DOE OUTLINES 18 OIL FIELD RESEARCH PROJECTS

The U.S. Department of Energy has chosen 18 oil field research projects to receive nearly $8.4 million in federal funding.

The projects range from general studies of the geologic makeup of oil reservoirs to use of luminescent bacteria to trace the flow of fluids through an oil bearing formation.

They include five projects that will concentrate on fundamental studies of microbial enhanced oil recovery, a technique that uses microorganisms to boost oil production.

Although funding for the projects was added by Congress in fiscal years 1989 and 1990, the ones DOE chose reflect its new emphasis on short term research that can prolong production from oil fields during this decade (OGJ, Feb. 12, p. 26).

Several of the projects are intended to improve knowledge of the structure of oil or gas bearing formations. Others, such as the microbial research, maintain the government's traditional role of pursuing longer term research.

The 18 projects were chosen from 40 proposals received in response to DOE's April 1989 call. University research teams submitted 13 of the projects, all of which are for 2-3 years.

Sponsors will contribute nearly $3 million to the projects. Funding for individual projects won't be determined until contract negotiations are completed this summer.

THE PROJECTS

In DOE's slate of projects, the University of Texas at Austin will:

• Model unstable enhanced oil recovery displacements, using computer imaging to map the movement of oil and other fluids.

• Use tracers, fluids with unique chemical or other properties, to detect differences in a reservoir's geologic characteristics and evaluate the effectiveness of production techniques by using reservoir simulation models.

• Attempt to divert injected fluids into bypassed zones of oil bearing rock. It will use an inexpensive chemical that dissolves in hot water or steam but drops out of solution when temperatures cool. After injection into highly permeable portions of a reservoir it will cool and plug pore channels in less productive regions of the rock, diverting oil recovery fluids to zones where more oil remains.

• Examine the use of steam injection for enhancing production of light or heavy oil from fractured reservoirs.

  The University of Oklahoma, Norman, Okla., will:

• Characterize reservoir rocks based on their tendency to diffuse fluids. New methods of measuring dispersion of fluids in reservoirs also will be developed.

• Study damage that occurs in a reservoir while it is being produced and develop a mathematical model that can predict such damage.

• Develop a mathematical model to describe, at a microscopic level, the turbulent flow of several different fluids through a reservoir. Most reservoir simulation models describe a nonturbulent flow of a single fluid or use simplified assumptions of turbulent flow patterns.

• Study several microbial species and develop a model with equations that describe their growth and metabolism.

In addition, the University of Tulsa will study surface rock exposures of Pennsylvanian sandstone and apply fractals, mathematical techniques which predict variations that occur in nature. Geostatistical techniques will determine if infill drilling could recover more oil.

Texas A&M University, College Station, Tex., will examine how minerals dissolved in reservoir fluids can indicate geologic history and flow patterns in a reservoir. The study will focus on the Smackover formation of the North Louisiana salt basin.

The University of Michigan will study movement of bacteria through an oil reservoir.

Mississippi State University will study several groups of microorganisms found naturally in oil bearing reservoirs and the microbes' ability to produce byproducts that can boost recovery: acids that make oil easier to move through a reservoir, gases that reduce the viscosity of oil, emulsifiers that transport globules of oil through a reservoir, solvents that dissolve oil in water, and polymers that increase the effectiveness of water in pushing oil through rock.

Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, will analyze and evaluate interwell seismic logging for reservoir characterization. A new borehole seismic transducer is expected to boost detection and resolution capabilities, affording a more accurate picture of the physical properties of reservoir rock.

K&A Energy Consultants Inc., Tulsa, will study how oil production is reduced when fractures begin to close in an older reservoir that has lost much of its natural pressure. It also will study ways to maintain pressures.

Ikwuakolam Energy Co. Inc., Denver, will use borehole acoustic techniques for "rock typing" of Williston basin carbonates.

Appalachian Oil & Natural Gas Research Center, West Virginia University, Morgantown, W.Va., will study the differences in West Virginia, Ohio, and Pennsylvania oil and gas formations. Using seismic data, well records, samples, and drilling logs from nearly 100,000 wells, the center will study rock type, mineral makeup, chemistry, structure, fracture patterns, and other characteristics of reservoirs in an effort to determine optimum well locations and economical development techniques.

Injectech Inc., Ochelata, Okla., will seek alternatives to traditional methods of supplying energy to anaerobic microorganisms used for oil recovery. Most current techniques use sugary substances such as molasses. Injectech will study microbes that feed on carbonates, sulfates, and nitrates.

Fairleigh Dickinson Laboratories Inc., Abilene, Tex., will develop a method for independent oil companies to trace movement of fluids through a reservoir using microorganisms that emit light from biological reactions. The method is designed to help operators determine if channels are being created that bypass potentially productive zones in a reservoir.

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