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Help make the oil recovery process less wasteful
Challenge Type: engineering
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$600
top 6
20
submissions
20
solutions max

The current methods of oil recovery present a great opportunity for innovative improvement. Because it is so hard to recover oil from a reservoir, the worldwide average of oil recovered is less than 35% of the total oil available in a given reservoir. By 2050, global energy consumption could rise as much as 80% from levels that were recorded in 2000, and this rapid increase means all available energy sources, renewable as well as conventional sources, need to be optimized.

Deliverables

Please submit the following:

1) Propose an idea to drastically improve the % of oil recovered from a given reservoir

2) Attach an artistic rendering (sketch, mockup, design, etc.) showing how your oil recovery process would be implemented

3) If applicable, please include any research or background information that supports your solution

Criteria: See attached slides for more information about the current obstacles of oil recovery. When submitting, propose out of the box solutions or solutions that are aimed at solving these specific problems in the attached slide.

Disclaimer

Any ideas or other material submitted by you will be treated as having been submitted on a NON-CONFIDENTIAL basis whether or not such ideas or other material are marked or referred to by you as confidential. Shell Technology Ventures and Shell GameChanger will have no duty to treat such ideas or other material as confidential. Shell Technology Ventures and Shell GameChanger may pass on any ideas or other material submitted by you to our venture capital and other partners. Again this will be on a NON-CONFIDENTIAL basis.

Please note that the U.S. government regulates the export of certain technical data and information from the U.S. along with the release of technical data and information to foreign nationals located in the U.S. When disclosing technical details of a technology, you MUST first ensure that the subject technology is not controlled under U.S. Export Control laws. This is your responsibility. For assistance in this determination, contact your legal counsel. By submitting such details you hereby certify that such technical information is not restricted for export to the United Kingdom or the Netherlands.

All information or advice provided as part of this web site is intended to be general in nature and you should not rely on it in connection with the making of any decision. Shell Technology Ventures and Shell GameChanger are not liable for any action you may take as a result of relying on such information or advice or for any loss or damage suffered by you as a result of you taking this action.

    Submissions will be graded on the following criteria:
  • Meets Deliverables
  • Creativity
  • Clarity
Additional Materials:
Reward Tiers
3 Winners
will receive $150 each
3 Honorable Mentions
will receive $50 each
Leaderboard
$150.00 Matthew Smith University of Tennessee
$150.00 Joey Iommi-Chittwood University of Louisiana at Lafayette
$150.00 Jan Mees University of Utah
$50.00 Ahmed Alzahabi Texas Tech University
$50.00 Erin Lamb California Institute of Technology
$50.00 Bin Guo Michigan State University
Submission questions


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Your solution must be at least 200 characters long
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