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Professor Andrew Hurst

Professor Andrew Hurst
Professor Andrew Hurst
Professor Andrew Hurst

CGeol - Chartered Geologist, Geological Society of London

Chair Of Energy Geoscience

About
Telephone Number
+44 (0)1224 273713
Office Address
129/131 St. Mary's Building
Old Aberdeen Campus
Elphinstone Road
AB24 3UF

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School/Department
School of Geosciences

Biography

How and why sediment is deposited, the processes by which it consolidates and lithifies, and its micro- and macro-mineralogy fascinate me. I integrate data from global to sub-micro-scale, examining basin evolution, sediment provenance and its relationship to climate change including weathering and erosion and diagenesis. While focussing on understanding process, my research has a strong element of resource evaluation, and its contribution to the inventory of Earth resources.

For more than 25 years, the Sand Injection Research Group (SIRG) studied the natural injection of fluidised sand into actively propagating hydraulic fractures, and their influence on fluid migration and expulsion. This is significant for resource entrapment and recovery, and waste (nuclear, CO2) or resource (hydrogen, CH4) sequestration. Other research includes a) self-sufficient low C energy systems in rural environments, b) the origin, physical characterisation, and climatic significance of loessite, specifically associated with mass extinction events, c) modelling the effect of micro-scale granular features on rock physical characteristics, d) mineral-chemical stratigraphy.

Since 1992 I held the Chair in Production Geoscience (now Energy Geoscience). I am a former Director of MSc IPG and taught MSc IPG, OGEM & Oil & Gas Engineering, as well as level 1 and 4 UG courses. In 2015 I was awarded a Blaustein Professorship at Stanford University.

I was an elected Trustee of the Geological Society of London and served on various GSL committees. I served on senior committees in the AAPG and EAGE and I am an active member of the International Association of Sedimentology. I co-founded and was Chief Editor of Petroleum Geoscience (GSL/EAGE). As part of the Deepwater Horizon Trial between 2011 and 2014, I was engaged as an expert witness for the prosecution during which I was cross examined in court.

Sand Injection Research Group (SIRG)

Sand injectites - Regional development of natural hydraulic fractures in the shallow crust, and concomitant sand fluidisation and injection; their role in the evolution of sedimentary basins.

Loessite – Origin and provenance of loessite and its significance as extra-basinal fill and as an indicator of ancient atmospheric circulation patterns.

Green rural energy – Self-sustainable energy by repurposing domestic waste, integrating agricultural waste with energy crops, and reduction of transport.

Qualifications

  • PhD Geology 
    1981 - University of Reading 
  • BSc Hons Geology & Mineralogy 
    1977 - University of Aberdeen 

Memberships and Affiliations

Internal Memberships

Throughout my career I assiduously avoided serving on University of Aberdeen committees.

External Memberships

I am member of the: Geological Society of London (C Geol), European Association of Geoscientists and Engineers (EAGE), American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG), International Association of Sedimentologists (IAS), and Geoscience Energy Society of Great Britain.

Latest Publications

View My Publications

Prizes and Awards

1993      William Smith Award (Geological Society of London)

2004      Wegener Medal (European Association of Geoscientists & Engineers)

2007      Distinguished Service Award (American Association of Petroleum Geologists)

2012      Grover E Murray Distinguished Educator Award (American Association of Petroleum Geologists)

2015      Blaustein Professor in Geology, Stanford University

Research

Research Areas

Geology and Geophysics

Supervising
View Research Area

Funding and Grants

Since 1998 research on sand injectites became a huge part of my research activity. Chevron UK initiated the first 2-year project in 1998 that in 2000 became the Sand Injection Research Group (SIRG) consortium, which remains active today. Almost 40 energy companies have invested in SIRG consortia

Publications

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  • Saucer-shaped sandstone intrusions: An underplayed reservoir target

    Hurst, A., Vigorito, M.
    AAPG Bulletin, vol. 101, no. 4, pp. 625-633
    Contributions to Journals: Articles

  • A working model for building equitable relationsips in international academic partnerships

    Hurst, A., Maselli, V., Oppo, D., Mshiu, E., Manya, S.
    Chapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: Conference Proceedings

  • Application of outcrop analogues in successful exploration of a sand injection complex, Volund Field, Norwegian North Sea

    Hurst, A., Huuse, M., Duranti, D., Vigorito, M., Jameson, E., Schwab, A.
    The Value of Outcrop Studies in Reducing Subsurface Uncertainty and Risk in Hydrocarbon Exploration and Production. Bowman, M., Smyth, H. R., Good, T. R., Passey, S. R., Hirst, J. P. P., Jordan, C. J. (eds.). Geological Society of London, pp. 75-92, 18 pages
    Chapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: Chapters

  • Emplacement of sandstone intrusions during contractional tectonics

    Palladino, G., Grippa, A., Bureau, D., Alsop, G. I., Hurst, A.
    Journal of Structural Geology, vol. 89, pp. 230-249
    Contributions to Journals: Articles

  • First recorded occurrence of detrital baddeleyite (ZrO2) in sedimentary rock (Smith Bank Formation, Triassic, Central North Sea)

    Wilkins, A. D., Wilson, M. (., Morton, A., Hurst, A., Archer, S. G.
    Scottish Journal of Geology, vol. 51, no. 2, pp. 185-189
    Contributions to Journals: Articles

  • Saucer-shaped sandstone intrusions: a global deepwater play?

    Huuse, M., Bureau, D., Hurst, A., Suek, D.
    Chapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: Conference Proceedings

  • Constraining the origin of reservoirs formed by sandstone intrusions: Insights from heavy mineral studies of the Eocene in the Forties area, United Kingdom central North Sea

    Morton, A., McFadyen, S., Hurst, A., Pyle, J., Rose, P.
    AAPG Bulletin, vol. 98, no. 3, pp. 545-561
    Contributions to Journals: Articles

  • Provenance models: the role of sandstone mineral–chemical stratigraphy

    Hurst, A., Morton, A.
    Sediment Provenance Studies in Hydrocarbon Exploration and Production. Scott, R. A., Smyth, H. R., Morton, A. C., Richardson, N. (eds.). Geological Society of London, pp. 7-26, 20 pages
    Chapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: Chapters

  • Saucer-shaped sandstone intrusions – a global deepwater play?

    Huuse, M., Bureau, D., Hurst, A., Suek, D.
    Chapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: Conference Proceedings

  • Understanding the provenance and reservoir quality of the Sele Formation sandstones of the UK Central Graben utilizing detrital garnet suites

    Kilhams, B., Morton, A., Borella, R., Wilkins, A., Hurst, A.
    Sediment Provenance Studies in Hydrocarbon Exploration and Production. Scott, R. A., Smyth, H. R., Morton, A. C., Richardson, N. (eds.). Geological Society of London, pp. 129-142, 14 pages
    Chapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: Chapters

  • Long term geological record of a global deep subsurface microbial habitat in sand injection complexes

    Parnell, J., Boyce, A. J., Hurst, A., Davidheiser-Kroll, B., Ponicka, J.
    Scientific Reports, vol. 3, 1828
    Contributions to Journals: Articles

  • Outcrop-based reservoir characterization of a kilometer-scale sand-injectite complex

    Scott, A., Hurst, A., Vigorito, M.
    AAPG Bulletin, vol. 97, no. 2, pp. 309-343
    Contributions to Journals: Articles

  • Provenance models: the role of sandstone mineral-chemical stratigraphy

    Hurst, A., Morton, A.
    Special Publication - Geological Society of London, vol. 386
    Contributions to Journals: Special Issues

  • Kilometer-scale sand injectites in the intracratonic Murzuq Basin (South-west Libya): an igneous trigger?

    Moreau, J., Ghienne, J. F., Hurst, A.
    Sedimentology, vol. 59, no. 4, pp. 1321-1344
    Contributions to Journals: Articles

  • Clay Mineral Variations in Holocene Terrestrial Sediments from the Indus Basin: a Response to SW Asian Monsoon Variability?

    Alizai, A., Hillier, S., Clift, P. D., Giosan, L., Hurst, A., VanLaningham, S., Macklin, M.
    Quaternary Research, vol. 77, no. 3, pp. 368-381
    Contributions to Journals: Articles

  • Sand Injectites - Implications for overpressure and compaction

    Hurst, A., Vigorito, M., Scott, A. S., Stanzione, O.
    Chapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: Conference Proceedings

  • Physical characteristics of sand injectites

    Hurst, A., Scott, A., Vigorito, M.
    Earth Science Reviews, vol. 106, no. 3-4, pp. 215-246
    Contributions to Journals: Literature Reviews

  • Regional sand injectite architecture as a record of pore-pressure evolution and sand redistribution in the shallow crust: insights from the Panoche Giant Injection Complex, California

    Vigorito, M., Hurst, A.
    Journal of the Geological Society , vol. 167, no. 5, pp. 889-904
    Contributions to Journals: Articles

  • Three-dimensional seismic characterisation of large-scale sandstone intrusions in the lower Palaeogene of the North Sea: completely injected vs. in situ remobilised sandbodies

    Szarawarska, E., Huuse, M., Hurst, A., De Boer, W., Lu, L., Molyneux, S., Rawlinson, P.
    Basin Research, vol. 22, no. 4, pp. 517-532
    Contributions to Journals: Articles

  • Benchmarking methods of enhanced heavy oil recovery using a microscaled bead-pack

    Bowden, S. A., Cooper, J. M., Greub, F., Tambo, D., Hurst, A.
    Lab on a Chip, vol. 10, no. 7, pp. 819-823
    Contributions to Journals: Articles

  • Deserts: modern studies influence interpretation of origins and demise of ancient deserts

    Hurst, A., Glennie, K. W.
    Horizons in Earth Science Research. Veress, B., Szigethy, J. (eds.). Nova Science Publishers, pp. 141-162, 22 pages
    Chapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: Chapters

  • Predicting reservoir characteristics from drilling and hydrocarbon-gas data using advanced computational mathematics

    Hurst, A., Tischler, G., Arkalgud, R.
    Chapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: Conference Proceedings

  • The Process of Sand Injection: Internal Structures and Relationships with Host Strata (Yellowbank Creek Injectite Complex, California, U.S.A.)

    Scott, A., Vigorito, M., Hurst, A.
    Journal of Sedimentary Research, vol. 79, no. 8, pp. 568-583
    Contributions to Journals: Articles

  • Sedimentary flow units in hydrocarbon reservoirs: Some shortcomings and a case for high-resolution permeability data

    Hurst, A.
    The Geological Modelling of Hydrocarbon Reservoirs and Outcrop Analogues. Flint, S. S., Bryant, I. D. (eds.). Wiley, pp. 190-204, 15 pages
    Chapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: Chapters

  • Mass-wasting of ancient aeolian dunes and sand fluidization during a period of global warming and inferred brief high precipitation: the Hopeman Sandstone (late Permian), Scotland

    Hurst, A., Glennie, K. W.
    Terra Nova, vol. 20, no. 4, pp. 274-279
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
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