydrogen as well as reservoir containment.

Objectives:

• Design ensembles of reservoir models for UHS that capture the different scales of heterogeneity and their associated geological and conceptual uncertainties.
• Designing reliable dynamic simulation systems, by including appropriate UHS-relevant parameters, functions, and constitutive laws.
• Perform dynamic reservoir simulations (incl. geomechanics and chemical reactions) to provide probabilistic assessments of cyclic UHS and identify the key geological uncertainties as well as the multi-scale geological characteristics that are first-order controls on the reservoir behaviour during cyclic UHS.
• Work with PhD candidate 2 to incorporate the knowledge about key uncertainties and multi-scale geological characteristics to design better geophysical monitoring strategies for UHS.
• Perform a value-of-information analysis to investigate how improved geophysical monitoring (from PhD project 2) could help constrain uncertainties in reservoir characterisation and the associated dynamic behaviour, and ultimately optimise the operation of UHS.
• Develop operational protocols for safe and optimal cyclic storage and withdrawal which are based on the improved understanding of the impact of reservoir uncertainties and geological heterogeneities on reservoir (in cooperation with other project team members).
• Provide pathways to develop a computational framework for real-time data integration in simulation models to guide decision-making for storage safety and performance optimization (in cooperation with other project team members).

To achieve the objectives stated above we foresee the following activities:

• Review and identify the relevant geological, petrophysical, geomechanical, and chemical data for UHS projects in depleted hydrocarbon reservoirs offshore Netherlands.
• Familiarization with advanced, multi-scale reservoir model design to build meaningful ensembles of reservoir models for UHS.
• Further development and utilisation of in-house open-source codes to simulate the dynamic behaviour of cyclic UHS considering geomechanical and chemical effects.
• Application and advancement of robust uncertainty and value-of-information analysis to investigate how better seismic monitoring reduces uncertainties and improves the safe and efficient operation of UHS.
• Development of data integration approaches that link static and dynamic reservoir modelling with seismic characterisation to enable real-time monitoring of UHS.

Requirements
Specific Requirements

The successful applicant will hold a relevant MSc degree in applied geoscience and engineering, with background on geology and reservoir simulation. Applications from MSc holders of related engineering domains will be certainly welcomed too. Having strong numerical and programming skills for forward and/or inverse problems are advantageous. Communication and interpersonal skills are essential to conduct the project successfully.

Doing a PhD at TU Delft requires English proficiency at a certain level to ensure that the candidate is able to communicate and interact well, participate in English-taught Doctoral Education courses, and write scientific articles and a final thesis. For more details please check the Graduate Schools Admission Requirements .

Additional Information
Benefits

Doctoral candidates will be offered a 4-year period of employment in principle, but in the form of 2 employment contracts. An initial 1,5 year contract with an official go/no go progress assessment within 15 months. Followed by an additional contract for the remaining 2,5 years assuming everything goes well and performance requirements are met.

Salary and benefits are in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities, increasing from € 2770 per month in the first year to € 3539 in the fourth year. As a PhD candidate you will be enrolled in the TU Delft Graduate School. The TU Delft Graduate School provides an inspiring research environment with an excellent team of supervisors, academic staff and a mentor. The Doctoral Education Programme is aimed at developing your transferable, discipline-related and research skills.

The TU Delft offers a customisable compensation package, discounts on health insurance, and a monthly work costs contribution. Flexible work schedules can be arranged.

For international applicants, TU Delft has the Coming to Delft Service . This service provides information for new international employees to help you prepare the relocation and to settle in the Netherlands. The Coming to Delft Service offers a Dual Career Programme for partners and they organise events to expand your (social) network.

Selection process

Are you interested in this vacancy? Please apply no later than 4 February 2024 via the application button and upload:

• Motivation letter.
• Detailed CV.
• Names and contact information of at least two relevant references.
• Academic record.
• If possible, a master thesis (or other research during your master’s degree).

After the first selection, video interviews will be held on (date to be agreed).

Please note:

• You can apply online. We will not process applications sent by email and/or post.
• A pre-Employment screening can be part of the selection procedure.
• Please do not contact us for unsolicited services.

Additional comments

For more information about this vacancy, please contact Hadi Hajibeygi, e-mail: [email protected] and Sebastian Geiger, e-mail: [email protected] .

Website for additional job details

https://www.academictransfer.com/336346/

Work Location(s)

Number of offers available

1

Company/Institute

Delft University of Technology

Country

Netherlands

City

Delft

Postal Code

2628 CD

Street

Mekelweg 2

Geofield

Where to apply

Website

https://www.academictransfer.com/en/336346/phd-position-reservoir-simulations-o…

Contact

City

Delft

Website

http://www.tudelft.nl/

Street

Mekelweg 2

Postal Code

2628 CD

STATUS: EXPIRED