Events

When: Lunch starts at 11:45 am, talk to start at noon.

Where: University of Regina – CW 215
Cost: Talk is free for members. Lunch is $20 for members and $10 for students.

Chris Hawkes is an associate professor in the Department of Civil, Geological and Environmental Engineering at the University of Saskatchewan, where he has worked since 2002. He previously worked for six years with Advanced Geotechnology Inc. in Calgary, following the completion of his BSc (in Geology-Physics) and PhD (in Geology) at the University of New Brunswick. Chris’ teaching and research focus on the geomechanics of subsurface energy production and storage, with specific interests including site characterization using borehole data, laboratory testing for rock mechanical and petrophysical properties, borehole stability analysis, and predicting reservoir and caprock response to fluid injection/withdrawal.

This talk will touch on a number of interesting projects that Chris has had the good fortune to be involved with over the course of his career as a geologist and geological engineer. We will review the history, underlying mechanisms and ultimate resolution of a blowout that flowed for 87 years (let’s call this “something old”)! We will take stock of where our country and province currently sit with respect to nuclear energy development and nuclear waste management using deep geological repositories (“something new” – arguably). We will review the challenges faced when tunneling theory was adopted as a tool to assist in the planning of horizontal well drilling programs in the early days of horizontal drilling (“something borrowed”). We will close by pondering some aspects of the potential for induced seismicity resulting from CO2 injection in Saskatchewan (“something flue” – when the CO2 is captured from the flue gas of a coal-fired power plant). Stitching this together, we could re-title this talk “Something old, something new, something borrowed, something flue”.