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Books in Economic geology

Our portfolio in Economic Geology offers comprehensive coverage of mineral deposit formation, exploration techniques, and resource evaluation. Designed for geologists, mining engineers, and industry professionals, it features cutting-edge research on ore genesis, mineral economics, and sustainable extraction practices. These resources enable informed decision-making and innovation in resource development, supporting responsible management of Earth's mineral wealth and addressing critical supply chain issues.

  • Regional Geology and Tectonics

    Volume 2: Phanerozoic Rift Systems and Sedimentary Basins
    • 2nd Edition
    • Volume 2
    • April 16, 2024
    • Domenico Chiarella + 2 more
    • English
    Regional Geology and Tectonics, Volume Two: Phanerozoic Rift Systems and Sedimentary Basins, Second Edition, the second volume in a three-volume series, covers Phanerozoic regional geology and tectonics. This new edition features summaries of analogue and theoretical models, with new chapters on deepwater foldbelts and lithospheric extension as well as case studies on volcanic and passive margin basins. Experience in analyzing and assessing rifts— locations where the Earth’s outer shell and crust have been stretched over time by seismic activity—is critical for identifying Earth’s most lucrative hydrocarbon locations in which extraction is both efficient and safe, hence this updated volume is a necessary guide.Vast compilations of related industry data presented include regional seismic lines and cross sections and summaries of analogue and theoretical models, making this an essential backdrop to the structure and stratigraphy of various geological settings.
  • Petrophysics

    Theory and Practice of Measuring Reservoir Rock and Fluid Transport Properties
    • 5th Edition
    • March 27, 2024
    • Djebbar Tiab + 1 more
    • English
    Petrophysics: Theory and Practice of Measuring Reservoir Rock and Fluid Transport Properties, Fifth Edition is a seminal text on the field that delivers information for reservoir engineers, production engineers, and geoscience students who need to understand rock-fluid interactions in order to maximize reservoir performance and minimize emissions and environmental impacts. This new edition lays a foundation to petroleum geology, including an overview of pre- and post- carbon emission concerns, porosity and permeability, formation resistivity and water saturation, capillary pressure, wettability, applications of Darcy’s Law, naturally fractured reservoirs, stress effects on reservoir rock, reservoir characterization and well logs, and more.Each chapter synthesizes relevant theory, studies and advances, methods, procedures, calculations, definitions, exercises and assignments designed to reinforce learning.
  • Coal and Coalbed Gas

    Future Directions and Opportunities
    • 2nd Edition
    • January 24, 2024
    • Romeo M. Flores + 1 more
    • English
    Coal and Coalbed Gas: Future Directions and Opportunities, Second Edition introduces the latest in coal geology research and the engineering of gas extraction. Importantly, the second edition examines how, over the last 10 years, research has both changed focus and where it is conducted. This shift essentially depicts "a tale of two worlds"—one half (Western Europe, North America) moving away from coal and coalbed gas research and production towards cleaner energy resources, and the other half (Asia–Pacific region, Eastern Europe, South America) increasing both research and usage of coal. These changes are marked by a precipitous fall in coalbed gas production in North America; however, at the same time there has been a significant rise in coal and coalbed gas production in Australia, China, and India. The driver for higher production and its associated research is a quest for affordable energy and economic security that a large resource base brings to any country like Australia’s first large-scale coalbed gas to liquid natural gas projects supplying the demand for cleaner burning LNG to the Asian-Pacific region. Since the last edition of this book, global climate change policies have more forcibly emphasized the impact of methane from coal mines and placed these emissions equal to, or even more harmful than, CO2 emissions from fossil fuels in general. Governmental policies have prioritized capture, use, and storage of CO2, burning coal in new highly efficient low emission power plants, and gas pre-drainage of coal mines. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries and China are also introducing new research into alternative, non-fuel uses for coal, such as carbon fibers, nanocarbons, graphene, soil amendments, and as an unconventional ore for critical elements. New to this edition: Each chapter is substantially changed from the 1st edition including expanded and new literature citations and reviews, important new data and information, new features and materials, as well as re-organized and re-designed themes. Importantly, three new chapters cover global coal endowment and gas potential, groundwater systems related to coalbed gas production and biogenic gas generation as well as the changing landscape of coal and coalbed gas influenced by global climate change and net-zero carbon greenhouse gas emissions. FOREWORD When I reviewed the first edition of this book, my initial thought was, "Do we need another book on coal geology?" and then I read it and realised, "Yes, we need this book" and my students downloaded copies as soon as it was available. So now we come to 2023, and a lot has happened in the past decade. For a different reason we might ask if we still need this book, or even coal geoscientists and engineers, as the world aims for rapid decarbonisation of the energy sector and a reduction of coal as a feedstock for industrial resources, like steel manufacture. Natural gas is earmarked as a transition fuel to enable the shift to renewables. In some basins, the source of that gas is directly from coalbed gas production or from conventional reservoirs that were charged by coal and terrestrial organic source rocks. Although the transition is escalating, there are projections that coal will remain part of our future, even after 2050, and can also provide alternative non-fuel resources (e.g., critical elements and carbon-based nanomaterials). Between now and then, we’d best ensure that we extract and utilise coal and coalbed gas as efficiently and safely as possible, that we mitigate any environmental and social impact of the process, and that we improve our certainty of predicting the behaviour of the material and material impacts. To do this we need to understand coal as a material and the inherent variability of its quality and behaviour as a source rock and host of coalbed gas. One can change the technologies but not the geological ground conditions or coal character of the targeted resource. The authors have taken on this ambitious endeavour during their careers and have attempted to capture their knowledge gained from first-hand experience in countries around the world and comprehensive review of published material, within this book. At least three generations of knowledge are drawn upon here. Tim Moore was a student of both Romeo Flores and his supervisor John Ferm, who was the "Warrior of Gentleness" when it came to coal research, teaching, and supervision. This book also reflects the broad and multidisciplinary aspects of coal geology and coal science and provides the tenets for one to understand different disciplines and how they interact to form an integrated view of the resource—technically... economically, and politically. Each chapter takes the reader through different concepts, first setting the scene by examining the status of coal and coalbed gas in a carbon-conscious world, then looking at the science behind coal as a source of gas and as a reservoir- in its own right. Further reading leads to learning about geological settings and the processes through time that led to present-day endowments around the globe and this theme continues throughout the book with detailed examples from different countries. Personally, I like the emphasis on the depositional environments that lead to peat accumulation and preservation—it’s all about the ingredients—which leads nicely into the world of coal macerals and minerals, and why they matter. Coalification and its role in changing the chemistry and material properties of coal is covered from a reservoir perspective, as is the role of biogenic processes. These have produced some of the enormous gas resources we exploit today and could also provide a future circular economy for neo-biogenic gas. The role of groundwater in this past and potentially future endeavour is presented, along with possible adverse effects where there is unexpected communication with regional and local aquifers and surface assets that detract from environmental and social licence. In addition to describing the geology and engineering technologies required to explore for, access, and utilise these resources, the book also provides insights into geostatistical and economic modelling for reserves estimation and challenges as reservoirs become more geologically and politically complex for extraction and alternatively, for injection and carbon sequestration. The final chapters revisit and integrate concepts presented in the book in order to examine global gas production and the geographic shifts in production and research that have occurred over the past decade(s). The also show how government and the market play a role, and project future trends. The authors provide discussion points for the outlook of coal as a fuel feedstock in a carbon-constrained world and the ongoing search for options and alternative non-fuel uses of coal while highlighting the important role that coal and coalbed gas still play during the transition period and beyond. There is much to learn from this book, which is based on decades of observing and interpreting patterns and trends in coal and coal-bearing basins. There is a growing trend towards using machine learning and artificial intelligence to find patterns in data and provide solutions. I’d suggest that domain intelligence, such as that provided in this book, is critical to supervising this process and is required for understanding and validating the outputs upon which many decisions are made and will continue to be made in the future. So yes, we need this book and I invite you to read, learn, and form your own ideas. If you find any gaps—write about them. Joan S. Esterle Emeritus Professor Vale Chair of Coal Geosciences The University of Queensland, AustraliaMay 2023
  • Small Angle X-Ray and Neutron Scattering with Applications to Geomaterials

    • 1st Edition
    • June 2, 2023
    • Yixin Zhao + 2 more
    • English
    Small Angle X-Ray and Neutron Scattering with Applications to Geomaterials provides techniques for the analysis of geomaterials, which is of great significance for humans because geomaterials are related to earthquake, resource development, underground spaces, carbon dioxide storage, and more. The book introduces the fundamental theory of small angle X-ray and neutron scattering and covers pore accessibility characterization for natural rocks from four aspects, including quantitative evaluation of pore structure heterogeneity and anisotropy, quantification of pore modification in coals due to pulverization, estimation and modeling of coal pore accessibility, and nanoscale coal deformation and alteration of porosity and pore orientation under uniaxial compression. Finally, interactions between pore structures and fluid behaviors in geomaterials are introduced, along with the connections between small-angle scattering and other techniques (NMR cytophotometry, Transmission Electron Microscopy and synchrotron radiation SAXS and nano-CT) described.
  • Fluid–Solid Interactions in Upstream Oil and Gas Applications

    • 1st Edition
    • Volume 78
    • January 14, 2023
    • Ibnelwaleed A. Hussein + 1 more
    • English
    Fluid-Solid Interactions in Upstream Oil and Gas Applications, Volume 78 delivers comprehensive understanding of fluid-rock interactions in oil and gas reservoirs and their impact on drilling, production, and reservoir hydrocarbon management. The book is arranged based on intervals of the oil and gas production process and introduces the basics of reservoir fluids and their properties, along with the rheological behavior of solid-fluid systems across all stages of the reservoir, including drilling processes, acidizing, and fracking. The reference then addresses different application-specific issues, such as solid-fluid interactions in tight reservoirs, the applications of nanoparticles, interactions during the EOR processes, and environmental concerns.
  • Reserves Estimation for Geopressured Gas Reservoirs

    • 1st Edition
    • December 7, 2022
    • Tongwen Jiang + 3 more
    • English
    Reserves Estimation for Geopressured Gas Reservoirs aims to introduce the principles and methods for calculating reserves of geopressured gas reservoirs with the material balance method, presenting advantages, disadvantages and applicable conditions of various methods. The book, based on manual analysis, explains methods and calculation steps with more than 30 gas reservoir examples. It will help gas reservoir engineers learn basic principles and calculation methods and familiarize themselves with the content of the software Black Box, which in turn helps improve the level of gas field performance analysis and the level of gas field development.
  • Understanding Pore Space through Log Measurements

    • 1st Edition
    • Volume 76
    • November 26, 2022
    • K. Meenakshi Sundaram + 1 more
    • English
    This book Understanding Pore Space through Log Measurements deals with porosity, insight on pore shape connectedness, grain size, grain aspect ratio, permeability etc. Most of the published literature is focused on permeability from log measurements and log analytic techniques for porosity and fluid saturation determination. On the other hand, this book aims at looking at porosity distribution, pore shape, and pore connectedness using log measurements and thus bringing pore space into focus. A compilation of available knowledge from this perspective will lead the reader to better understanding of reservoir characterization takeaways, which exploration and exploitation managers and workers will be looking for.
  • An Introduction to Multiphase, Multicomponent Reservoir Simulation

    • 1st Edition
    • Volume 75
    • October 25, 2022
    • Matthew Balhoff
    • English
    An Introduction to Petroleum Reservoir Simulation is aimed toward graduate students and professionals in the oil and gas industry working in reservoir simulation. It begins with a review of fluid and rock properties and derivation of basic reservoir engineering mass balance equations. Then equations and approaches for numerical reservoir simulation are introduced. The text starts with simple problems (1D, single phase flow in homogeneous reservoirs with constant rate wells) and subsequent chapters slowly add complexities (heterogeneities, nonlinearities, multi-dimensions, multiphase flow, and multicomponent flow). Partial differential equations and finite differences are then introduced but it will be shown that algebraic mass balances can also be written directly on discrete grid blocks that result in the same equations. Many completed examples and figures will be included to improve understanding. An Introduction to Petroleum Reservoir Simulation is designed for those with their first exposure to reservoir simulation, including graduate students in their first simulation course and working professionals who are using reservoir simulators and want to learn more about the basics.
  • Deepwater Sedimentary Systems

    Science, Discovery, and Applications
    • 1st Edition
    • August 17, 2022
    • Jon R. Rotzien + 4 more
    • English
    Deepwater Sedimentary Systems: Science, Discovery and Applications helps readers identify, understand and interpret deepwater sedimentary systems at various scales – both onshore and offshore. This book describes the best practices in the integration of geology, geophysics, engineering, technology and economics used to inform smart business decisions in these diverse environments. It draws on technical results gained from deepwater exploration and production drilling campaigns and global field analog studies. With the multi-decadal resilience of deepwater exploration and production and the nature of its inherent uncertainty, this book serves as the essential reference for companies, consultancies, universities, governments and deepwater practitioners around the world seeking to understand deepwater systems and how to explore for and produce resources in these frontier environments. From an academic perspective, readers will use this book as the primer for understanding the processes, deposits and sedimentary environments in deep water – from deep oceans to deep lakes. This book provides conceptual approaches and state-of-the-art information on deepwater systems, as well as scenarios for the next 100 years of human-led exploration and development in deepwater, offshore environments. The students taught this material in today’s classrooms will become the leaders of tomorrow in Earth’s deepwater frontier. This book provides a broad foundation in deepwater sedimentary systems. What may take an individual dozens of academic and professional courses to achieve an understanding in these systems is provided here in one book.
  • Practical Petroleum Geochemistry for Exploration and Production

    • 2nd Edition
    • August 14, 2022
    • Harry Dembicki
    • English
    Practical Petroleum Geochemistry for Exploration and Production, Second Edition provides readers with a single reference that addresses the principle concepts and applications of petroleum geochemistry used in finding, evaluating, and producing petroleum deposits. The revised volume includes a new chapter on environmental forensic applications of petroleum geochemistry. With the current emphasis on environmental issues (pollution, climate changes, and corporate responsibility), information about how petroleum geochemistry can be used to recognize these problems, determine their source, help identify who is responsible, and how these problems may be mitigated are vital to efficient and economical operation of a project from exploration to production to abandonment. Practical Petroleum Geochemistry for Exploration and Production, Second Edition will continue to serve as a foundational reference to understanding the underpinning of the science, as well as a source of references that the reader can use to find detailed descriptions of methods and protocols.