The Ohio Geological Society

THURSDAY, February 21st, 2019

Lunch at 11:30, talk at 12:30 pm

DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Columbus-Worthington
175 Hutchinson Avenue, Columbus, OH 43235

South African Pilot Carbon Storage Project – Assessment of Deep Saline Reservoirs

Mark Moody, Battelle Memorial Institute

The South African Government agreed to do their part to address climate change but requested financial and technical aid to do so.  The World Bank contracted Battelle to provide project technical advisory services to the South African National Energy Development Institute (SANEDI) to determine the feasibility of performing an onshore South African Pilot Carbon Storage Project to safely and permanently store 10,000 to 50,000 tons of CO₂ in a deep saline reservoir.  Among other things, Battelle was tasked with the geological characterization of storage and containment formations, increasing South African human and technical capacity for geological storage of CO₂, working with the South African government to establish the country’s legal and regulatory environment, and raising public awareness of the potential importance of carbon capture and storage (CCS).

Mark Moody is a Senior Research Scientist and Senior Field Geologist for Battelle Memorial Institute.

He has over 35 years of experience in the oil and gas industry. Mr. Moody has been with Battelle for nine years, focusing on carbon management, brine injection and enhanced oil recovery.  Prior to joining Battelle, he worked for numerous independent oil and gas operators and as an independent consultant where he supervised the drilling and completion of hundreds of wells in the Appalachian and Michigan Basins including Ohio, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York and Michigan.  He served ten years as Manager of Drilling and Completions for Range Resources, Appalachia.  During his time with Range Resources, he drilled dozens of directional oil and gas wells and supervised the drilling and completion of two conventional horizontal wells in Ohio.

Since joining Battelle, Mr. Moody has worked on various CO₂ storage projects including well design and drilling supervision for characterization wells.  Mr. Moody recently managed an 18-month Pilot Carbon Storage Project for the World Bank and SANEDI in South Africa.  

Mr. Moody is an active member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) and the American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG).