Geoscientist Online

Jonathan Craig and friends¹ on teaching petroleum geoscience and energy efficiency to children in the High Himalaya

Geoscientist 22.02 March 2012

The oil and gas industry has received a great deal of bad publicity in recent years. But the reality is that our world depends on fossil fuels for energy and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future - albeit with an increasing contribution from ‘cleaner’ and ‘renewable’ resources. It is clear that the world’s growing energy demand will require us to find and develop new fossil fuel resources, including oil and gas, and improve our overall energy efficiency. In short, find more, waste less!

With this in mind, the Exploration and Production Division of Italian energy company eni has established a novel education programme to educate future consumers of energy resources about the science and technology involved in finding and developing oil and gas resources, with a view to fostering awareness of energy use and conservation. Eni supports many social and educational causes in countries and communities where it operates; but this particular programme is unusual. It has brought together a dedicated (even ‘driven’) group of industry and academic geoscientists to deliver a shared dream: to inspire young children, and a new generation of geoscientists, to help deliver a better and more efficient energy future for both developed and developing worlds.

We believe it should be part of every petroleum geoscientist’s duty to educate and inspire children, both about the science and technology that underpins today’s oil and gas industry, and the likely implications of continued excessive and inefficient use of fossil fuels. We must enthuse the next generation of industry geoscientists and help the industry to regain the respect it truly deserves. If we fail in this, we do an immense disservice to the oil and gas industry, humanity and our planet.

Picture: Leh (Ladakh) with the Zanskar Mountain range in the background, Indus Valley in the middle ground and in the foreground the old town build on granite of the Ladakh Batholith.

CHILDREN’S PROGRAMME

The seeds of the Children’s Programme were sown in Burlington House - at precisely 11.00, 29 November 2006, during a coffee break at the a conference on ‘Global Neoproterozoic Petroleum Systems – the emerging potential in North Africa’ (Special Publication 326), organised by the Mahgreb Petroleum Research Group at University College London (UCL). This non-profit alliance delivers state-of-the-art geoscience research and training for energy and hydrocarbon exploration and development in North Africa, Middle East and Indian subcontinent. It has alliances with universities and academic institutes around the world, is funded by industry, and governed by a Scientific Advisory Board.

One attendee – Professor Bhat of the University of Jammu (India) – was invited to organise a follow-up conference in Jammu, and so it was there in early 2008 that the journey of the Children’s Programme truly began as Eni – with the University of Jammu and UCL – sponsored the first ‘Children’s Education Programme and Energy Efficiency Campaign’.

The programmes are now international, but began in India. To date, the programme has been presented seven times in urban and rural India; in Jammu, Srinagar, Kargil and Leh in Jammu & Kashmir State (Himalayas and foothills), in Jodhpur and Jaiselmer in Rajasthan State (Thar Desert) and in Hazaribagh in Jharkand State (Gondwana Basin). Each area presents a different energy scenario and cultural diversity, though they are comparable in terms of energy challenges.

Twice a year for the last three years the Children’s Programme has been conducted for 100 to 150 secondary school children and their teachers in Northern India. The programme consists of lectures and practical workshops in petroleum geology, oil & gas exploration, production technology, global warming and energy efficiency. They are always wonderful days full of youthful excitement, enthusiasm and hope for the future.

The children, aged between 14 and 16, are chosen by their schools and drawn from all schools in their area. One teacher accompanies from each school. Most children come from very remote and sometimes high-altitude areas, and often spend days travelling on poorly maintained tracks. The excitement of the programmes, spending time in the regional capital and mingling with ‘exotic’ people seems to outweigh all their difficulties. Many of the children have never even had the opportunity to visit their local ‘big town’. Such is their enthusiasm that one group of girls travelled by bus for two days and while another batch showed up after walking for hours after snow blocked the road.

Picture: Crossing the Indus-Tsangpo-Zone the suture between the Indian and Asian continental plates. In the suture zone one can observe, apart from ophiolites, deep and shallow water sediments (mainly Jurassic and Cretaceous) scraped off the northern Indian Margin and “old volcanoes with sedimentary cover” which got stuck during subduction.

OUTLINE

The children are given a broad outline of petroleum systems and how hydrocarbons are generated and trapped, evidence for past climate change in the geological record, and the impact on climate of the overuse of fossil fuels.

Picture: Lamayuru - one of the many spectacularly placed lamaistic monasteries in Ladakh – build on fluvial-lacustrine sediments near the Indus Valley.

A common perception among many children is that oil is found in subterranean lakes. We demonstrate the reality using simple practical demonstrations such as squeezing a saturated bath sponge to show the importance of porosity and permeability. We bounce tennis balls off different geologic materials from different heights and record variations in travel times to show how seismic waves are reflected from different rocks. ‘Hands-on’ exercises include examining local rock types, minerals and fossils (to demonstrate geologic time) and different types of crude – from light to thick and tarry.

The children’s unanimously chosen ‘coolest’ exercise uses the footprints of two dinosaurs approaching and meeting each other; only the larger footprints exit! The students are always astonished by the vast amount of geological information that can be gained from this specimen - and that the obvious explanation is not the only possible solution to this puzzle.

Each student is given a booklet on petroleum geology and the Energy Efficiency Campaign, a CD of the presentation ‘Petroleum Geology & Exploration, Climate Change and Energy Efficiency’, a DVD ‘Why Earth Science?’ (donated by the American Geological Institute); as well as T-shirts, calendars, writing pads, pen, pencil, eraser, sharpener and workshop files. The children are always very happy to take home their ‘goody bags’, prizes and certificates. The CDs, in particular, are very popular, enabling the children to share their experiences and learning with their friends at home.

Picture: Sunset over the Ladakh Batholith.

TRAUMATISED

We have been privileged to work in intensely beautiful, but sadly traumatised region of Kashmir in Northern India (Ladakh and Jammu are mostly unaffected by the longstanding troubles) with a group of highly motivated geologists engaged in educating and inspiring the next generation of young geoscientists and engineers who must find and develop the energy resources needed to sustain India’s rapidly expanding economy. The eni Children’s Education Programme has now become the driving force behind this quest.

In July 2008 we travelled from Kashmir to Ladakh in the Transhimalayas (a remote area with strong cultural and ethnic affinities to Tibet and a favourite destination for adventure and cultural tourists, both Indian and overseas) and took the winding road over the high passes to present first in Kargil and then in Leh – both again sponsored by eni India.

Here we first introduced a prize poster competition. The children eagerly took on the challenge, and the exceptionally high standard of their posters, produced with very limited funds and often in extremely remote locations was astounding. What we recall most is that children in Jammu & Kashmir know all about climate change – they see it happening all around them. And, believe us: they really care.

INDUS SUTURE

Picture: Juergen Thurow on the Khardung La Pass – the disputed highest motorable road in the world connecting the Indus Valley with the Shyok Valley in the Karakorum.

One of the privileges of working on the Programme is the opportunity to reach remote areas of outstanding beauty and spectacular geology including the Indus suture zone. Here are found the spectacular relicts of the collision of the Asian and Indian plates – complete ophiolite sequences scraped off the subsiding oceanic crust of the palaeo-Indian plate (now completely subducted), with shallow water rocks re-deposited in deep marine environments and the kilometre-thick Tertiary molasse sequences. Other spectacular geological features include the picture-book outcrops of almost complete Phanerozoic stratigraphy in the Zanskar Gorge and the U-bearing Ladakh and Karakorum batholiths with accompanying hot springs (Fig. 5).

The Indus and Shyok rivers, which outline the Indus and Karakorum suture zones, flow through this high-altitude desert in the rain shadow of the High Himalayas. The landscape is dissected by meltwater streams,displaying spectacular alluvial fans and landslides. Monasteries nestle precariously on hilltops and cliff faces. Bactrian camels – their ancestors stranded here after this branch of the ancient Silk Route was cut off by political events – are a common sight. During the campaign in Leh (Ladakh) we did not, alas, discover Shangri-La; but we did find a high degree of environmental awareness and concern among the children, which is perhaps even better. They recounted stories of melting glaciers, industrial soot on the snow, the conservation of the limited energy supplies in their homes, and the pollution spread by emissions from oil tankers and tourist buses. Jammu & Kashmir State (and Ladakh in particular) makes a good case to demonstrate and hopefully address the development challenges posed by the lack of energy resources, a hostile and climatically sensitive environment, rapid population growth, and the relatively large number of summer tourists (an ever-increasing number from India itself).

Picture: Aerial Photograph of the Himalaya/Karakorum to the northwest of Leh (Ladakh) with the Crystalline Himalaya (snow capped mountains in the distance on the left), the Karakorum (snow capped mountains in the distance on the right), the Indus-Tsangpo-Suture Zone on the left, the Indus sedimentary sequence (ophiolites, turbidites, molasse, Cretaceous to Oligocene), the Indus Valley on the right and the Ladakh Batholith beyond.

Ladakh is very important strategically, with a strong military presence. The region has no fossil fuels and although hydro-electric power resources seem the obvious solution, in practice there are significant problems due to freezing in winter and silting in summer. The climate is dry and cold (minimum winter temperature -40°C). Much of the region is >3500m above sea level and there is generally very little vegetation. The capital, Leh, has a population of 65,000 and another 52,000 inhabitants live in 112 villages and hamlets. Leh is the headquarters for both the local civil administration and the military and paramilitary forces, and also receives some 65,000 visitors each year.

Leh’s projected power demand in 2012 is 94 MW/hour. In June 2009, the installed generation capacity (for Leh and surrounding rural areas) was 13.5 MW, consisting of 8 MW from hydro- and micro-hydro projects and 5.7 MW from diesel generators. Unfortunately, when power demands are at a maximum in winter, hydropower stations shut down, and so the main source of electricity becomes diesel generators, expensive to run and significant atmospheric polluters. The projected Alchi hydro-electric plant is expected to have a capacity of 45 MW; but it is likely to run at only 25-30% efficiency during the winter. The present power requirement of the military for the entire Ladakh region is about 50 MW, of which some 25 MW is currently available through diesel generators and mini/micro hydro-electric plants.

Solar photovoltaic power generation – solar home lighting systems and solar lanterns - is used in some rural areas of Ladakh and this could be developed further. However, many such systems function for less than two years after the warranty period due to problems of extreme temperature variation, servicing and maintenance, and the current low success rate of photovoltaic systems in general. Geothermal resources (see references) and wind energy, although present, are not developed, but should be seriously considered - though they must be developed carefully in order not to damage the largely pristine and extremely sensitive high altitude desert environment.

GLOBAL DEMAND

Picture: Conference banner in typical Indian style for the inaugural workshop to establish an energy institute in Kashmir.

Global energy demand is predicted to increase 40-60% by 2030. India is already the fifth-largest energy-consuming nation in the world and by 2030 it is estimated that primary energy demand in India will increase fourfold. Where is all this extra energy going to come from? And who is going to find it? Exploration for hydrocarbons in the northern part of India has not been particularly successful so far. Indeed, a big effort in locating hydrocarbon resources in Jammu and Kashmir State has never been made, despite the presence of significant discoveries in the Potwar Basin in Pakistan just across the border from Jammu and the presence of biogenic gas in the Plio-Pleistocene sediment that underlie the Kashmir Valley.

To address the growing energy deficit in Jammu & Kashmir State, a dedicated Institute for Energy Research and Training (IERT) has now been established at the University of Jammu, with the objective of developing a new centre of excellence for energy-related research. This was established in 2010, in collaboration with the Vice –Chancellors of the University of Jammu and the University of Kashmir and Ministers of the J&K State government, and we are proud to say that it was achieved at the suggestion and by the perseverance of the industry and academic geoscientists who run the Children’s Programme.

The collaborative energy research at IERT is already supported by a several international institutes and organisations, including University College London, the Durham Energy Institute (University of Durham) and the Energy and Geoscience Institute (EGI, University of Utah). Academic staff from these universities also serves on the Advisory Board of IERT.

AWARD

Picture: Influential support is always welcomed. Members of the team (Bindra Thusu, Alan Smith, Ghulam Bhat, Jonathan Craig from left) meet the Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and presenting him with a set of educational material for the programme and discussing the importance of the energy efficiency campaign for Children in India.

In 2010 the eni Children’s Programme attracted the prestigious Getenergy Award for excellence. The initial ‘Jammu Conference’ and the first eni Children’s Education Programme received the patronage of the Prime Minister of India, Dr Manmohan Singh - largely through the efforts of Professor Alan Smith (University of Cambridge), who was a contemporary of Dr Singh at St John’s College. Meanwhile, the Programme has grown beyond the subcontinent; in 2010 its first event was held in Accra (Ghana) where eni is actively exploring for offshore oil and gas. A second event was held there in December 2011, and will be followed by others elsewhere in Africa this year and in other parts of the world in years ahead.

The Geological Society itself, of course, already has a comprehensive and very successful programme of public outreach on the broader issues of geoscience but, working with the Petroleum Group of the Geological Society we believe that initiatives like the eni Children’s Eduction Programme can help to fill a niche and bring a stronger ‘petroleum and energy focus’ to the Society’s outreach work.

As part of the Petroleum Group’s 30th Anniversary celebrations, we are now in the process of developing links with our colleagues in PESGB, AAPG (K-12 Programme) and Earth Sciences Week (ESW) organised by the American Geological Institute (AGI) to develop new public outreach activities. Our intention is to focus, in particular, on secondary level students in schools and colleges, with the objective of educating and perhaps inspiring these young people to take up geoscience (or, at least, science!) as a career.

Picture: Cover face of the booklet for the first programme event outside India – held in 2010 in Accra, Ghana.

References

• Bhat, G, Craig, J, Thurow, J, Thusu, B and Cozzi, A, Geology and Hydrocarbon Potential of Neoproterozoic - Cambrian basins in Asia’ Geological Society of London, Special Publication (2012) (in press)
• Craig, J, Absar, A, Bhat, G, Cadel, G, Kashkari, R, Moore, J, Thurow, J and Thusu, B (in press) Hot springs and the geothermal potential of Jammu & Kashmir State, N W Himalaya, India Himalayan Geology Bull
• Craig, J, Thurow, J, Thusu, B, Whitham, A and Abutarruma, Y (eds) 2009 Global Neoproterozoic Petroleum Systems: The emerging Potential in North Africa Geological Society of London, Special Publication,326
• Visiting Geoscientists – an educational outreach guide for geoscience professionals AGI and AAPG (www.agiweb.org/education/aapg/AAPG-Handbook.pdf)

¹ Co-authors

Juergen Thurow ², Bindra Thusu ², Ghulam Bhat ³, Heather Cheshire ², Naveen Hakhoo ³, Sumita Koul ³, Sandeep Pandita ³, Vinay Sharma ³ and Yudhbir Singh ³

1) eni Exploration and Production Division, Milan, Italy; 2) Maghreb Petroleum Research Group (MPRG), Dept. Earth Sciences, University College London, London, UK; 3) Institute of Energy Research and Training (IERT), University of Jammu, J&K, India. E: [email protected]