Projects to study complex fracture systems

The Department of Energy has agreed to provide $4.8 million for seven research projects to improve knowledge of complex fracture systems in U.S. oil reservoirs.

Working with BDM-Oklahoma, which runs DOE's National Institute for Petroleum & Energy Research in Bartlesville, Okla., the research groups will provide another $5.1 million for the projects.

In each project, researchers will conduct a 28-31 month study designed to improve understanding of the strata of an oil reservoir and factors that control oil recovery.

DOE pointed out that most U.S. reservoirs yield only one third of oil in place, and that flows through natural fractures.

"Presently available technologies do not give producers adequate information to pinpoint natural fractures," DOE said. "DOE's fundamental geoscience program is attempting to link fracture patterns of individual fields into a regional tectonic system.

"By relating geologic stress and fractures in each field to a regional pattern, producers would be able to predict how the geologic makeup of a reservoir will affect the amount of oil that ultimately can be produced."

The projects

Here is a breakout of what's involved in this round of research:

The University of Texas' Bureau of Economic Geology (BEG) will work with an industry group to study fracture data from core samples and develop models of particular reservoirs. The project includes a technology transfer effort. DOE will provide $750,000 and BEG $250,000.
The University of Alabama and Geological Survey of Alabama will compile data on fractures in Gilbertown field and identify the best improved recovery methods. The project, with technology transfer, will receive $300,000 from DOE and $300,000 from the university and survey.
Golder Associates Inc., Redmond, Wash., will develop a reservoir fracture model that can be used to implement thermally assisted gravity segregation, a recovery process that combines the natural tendencies of fracture flow segregation, gravity segregation, and composition/thermal phase behavior into a thermal enhanced oil recovery process.
Golder will combine Marathon Oil Co. and Massachusetts Institute of Technology research to develop and apply a reservoir model for Yates field in Pecos County, West Texas. Project results will be presented to industry personnel and academia.
DOE will provide $743,000 and Golder $344,858.
Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC), Reston, Va., will work with Indiana University and Phillips Petroleum Co. to integrate advanced geoscience techniques with reservoir engineering concepts to optimize exploration and production methods for naturally fractured oil reservoirs.
The methodology and results will be demonstrated using Gandu field in the Permian basin. DOE is providing $748,000 and SAIC $271,402.
Southwest Research Institute (SRI), San Antonio, will evaluate acoustic logging and 3D seismic techniques as well as fluid flow and transport methods to map reservoir fluid flow and other parameters to increase understanding of reservoir fracture systems and associated fluid dynamics. The methods will be tested in Union Pacific Resources Co.'s Twin Creek reservoir.
DOE will contribute $750,000 and SRI $2,027,778. Texas A&M University will provide software development and numerical simulation services.
TerraTek Inc., Salt Lake City, will use geological, geotechnical, and reservoir engineering methods to model complex fracture networks on the surface and in comparatively shallow settings along the Duchesne fault zone in the Uinta Basin. The project includes technology transfer. DOE wil spend $744,000 and TerraTek $777,495.
The University of Utah, Salt Lake City, will use field data from an analog fault and fracture controlled oil reservoir to develop predictive models of fault and fracture distributions, geometries, and fluid flow characteristics.

Technology transfer will include progress reports on the World Wide Web. DOE is contributing $749,000 and the university $1,158,310.