I currently lead Sustainable Energy Research Labs in NORCE Energy & Technology. We are a cross disciplinary research group located in Bergen working with experimental based research and modelling. Our main focus is on subsurface processes and how improved understanding of these can reduced the footprint of production of oil and gas and enable reuse of depleted reservoirs for temporary storage of hydrogen or permanent storage of CO2. Our core competence and the experimental methods and analytical techniques we use can also be applied for many other purposes.
I have a background in Physical Chemistry from the University of Bergen, where I obtained a master’s degree in surface and colloidal chemistry and a PhD on dynamic NMR and pore scale characteristics. Since then my research has focused on issues related to enhanced/improved oil recovery (EOR/IOR) and chemical solutions to this, particularly using polymers and surfactants. I am interested in the coupling between flow physics, bulk and surface processes, the balance between equilibrium reactions and kinetics and how these factors can be optimized to ensure safe and efficient underground storage of CO2 and hydrogen.
Besides my research I have also been lecturing at the Department of Chemistry at the University of Bergen, providing courses on Physical Chemistry with focus on statistical thermodynamics and Reservoir Technology with main focus on recovery methods for the Norwegian Continental Shelf.