Announcements

Announcements

  • Save the Date: SPE-GGS June 2021 meeting with Dr. Christine Ehlig-Economides

    Please join us for our final meeting of the year where  meeting where Dr. Christine Ehlig-Economides, University of Houston, will be presenting a talk on the Cost Comparison between Carbon Neutral Fuel and Alternative Low Carbon Energy Options.​ This meeting will also serve as the section’s annual meeting to finalize the selection of the 2021-2022 Board of Directors.

    Title: Cost Comparison between Carbon Neutral Fuel and Alternative Low Carbon Energy Options
    Where: Online via Zoom
    Registration: Zoom Registration - SPEGGS June 2021 Meeting

    Abstract

    In efforts to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuel combustion, public funding for wind and solar alternative energy resources has enabled their evolution toward cost competitiveness with coal and natural gas options for electric power generation. To address combustion emissions from the transportation sector, the European Commission has committed to electrifying transportation, but this solution will not address transportation by air or by sea. Nor does it address continued production of petrochemical products that only require a small fraction of produced hydrocarbons. This study investigates the cost competitiveness of an alternative strategy to market crude oil priced to cover the cost of removing an amount of carbon dioxide equal to that produced through combustion of transportation fuels to be refined from it. This strategy enables continued use of fossil fuel for all transportation modes. The cost comparison considers life cycle carbon dioxide emissions and does not address other externalities related to materials or batteries employed in renewable energy options. Rather, we report known costs for carbon capture, use, and storage (CCUS) with consideration of both nature and technology-based carbon capture with focus mainly on geologic storage and utilization. Because road and rail transportation can be electrified, of particular interest is the levelized cost comparison between carbon neutral fuel and electrified transportation, the latter including infrastructure implementation costs. The resulting cost comparison informs investment decisions and justifies marketing fossil fuels on a carbon neutral basis.

    About the Speaker

    Christine Ehlig-Economides is Professor and Hugh Roy and Lillie Cranz Cullen Distinguished University Chair at the University of Houston. Previously, she was a professor at Texas A&M University for 10 years and before that worked for Schlumberger for 20 years. Her research interests include production and reservoir engineering of conventional and unconventional reservoirs. Ehlig-Economides has authored and/or coauthored more than 120 technical papers and has 2 patents. She holds a PhD in Petroleum Engineering from Stanford University, an MS in Chemical Engineering from the University of Kansas and a BA in Math-Science from Rice University. Ehlig-Economides is an Honorary Member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers and a member of the National Academy of Engineering.