Sustainable Risk Management of Subsurface Geo-Energy Resources and Hazards

Dear Colleagues,

The sustainable exploration, development, and management of subsurface geo-energy resources are central to global energy security, carbon neutrality, and the responsible utilization of geological systems. Oil and gas resources, unconventional reservoirs, geothermal systems, underground energy storage, and carbon storage projects are all strongly controlled by subsurface geological conditions, including sedimentary architecture, structural deformation, reservoir heterogeneity, fault activity, caprock integrity, fluid–rock interactions, and basin evolution. Meanwhile, both natural geological processes and human-induced subsurface engineering activities may trigger or amplify a wide range of geological and environmental hazards, such as induced seismicity, reservoir instability, fault reactivation, land subsidence, wellbore failure, leakage risks, groundwater contamination, and geo-environmental degradation.

This Special Issue, “Sustainable Risk Management of Subsurface Geo-Energy Resources and Hazards”, aims to provide an interdisciplinary platform for studies focusing on geological controls, risk mechanisms, assessment methods, and mitigation strategies related to subsurface geo-energy systems. Particular attention will be given to the sustainable development of oil and gas resources, shale gas and tight reservoirs, coalbed methane, geothermal energy, underground gas and hydrogen storage, carbon capture, utilization, and storage, and other subsurface engineering activities in sedimentary basins and structurally complex geological settings.

We welcome original research articles, reviews, case studies, and methodological contributions addressing petroleum geology, reservoir characterization, structural geology, sedimentology, basin analysis, geomechanics, hydrogeology, geochemistry, numerical simulation, monitoring and early-warning systems, uncertainty analysis, environmental impact assessment, and lifecycle risk management. Contributions integrating core and outcrop observations, seismic interpretation, well logging, geochemical data, laboratory experiments, reservoir modeling, remote sensing, artificial intelligence, and multi-physics simulations are particularly encouraged.

Although existing studies have advanced our understanding of oil and gas accumulation, unconventional reservoir development, geological hazard mitigation, and environmental sustainability, these topics are often addressed separately. This Special Issue seeks to bridge these fields by emphasizing the coupling between geological processes, subsurface resource exploitation, engineering disturbance, hazard formation, and sustainable risk governance. It will usefully supplement the existing literature by promoting integrated, geology-based, and risk-informed approaches to the sustainable management of subsurface geo-energy resources and associated hazards.

Prof. Dr. Zhen Liu
Dr. Sheng Fu
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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