In the urgent quest to combat climate change, Carbon Capture and Storage stands as a critical solution - including for South Africa, which is grappling with emissions from power plants and industrial sites.
The Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) process is aimed at capturing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and storing them to prevent their release into the atmosphere.
Blessing Afolayan has done groundbreaking research on the viability of the Bredasdorp Basin in the Western Cape for CO2 storage.
Enter Blessing Afolayan, a geoscientist whose groundbreaking research delves into the offshore Bredasdorp Basin near Cape Town.
His work focuses on unlocking the potential of this basin as a CO2 storage site, utilising cutting-edge 3D static modelling techniques.
With two published articles and a third in review, Afolayan's findings are already making waves in the scientific community.
Afolayan said his research was tailored towards identifying possible CO2 sinks within the Bredasdorp basin and determining the volumes of CO2 that can be stored in these reservoirs.
“South Africa's carbon storage potential is quite massive. Technology is also important as South Africa is a greenhouse gas producer, and the country relies on coal-fired power plants for electricity generation,” explained Afolayan.
He chose this South African basin for its suitability as a CO2 storage option because it is an oil province. The Bredasdorp Basin has produced significant volumes of hydrocarbons.
“There are both overground and underground facilities for oil and gas production that can be redirected for carbon dioxide storage. Secondly, there's also an availability of data.
For the purposes of hydrocarbon exploration in the basin, data has been acquired, from geoscience data to engineering data, so there's available data for investigation of CO2 storage in the Bredasdorp Basin.”
Prospective sites must be located at depths of above 1 km from the earth's surface. Afolyan’s doctoral research identified underground storage sites for CO2, conducted simulations on how the gas can be injected into the reservoirs, and considered the trapping mechanisms of CO2 inside the reservoirs for safe, permanent storage.
Afolayan used 3D static modelling, which was essential to make scientific conclusions as to the viability of the area for CO2 storage. In his research, Afolyan said: “From available data, no public/published work exists on a 3D static model of an aquifer system in the Bredasdorp Basin.
This study presents a detailed production of a 3D geological model, integrating 3D seismic data, well logs and available geological information for a good grasp of the geometric dispersal of continuous petrophysical properties such as effective porosity, water saturation, permeability, and discrete properties such as facies distribution in the oilfield. This model also serves as the primary input for dynamic simulation of the oilfield as a potential CO2 sink.”
Two research articles have already been successfully published based on the findings, and a third article is currently being peer-reviewed. The study's findings were also presented at international conferences in Namibia and Nigeria.
Afolayan said the response from the scientific community has been encouraging: “UWC is pioneering this research in the geoscience space for carbon dioxide storage in South Africa. So, there have been a lot of responses from the scientific community regarding the research. The papers that we've published already have had a lot of citations.
The University of Cape Town has also invited us to a seminar at the end of April 2024 to come and speak to them about the latest carbon dioxide storage research.”
Blessing Afolayan graduates with his Ph.D. in Applied Geology (Doctor of Philosophy) at the Autumn Graduation at UWC, which took place from 15 April 2024 to 22 April 2024.
The Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) process is aimed at capturing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and storing them to prevent their release into the atmosphere.
Blessing Afolayan has done groundbreaking research on the viability of the Bredasdorp Basin in the Western Cape for CO2 storage. His work focuses on unlocking the potential of this basin as a CO2 storage site, utilising cutting-edge 3D static modelling techniques.
With two published articles and a third in review, Afolayan's findings are already making waves in the scientific community.
CO2 is a destructive by-product of fossil fuel combustion and a significant component of greenhouse gases.
It is also the primary cause of heating the earth’s atmosphere, leading to the adverse effects of climate change.Afolayan said his research was tailored towards identifying possible CO2 sinks within the Bredasdorp basin and determining the volumes of CO2 that can be stored in these reservoirs.
“South Africa's carbon storage potential is quite massive. Technology is also important as South Africa is a greenhouse gas producer, and the country relies on coal-fired power plants for electricity generation,” explained Afolayan.
He chose this South African basin for its suitability as a CO2 storage option because it is an oil province. The Bredasdorp Basin has produced significant volumes of hydrocarbons.
“There are both overground and underground facilities for oil and gas production that can be redirected for carbon dioxide storage. Secondly, there's also an availability of data.
For the purposes of hydrocarbon exploration in the basin, data has been acquired, from geoscience data to engineering data, so there's available data for investigation of CO2 storage in the Bredasdorp Basin.”
Prospective sites must be located at depths of above 1 km from the earth's surface. Afolyan’s doctoral research identified underground storage sites for CO2, conducted simulations on how the gas can be injected into the reservoirs, and considered the trapping mechanisms of CO2 inside the reservoirs for safe, permanent storage.
Afolayan used 3D static modelling, which was essential to make scientific conclusions as to the viability of the area for CO2 storage. In his research, Afolyan said: “From available data, no public/published work exists on a 3D static model of an aquifer system in the Bredasdorp Basin.
This study presents a detailed production of a 3D geological model, integrating 3D seismic data, well logs and available geological information for a good grasp of the geometric dispersal of continuous petrophysical properties such as effective porosity, water saturation, permeability, and discrete properties such as facies distribution in the oilfield. This model also serves as the primary input for dynamic simulation of the oilfield as a potential CO2 sink.”
Two research articles have already been successfully published based on the findings, and a third article is currently being peer-reviewed. The study's findings were also presented at international conferences in Namibia and Nigeria.
Afolayan said the response from the scientific community has been encouraging: “UWC is pioneering this research in the geoscience space for carbon dioxide storage in South Africa. So, there have been a lot of responses from the scientific community regarding the research. The papers that we've published already have had a lot of citations.
The University of Cape Town has also invited us to a seminar at the end of April 2024 to come and speak to them about the latest carbon dioxide storage research.”
Blessing Afolayan graduates with his Ph.D. in Applied Geology (Doctor of Philosophy) at the Autumn Graduation at UWC, which took place from 15 April 2024 to 22 April 2024.
