Hydrates and PVT

The course

Delivery
Full-time, Part-time
Course type
Research
Location
Edinburgh
Entry date
September

Contact

Overview

Gas hydrates are crystalline compounds that can form when water or ice and suitably sized molecules are brought together under favourable conditions, usually at low temperatures and elevated pressures.

Gas hydrates could form in numerous hydrocarbon production and processing operations, causing serious operational and safety concerns. In the natural environment, suitable conditions for methane hydrate formation can be found in some marine and deep lake sediments, and in the subsurface of arctic permafrost regions. Current estimates suggest that the energy held in this form is twice that of total fossil fuels, a vast untouched natural gas reserve.

Research

Research projects

The Centre for Gas Hydrate Research at Heriot-Watt University addresses various aspects of flow assurance and gas hydrate research, including: avoiding gas hydrate, wax and asphaltene problems in petroleum production and transportation, design and testing of low dosage hydrate inhibitors and the natural occurrence of hydrates in marine sediments. Further areas of interest include positive aspects of gas hydrate technology, such as their application in processing and transportation of hydrocarbon fluids, role of hydrates as neutron moderators, CO2 capture and sequestration, and the potential of natural gas hydrates as a source of energy.

Entry requirements

Please contact the institute to discuss.

Fees

Fees for this course can be found on the tuition fees page.

Scholarships and bursaries

We aim to encourage well-qualified, ambitious students to study with us and we offer a wide variety of scholarships and bursaries to achieve this. Over £6 million worth of opportunities are available in fee and stipend scholarships, and more than 400 students benefit from this support.

View our full range of research scholarships.