Deemah AlAshban, who completed a six-week SRSI internship supervised by Prof. Hussein Hoteit in 2017, has qualified for the prestigious INTEL ISEF Science Fair in Pittsburgh, USA. The prestigious Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) is the largest pre-college scientific research event in the world. Each year in May, more than 1500 students from roughly 70 countries and territories compete in the Fair for scholarships, tuition grants, internships, scientific field trips and college scholarships.

AlAshban: "I was selected, among the 18 representatives, to be part of the Saudi team in the INTEL ISEF in Pittsburg. Students worldwide compete in local science fairs; the winners of these events go on to participate in regional fairs. After intense and enriching workshops, the winning projects win the opportunity to participate in Intel ISEF. In ISEF, we are to be judged by doctoral level scientists, and they will review our work."

AlAshban's research project, "Storing CO₂ in Unconventional Gas Reservoirs through the Development of an Optimum Hydraulic Fracturing Design," is a continuation of the project she investigated at ANPERC.

Alashban explains: "The primary motivation of my research is to utilize the unused resources of gas, which will be a major relief to reduce the current high usage of crude oil. The objective of this project is to use the depleted gas reservoir for CO₂ storage, by optimizing gas from the unconventional gas well and estimating the volume of CO₂ that can be stored in the depleted reservoir. Storing CO₂ in the subsurface of unconventional shale gas reservoirs reduces greenhouse emissions and maintains the underground pressure."

AlAshban's work with Prof. Hoteit at ANPERC exposed her to information about hydraulic fracturing, a process that produces ruptures in rock formations to stimulate the flow of natural gas.  "I came to the conclusion that the optimum design was 25 hydraulic fractures, each  with a half-length of 250 ft. and a height of 120 ft. In addition, it was proven that the depleted reservoir could accommodate approximately the same volume of CO2 as for shale gas."

Congratulations to Deemah! What an achievement! We wish you all the best in the competition. Good luck!