Just look at an industry calendar of events and there is no doubt that “unconventional” remains the focus of the O&G industry (putting aside the ramifications of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill). There may be a little “bloom off the rose” in shale gas with a soft domestic natural gas price outlook, but activity in major shale gas plays remains strong. Industry is moving quickly to take what we’ve learned in domestic shale gas international. If international shale gas is on the horizon for you, you need to consider (if you have not already done so), the Global Shale Gas Summit 2010 coming up July 19-22 in Warsaw, Poland. This Summit provides a holistic picture of the enablers for international shale gas expansion. Delegates are coming from across the world from majors, key independents, government and regulators, geological surveys and service and technology providers. PTTC is proud to be associated with this event as a partner. American Business Conferences is offering a 15% discount to attend the Summit to PTTC’s audience. To claim this discount, please email or call 1-800-721-3915 and quote registration code “PTTC15.”
Topic for this blog is no coincidence. PTTC’s next Network News newsletter, which will be coming to you in late June/early July, focuses on “unconventionals.” Just yesterday I spent several hours reviewing content and polishing copy. It is overwhelming what continues to happen in the unconventional arena. One undeniable movement is industry taking what it has learned from shale gas into unconventional oil development – North Dakota’s Bakken being the leading example. But there are many other plays and geographic areas where unconventional oil or at least “oily” shale gas are hot, the Eagle Ford shale in South Texas being a prime example. Increased interest in California’s Monterey shale is another. Being a visionary thinker (some of my friends would debate that), my mind is already moving forward to “enhanced oil recovery” in unconventional oil reservoirs. Although there will be significant primary oil in unconventional oil reservoirs, the nature of the reservoirs themselves points toward lower recovery factors. This target would be the driving force towards EOR in unconventional oil. Great minds must think alike since the SPE IOR Symposium is considering addressing that topic during its next Symposium in spring 2012.
By spring 2012 there would be at least partial results from projects receiving awards in DOE’s “currently open” unconventional oil solicitation. DOE is looking for proposals in two unconventional oil areas: (1) Topic Area 1 – Advanced Simulation and Visualization and (2) Topic Area 2 – Next-Generation CO2-EOR. In Topic Area 1 DOE anticipates four to eight awards in the $300,000 to $1,000,000 range (including 20% cost share). In Topic Area 2 DOE anticipates three to five awards in the $500,000 to $1,500,000 range (including 20% cost share). Proposals are due July 29. View the solicitation. Take advantage of this opportunity; submit a winning proposal!
No discussion of unconventional research would be complete without mention of recent awards made by the Research Partnership to Secure Energy for America (RPSEA) in its Unconventional Resources Program. Eleven projects were selected for negotiations leading to award. Viewing the project topics and the organizations involved in them is in itself an education in O&G-focused R&D in the U.S. The following projects in particular caught my interest.
- Marcellus Gas Shale Project, Project Leader: Gas Technology Institute. Additional Project Participants: The Pennsylvania State University; West Virginia University; Bureau of Economic Geology/The University of Texas at Austin; Pinnacle Technologies, Inc.; ResTech, Inc.
- Prediction of Fault Reactivation in Hydraulic Fracturing of Horizontal Wells in Shale Gas Reservoirs, Project Leader: West Virginia University. Additional Project Participants: Range Resources Corporation; Appalachian, LLC
- Integrated Experimental and Modeling Approaches to Studying the Fracture-Matrix Interaction in Gas Recovery from Barnett Shale, Project Leader: The University of Texas at Arlington. Additional Project Participants: Carrizo Oil & Gas, Inc.
- Improving Reservoir Contact for Increased Production and Recovery of Gas Shale Reservoirs (Achieving Management of Fracture Complexity), Project Leader: TerraTek, A Schlumberger Company. Additional Project Participants: New Ventures; EnCana Oil & Gas USA, Inc.; Unconventional Gas Completion Research; Shell International Exploration & Production; William Duncan; Cimarex Energy Company; Devon Energy Corporation
Managing frac flowback water is a primary issue in unconventional resource development. Technology and how it is applied is moving rapidly in that area. More research is needed, but technologies have moved into the commercial realm. One example is Superior Well Services Gamma FRac System. According to developers, nearly any water can be reused with this approach, and in some applications, the technology has eliminated disposal costs. It makes interesting reading to see how the “package” of technologies is combined in Gamma FRac.
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Lance Cole
E. Lance Cole, PTTC Operations Manager, an Oklahoma resident since 1978 and a registered professional engineer in Oklahoma, has served PTTC since 1996, beginning as Project Manager and then as Executive Director until AAPG assumed PTTC management responsibility. As National Project Manager, he was responsible for technical oversight of PTTC’s regional lead organizations and contract reporting for the national office, and served as a technical adviser on all aspects of the program. As Executive Director, he had primary staff responsibility for the overall PTTC organization. Mr. Cole received a B.S. in chemical engineering from South Dakota School of Mines and an M.S. in management from Southern Nazarene University. His professional experience encompasses reservoir and corrosion engineering, as well as reserve estimation and appraisal. He has worked with a major oil and gas company, a large integrated independent, and in engineering-oriented consulting companies. Mr. Cole is a member of SPE, AAPG, SEG, and SIPES and, in the past, has been involved with the SPE/DOE IOR Symposium in Tulsa for several years. Email Lance Cole.
