Reliable predictions of the fate of oil and gas from deep-water blowouts are necessary to assess the environmental risk prior to exploration and development of deep-water petroleum resources. At sea depths beyond I000 m where high pressures and low temperatures prevail, natural gas tends to form gas hydrates. For discharges in deep waters, this eventual formation of hydrate appears to be a dominating process in limiting plume rise.

The objective of this project is to extend existing enhanced-deep-water blowout models to include hydrate formation and transport then simulate the behavior of oil and gas from accidental releases. The general concept is applied to multiphase discharges in the formation of water, oil, and gas in a stratified water column at high pressures and low temperatures. Such a validated model is critical in planning measures needed to prevent and minimize damage due to a deep-water blowout similar to the recent BP oil spill.

 

Keywords:

Multiphase flow; Hydrodynamics; Computational fluid dynamics; Hydrate; Deep-water blowouts; Oil spills; Plume modeling;

Citizenship:  Open to U.S. citizens and permanent residents

Level:  Open to Postdoctoral and Senior applicants