The module will introduce participants to the Geoscience (and wider background) needed to understand the exploitation of the subsurface for the storage of carbon dioxide (to reduce greenhouse gas emissions) and the storage of renewable energy (e.g. using compressed air).  These new uses of the subsurface are expected to become significant businesses through the 2020s (as a response to the Paris Climate Agreement) and the Petroleum Industry has the necessary skills, knowledge and resources to develop these.  As a consequence, many of our future graduates are likely to find significant career opportunities in these new areas rather than in traditional hydrocarbon extraction.

The module introduction will cover the environmental, economic, political and social background so that participants understand the business model that will enable this new industry.  The module will then investigate geological and geophysical issues common to subsurface storage of both energy and carbon. Specifically, it will look at where we can store fluids in the subsurface and how we can monitor them. Subsequent sections will look at issues specific to carbon dioxide storage and then specific to energy storage before the module concludes with presentations, by students, on case studies.

In summary, the module aim is to produce graduates who will be able to explore and exploit sedimentary basins in all the different ways in which they are likely to be important during the 21st century.