Ali Alshuwaikhat
Research Engineer
Saudi Aramco
Ali Alshuwaikhat is a young professional with seven years of experience in Saudi Aramco. He graduated in 2018 from University of Houston as with a B.S. in Petroleum Engineering. His current job title is a research reservoir engineer in Saudi Armaco's Upstream Advanced Research Center. Ali’s previous experiences include reservoir management, production engineering in one of the giant fields of Saudi Arabia, and petrophysics with Reservoir Description & Simulation Department in both open and cased-hole logging and formation
evaluation. His focus is implementing best-in-class reservoir management strategies, practices and guidelines aiming to maximizing reservoir recovery, optimizing sweep efficiency, enhancing well productivity and managing reservoir pressure. Ali’s previous published work include application of
machine learning model to enhance formation evaluation by predicting bound fluid volume, real-time production optimization methodology in multi-lateral wells, and assessing low resistivity pay through different formation evaluation tools.
Participates in
TECHNICAL PROGRAMME | Energy Fuels and Molecules
The proposed framework is a multi-criteria decision analysis that integrates both quantitative and qualitative assessments to evaluate the suitability of depleted reservoirs for subsurface hydrogen storage. Quantitative evaluation is carried out using simulation models to assess the storage phase by quantifying the mount of hydrogen that can be injected, stored and withdrawn under varying reservoir and operational conditions, while qualitative assessment is performed through a weighted scoring matrix. The framework incorporates geological properties (e.g., porosity, permeability, caprock integrity), well characteristics (e.g., configurations, injectivity, deliverability), and operational parameters (e.g., pressure constraints, cyclic performance), for both early-phase screening and detailed feasibility assessment.
The application of the proposed framework to real-world depleted oil and gas reservoirs demonstrates its effectiveness in identifying and ranking suitable candidates for subsurface hydrogen storage. By integrating simulation results into the scoring criteria, the framework enabled a comparative assessment of multiple sites, where simulated reservoir performance under realistic technical and operational scenarios informed and supported the scoring and final ranking. This approach allowed for clear differentiation between more and less suitable reservoirs, supporting informed decision-making and prioritization for protentional further development. The evaluated cases revealed significant variability in key parameters, highlighting the importance of a tailored site-specific evaluation approach.
The integration of technical and operational factors, combined with the use of a scoring matrix, provides a robust and objective methodology for evaluating candidate reservoirs. This study's findings have significant implications for the development of hydrogen storage infrastructure, highlighting the potential for repurposing legacy hydrocarbon assets and reducing the need for new surface infrastructure, ultimately supporting the transition to a low-carbon energy future.
Co-author/s:
Deena Tayyib, Petroleum Engineer, Saudi Aramco.
