RSE/BP Hutton Prize Winners
2011 Prize Winner
David Wright with Professor Anne Glover |
The RSE is delighted to announce that Dr David Wright, who is based within the School of Geosciences, University of Edinburgh, has been awarded the first RSE/BP Hutton Prize in Energy Innovation, for his research entitled “The detection of oil and gas from surface-based electromagnetic measurements”. |
As background, during the data analysis David carried out as part of his PhD, he made a breakthrough which has resulted in the development of an innovative method for the detection of oil and gas reserves both on and offshore. The method involves injecting a large predetermined electric current source signal which is transmitted into the earth and the voltage response of the earth to this signal is measured along a dense line of receivers up to 10 km from the source. The shape of the source signal is modified between source and receiver by the earth. The recorded data can then be analysed to determine the resistivity structure of the earth to depths currently approaching 3 km. Normally, the pores in rocks are filled with salt water, which is electrically conductive. Oil and gas are very resistive. If the brine is replaced by migrated oil or gas, the rock becomes more resistive. Multi Transient Electro Magnetics (MTEM) can help distinguish the resistivities of subsurface rocks.
The primary tool for hydrocarbon exploration is seismic reflection surveying which essentially uses sound waves to image geological structures using their sensitivity to rock density and velocity contrasts. A limitation of the seismic method is that it has poor sensitivity to the fluid content of a rock. EM data combined with seismic data can not only find structures that are potentially oil-bearing, they can also indicate whether the contained fluids are resistive or conductive. MTEM can, therefore, de-risk exploration wells and has the potential to save billions of dollars per year.
David plans to use the money he receives from the RSE/BP Hutton Prize in Energy Innovation, to fund up to three student internships to enable promising students from anywhere in the world to come to Edinburgh and carry out original research within his group. These students may be recent BSc, MSc or PhD graduates. The projects would be designed to focus on a specific area of the MTEM technique where an innovative development could result in a valuable advance in the application of the method.
David was also one of the three founders of the University of Edinburgh spin-out company MTEM Ltd. The company has exploited the MTEM technology and in 2007, MTEM Ltd was bought by Petroleum Geo-Services for £137 million, which is the highest paid by a trade buyer in this sector outside the US, and the second highest ever paid for an early stage technology company in this sector. The University of Edinburgh received approximately £8.6 million, £2.6 million of which was set aside to fund 164 PhD studentships.
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