Student wins Qatar award for research excellence in carbon capture and storage

PhD student Ibrahim Daher has been recognised as a rising star in the gulf state of Qatar winning an award for his outstanding research.

A PhD student at Imperial College London has been recognised as a rising star in the gulf state of Qatar. Ibrahim Daher has won a Qatar Energy R&D ORYX GTL Student Award for Post Graduate Education. He was chosen due to his outstanding research achievements in an area that could have a major impact on industry in Qatar.

Ibrahim is originally from Qatar but has been working in the Qatar Carbonates and Carbon Storage Research Centre (QCCSRC) at Imperial College London since 2013. His research is looking at oil reservoirs, and the results of pumping carbon dioxide into them, either for storage or to retrieve more oil. This can result in salt deposition that can have a dramatic effect on operations. Ibrahim has been working on this salt problem over the last two years, and has built his own experimental apparatus to investigate the problem, X-ray scanning rock samples and running complex analytical studies.

“I am delighted and very proud of his achievements” says Professor Geoff Maitland, one of Ibrahim’s PhD supervisor, “Ibrahim’s research should have a significant impact on the design of carbon dioxide injection processes into carbonate reservoirs and aquifers and is preparing him well for his technical leadership role when he returns to Qatar from Imperial.” 

Dr John Crawshaw, Ibrahim’s other supervisor said “Ibrahim has made substantial progress over the course of his PhD project as an independent researcher and will take valuable experience forward in his next assignment working at Qatar Petroleum”.

Ibrahim is one of only four people recognised by the annual awards from the organisation Gulf Intelligence. They are in recognition of achievements, motivation and potential as a future thought leader in Qatar. Ibrahim received his award at the Qatar Energy R&D Forum 28 April 2015, in Qatar University’s new Research Complex.