As an MIT Energy Initiative (MITEI) sustaining member, Total will also support several research projects in subsurface to reduce exploration and production costs and reduce environmental surface and sub-surface impacts for oil and gas development.
This portfolio of technologies has direct application to heavy oil production, an oil resource especially in the western hemisphere where reserves in Canada and Venezuela alone are roughly double those of Saudi Arabia’s conventional oil reserves, according to Total.
Subsurface imaging technologies reportedly have broad application beyond oil and gas and could enhance geothermal energy production, carbon sequestration, and potentially, nuclear waste disposal. Sponsoring of research projects in the field of renewable energies is also under consideration, said the company.
Ernest Moniz, director of MITEI, said: We are excited to have Total as a member of the initiative. The research supported by Total at the institute will address both sustainability and enhanced exploration and production for conventional energy sources with minimized impacts on the environment.
