8/4/2019 11RDSurvey

1/5

36 JPT JUNE 2011

Editors note: JPT surveyed major uni- versities around the world regardingtheir key upstream research and devel-opment projects and activities. Thesecond installment of this series will be

published in the July issue.

The signposts ahead show thatapplied, improved technologies suchas enhanced oil recovery (EOR),nanotechnology and state-of-the-artreservoir treatment, monitoring andmodeling, and unconventional extrac-tion will define the future of the oiland gas industry. As the demand andneed for these techniques and tech-nologies increase, research is under wayat numerous universities on how toimprove recovery factors to meet futureworld consumption.

Institute of PetroleumEngineering, Heriot-WattUniversity, UKPetroleum engineering at Heriot-WattUniversity comprises eight generalareas of expertise: geomechanics and

rock physics, hydrates, hydrocarbonrecovery mechanisms, productionchemistry, reservoir description, reser-voir fluids, reservoir geophysics, anduncertainty quantification.

Patrick Corbett, Total professor ofpetroleum geoengineering, said the res-ervoir description group is a comingtogether of joint industry projects at theuniversity. Furthermore, this kind ofcollaborative, interdisciplinary model isevolving into research networks amongmultiple universities working on thesame project, he said.

Industry collaborators with theinstitute include Shell, ExxonMobil,BG Group, Weatherford, Wintershall,PetroChina, Schlumberger, BP, Chevron,ConocoPhillips, Hess, Landmark,Maersk Oil, Marathon Oil, Petrobras,

Statoil, Total, Anadarko, Saudi Aramco,and Eni.The reservoir description group spe-

cializes in the integration of geologyand engineering for improved quan-titative reservoir performance char-acterization. The reservoir geophys-ics groups seismic history matchingproject uses Schlumbergers Eclipse,Frontsim and Petrel reservoir data soft-ware, Roxar RMS process managementsoftware, and Malcolm Sambridges NAAlgorithm, approaching the subjectwith geological modeling. The groupsEdinburgh Time-Lapse Project devel-ops reservoir analysis tools for quanti-tative seismic data interpretation.

The main consortium of the produc-tion chemistry group is a flow assur-ance and scale team joint industryproject that develops software used todesign field scale inhibitor treatments.

The reservoir fluids group collaborateswith carbon dioxide injection researchin partnership with the EuropeanCarbon Dioxide Thematic Network,the European Network of Excellence

on Geological Storage of CarbonDioxide, the UK Carbon Capture andStorage Edinburgh Consortium, andthe Scottish Centre for Carbon Storage.The uncertainty quantification groupis in its third phase, addressing prob-lems of uncertainty and error modelingin production. The geomechanics androck physics group developed the truetriaxial Smart Cell for measurement ofstress-sensitive petrophysical and rockproperty data, and created the spinoutcompany PetroMagnetics.

R&D on Campus: Evolving Operations

Drive New TechnologiesGentry Braswell,JPT Online Technology Editor

R&D SURVEY

Professors Patrick Corbett of Heriot-Watt University and Rachel Wood ofthe University of Edinburgh, on the Capitan Reef in New Mexico, dur-ing the first field trip of the joint International Centre for CarbonateReservoirs.

8/4/2019 11RDSurvey

2/5

Turn to Forums Subsea Group when you need state-of-the-art technology

and experienced personnel for your next subsea project.

Forums products include purpose built remotely operated vehicles (ROVs), ROV and custom intervention tooling, control

systems and integrated system solutions. Our services include rental of subsea tools and positioning systems as well as

personnel and training services, seabed coring, geoscience project management and subsea pipeline joint coating.

Forums pioneering Rovdrill drilling system and VMAX simulation software are providing innovative ways to drill

smarter and deeper. To take your next subsea project to a new level visit: www.f-e-t.com

Experience. Dedication. Vision.

8/4/2019 11RDSurvey

3/5

38 JPT JUNE 2011

PHASE Consortium, Instituteof Geological Services, FreieUniversitt Berlin, GermanyThe Physics and Application of SeismicEmission (PHASE) consortium is along-term university research projectat Freie Universitt Berlin and cov-ers numerical, theoretical, and fielddata-based studies. The broad researchfield explores the theory, modeling, andimaging of seismic wave fields and theirrelations to coupled poroelastic process-es (including nonlinearity) in hydro-carbon and geothermic reservoirs. Thefocal points of the project are the role offluid saturation, pore pressure, tectonicstress, anisotropy and seismogenic pro-cesses. The consortium is sponsored byBG Group, BP, Chevron, ExxonMobil,Gaz de France Suez, Maersk, RWEDEA, Shell, Total, Sercel, Ikon Science,Magnitude, Norsar, MicroSeismic,

Rock Solid, Spectraseis, and SeismicReservoir 2020.

The main research goals of thePHASE Project are to further developthe rock physics-based reservoir char-acterization approach in explorationseismic, to improve the understandingof fluid-induced microseismicity, and toestablish the physical fundamentals ofmicroseismic monitoring.

The project strives for optimal com-bination of fundamental and appliedgeophysics through research in explo-

ration as well as earthquake seismology,a broad expertise in rock physics, poro-mechanics, microseismic monitoring,seismic imaging, numerical modeling,and earthquake physics, all involvinguniversities and research centers inGermany, Australia, Russia, and theUnited States.

Main research directions of the proj-ect are microseismicity, modeling andimaging of induced seismicity, inter-pretation and visualization of micro-seismic data combined with 3D and 4Dreflection seismic images, seismicity-based methods for estimating hydrau-lic properties of rocks, seismogenicpotential and probability of inducedseismicity, physics and monitoring ofporoelastic stress relaxation, stress- andpore pressure-related numerical andtheoretical rock physics, and effectiveproperties of fractured reservoirs by

numerical rock physics.

Earth and Mineral SciencesEnergy Institute, PennsylvaniaState University, USPetroleum and natural gas research atPennsylvania States Earth and MineralSciences Energy Institute is involvedin several initiatives: The G3 Centerfor Geomechanics, Geofluids, andGeohazards; the DUSEL ExperimentDevelopment Committee (Fig. 1);National Science Foundation support,

ocean drilling program support, PennState GeoSystems Inititative; and thePenn State GeoFluids Consortium. Theinstitute has hundreds of industry part-ners such as Baker Hughes, Cabot Oil &Gas, CenterPoint, Chesapeake, El Paso,ExxonMobil, GE, Halliburton, Kinder

Morgan, Shell, and Weatherford.Its research includes character-

ization of dispersed organic matter;testing of shaped-charge perforators;study of sand flow; enhanced recov-ery; environmental drilling and pro-duction; hydrodynamics optimization;ultrasonic technology; fluid viscositycharacterization; surface tension; grainstructure, porosity, and multiphase rela-tive permeability; and disposal/use ofproduced brine.

The institute is also involved in sev-

eral industry consortia. The Gas StorageTechnology Consortium focuses onimproving the US underground gas/hydrocarbon storage activities; the Strip-per Well Consortium on the produc-tion performance of gas and petroleumstripper wells; and the Consortium forPremium Carbon Products from Coal.

Department of Civil andEnvironmental Engineering,University of Alberta, CanadaThe University of Albertas Departmentof Civil and Environmental Engineeringfaculty specializes in advanced drillingengineering, advanced topics in petro-leum production mechanics, advancedwell test analysis, fluid mechanics ofnatural gas production, numerical andanalytical solution of porous mediaflow, petroleum reservoir engineering,reservoir simulator development, sec-ondary recovery, thermal recovery, andwell logging and formation evaluations.

Much of the research is dedicatedto unconventional oil recovery suchas heavy oil, bitumen, oil sands,

shales, and carbonates, said TayfunBabadagli, a professor of engineeringat the school of mining and petroleum.Unconventional extraction goes handin hand with EOR, a market driven byoil prices. EOR efforts require strongerreservoir characterization techniques,Babadagli said.

The research interests at the univer-sity follow suit. Concentrations involvecharacterization of fractured surfacesand networks, fracture network map-ping, permeability distribution assess-

R&D SURVEY

Fig. 1The proposed Deep Underground Science and Engineering Lab-oratory (DUSEL), in Homestake, South Dakota, is one of several initia-tives at Pennsylvania State University. The lab will be a neutrino obser-vatory with low background radiation, but will also house projects inengineering geosciences.

8/4/2019 11RDSurvey

4/5

JPT JUNE 2011 39

ment through well tests, and perme-ability upscaling. Research related toEOR, mature field development, water-flooding matrix interaction, and ther-mal and chemical injection is promi-nent at the school.

Tertiary recovery of oil/heavy oilusing gas and low interfacial tensionagents, and optimal use of carbondioxide in oil recovery and seques-tration is supported by the Fund forSupport of International DevelopmentActivities, International Project Fundprojects, a Natural Sciences andEngineering Research Council strate-gic grant, and Apache Oil. The schoolhas research agreements with ApexEngineering regarding application ofsteam-assisted gravity drainage andsolvent injection in oil sands, and in-situ upgrading of heavy oil/bitumen bysolvents and ultrasonic waves duringsteam injection.

Craft and HawkinsDepartment of Petroleum

Engineering, LouisianaState University, USThe future of wells and subsurface oper-ations will involve more shale opera-tions, carbon dioxide sequestration,nuclear waste disposal, and increas-ingly significant interdisciplinary workin the energy sector, said Stephen O.Sears, chair of the Craft and HawkinsDepartment of Petroleum Engineeringat Louisiana State University.

It is going to have to be muchbroader than what we have tradition-

ally had thought of in petroleum engi-neering, Sears said. With the changingface of operations, there is more data,so there is a growing need for moreproactive data analysis for predictingwell performance, integrating geophys-

ical and geological data with well data,he said.

Primary projects include a Down-hole Water Sink Technology Initiativeaddressing research and development,technical support, and transfer of anovel technology for petroleum wells

affected by water production prob-lems. The technology derives froma hydrodynamic concept of simul-taneous production of oil and waterdrainage in a dual completed well.This joint industry program hasdeveloped the technology throughfield implementations by the membercompanies, and concurrent researchand technical support provided bythe university.

Other LSU projects involve Well control and blowout preven-

tion for safe handling of high subsur-face pressures of gas formations duringdrilling operations

Improved/enhanced recoverytoward methodology for locating largevolumes of bypassed oil using reservoirstimulation studies

Members of the Enhanced Oil and Gas Recovery and ReservoirCharacterization research group at the University of Albertas School ofMining and Petroleum Engineering.

2011 Halliburton. All rights reserved.

In unconventional plays, whats the economical

and environmental solution to making more oil

or gas? Its the real-time synthesis of distributed

temperature sensing and microseismic fracture

mapping technologies only from Halliburton.

Whats yourstimulation monitoring challenge?

For solutions, visit www.pinntech.com.

Solving challenges.TM

STIMULATION MONITORING

To get the most outof every frac, real-time

near- and far-field monitoring

is a winning combination.

8/4/2019 11RDSurvey

5/5

40 JPT JUNE 2011

Reservoir field studies and tertiaryrecovery projects

Formation evaluation targeting oil-field process improvements and modifi-cations leading to pollution preventionand productivity enhancement

Well completion dynamics

Center for Petroleum andGeosystems Engineering,University of Texas atAustin, USThe Center for Petroleum and Geo-systems Engineering at the Universityof Texas at Austin was formed in the1980s to do interdisciplinary researchwith a focus on oil and gas productionand other subsurface activities. Its pro-grams cover drilling, well completions,and rock mechanics; environmental

engineering; fundamental processes;integrated reservoir characterization;nanoparticle engineering for subsurfaceprocesses; gas engineering; productionengineering; and reservoir engineering.

The biggest research program at thecenter involves EOR, chemical reser-voir flooding, carbon dioxide injectionfor EOR, and carbon dioxide sequestra-tion. Of the centers USD 15 million infunding, about USD 5 million involves

EOR research, the cutting edge ofwhich is mobility control using surfac-tant, that is, dissolving new surfactantsin the carbon dioxide itself.

The centers industrial associatesprojects are chemical EOR, formationevaluation, natural gas EOR, geologi-

cal carbon dioxide storage, hydraulicfracturing and sand control, and the res-ervoir simulation joint industry project(Fig. 2). The center also does model-ing of carbon dioxide storage and col-laborates with the universitys Bureau ofEconomic Geology and chemical engi-neering department, and the Institute forComputational and Applied Sciences forcarbon dioxide sequestration research.The center received a US Department ofEnergy grant for basic scientific researchon the long-term effects of storing geo-

logical carbon dioxide underground. Itsproject partner is the Sandia NationalLaboratories. About 40 companies areinvolved in the centers research, whichcovers both unconventional and con-ventional resources, though there hasbeen recent heightened emphasis onunconventional resources such as shalegas and coalbed methane.

McDougall School ofPetroleum Engineering,University of Tulsa, USResearch at the University of TulsasMcDougall School of Petroleum Engi-neering features several specializedresearch teams that are studying arti-ficial lift, reservoir studies, fluid flow,drilling, high viscosity oil, paraffindeposition, reservoir exploitation, andseparation technology.

Tulsa research partners are BakerHughes, BP, Chevron, ConocoPhillips,ExxonMobil, GE, Kuwait Oil, Petrobras,Marathon Oil, Schlumberger, Shell,Total, Devon, Eni, Pemex, Saipem,Saudi Aramco, Nalco, BG Group, BHP

Billiton, Rosneft, and Wood Group,among others.

The artificial lift projects provide anexperimental artificial lift facility withtheoretical academic support. The cen-ter of research excellence is a part-nership between the university andChevron, currently working on disper-sion, foam breakup, fluid shear, multi-phase flow splitting, heavy oil maximi-zation, and shale stabilization.

Fluid flow projects research involvespipe diameter and drift velocity, a high-

pressure/large diameter multiphaseflow loop, slug length and high-viscos-ity flow, liquid entrainment, and lowliquid loading three-phase flow. Thedrilling research projects investigatedeep sea drilling operations. The high-viscosity oil project research involvesfacility improvements, multiphaseflow, high-viscosity oil/water/emul-sion rheology, and unified modelingof high-viscosity oil multiphase pipeflow. The paraffin deposition project isconducting studies on turbulent flow,multiphase flow deposition, field veri-fication and upscaling, gelled restart,and software.

Petroleum reservoir exploitation

projects research involves research ongradient-based history matching, cova-riance localization, Kalman filter andMarkov chain applications, and variousother mathematical optimizations. Theseparation technology projects workto advance the compact multiphasecyclonic separating technology for gas,oil, water, and sand flow.

More detailed articles on specific researchgroups at various universities worldwideare featured at www.jptonline.org.

R&D SURVEY

JPT

Fig. 2The University of Texas Cen-ter for Petroleum and GeosystemsEngineerings Reservoir Simulation Joint Industry Project has devel-

oped and implemented an ele-ment-based finite volume (EbFV)method for unstructured gridsusing mixed elements. Initialre sults of the EbFV method showthat the new implementation canbetter capture the reservoir geom-etry compared with the finite dif-ference discretization method.