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Berkeley Lab Experts Helping Test Novel Monitoring Solutions for Unconventional Oil Recovery with Reduced Environmental Footprint3 min read

by Christina Procopiou on January 25, 2018

Energy Resources Program Area Energy Resources Program Domain GC-Sustainable Earth Research Highlight Sustainable Energy Systems Program

Scientists from the Energy Geosciences Division at Berkeley Lab are part of a research team led by Texas A&M University that is working to develop a new field laboratory in the hydrocarbon-producing geological formation known as Eagle Ford Shale. The team, which has been awarded an $8 million grant from the Department of Energy (DOE) for research and development of unconventional oil and natural gas recovery, will test next-generation monitoring solutions for hydraulic fracturing and enhanced oil recovery.

The researchers will be creating the Eagle Ford Shale Laboratory in Central Texas, working with operator WildHorse Resource Development Corporation, which will provide three wells for testing (one existing well for re-fracturing and two new stimulation wells). WildHorse will invest about $15 million to drill and complete these research wells.

Principal investigator Dan Hill, Noble Chair holder and professor in the Harold Vance Department of Petroleum Engineering at Texas A&M University, is leading the effort to develop methods that improve the effectiveness of shale oil production. According to the DOE, the hydraulic fracturing methods used a few years ago have left large portions of the reservoirs in contact with wells unstimulated, and in many thick shale reservoirs, there are also large untouched reserves lying above or below the stimulated region.

“By focusing on increased recovery from previously fractured wells that were left behind because of low production, this project will allow oil production at a much lower environmental footprint,” says Jens Birkholzer, director of the Energy Geosciences Division at Berkeley Lab.

As director of the Energy Geosciences Division at Berkeley Lab, Jens Birkholzer will be working with co-principal investigators Mark Zoback of Stanford University and Matt Averill of WildHorse Resource Development Corporation.

Birkholzer believes the project has great potential for the future of enhanced oil recovery. “By focusing on increased recovery from previously fractured wells that were left behind because of low production, this project will allow oil production at a much lower environmental footprint,” he says.

This project marks the first time that researchers investigating unconventional reservoirs will conduct active seismic monitoring using fiber optics in observation wells that will provide real-time monitoring of fracture propagation and stimulated volume for both new stimulation and re-fracturing of legacy wells.

The team’s research has the potential to enable operators of thousands of existing fractured horizontal wells to better select re-fracturing candidates and design re-fracture treatments that could increase oil production from previously accessed reservoirs. Once the two new wells are stimulated, researchers plan to apply advanced monitoring technologies designed to enable the optimization of geosteering and hydraulic fracture technologies. A gas injection enhanced oil recovery pilot test in the re-fractured well will be the final phase of the project.

This project marks the first time that researchers investigating unconventional reservoirs will conduct active seismic monitoring using fiber optics in observation wells that will provide real-time monitoring of fracture propagation and stimulated volume for both new stimulation and re-fracturing of legacy wells. The team will also be able to conduct time-lapse seismic monitoring of reservoir changes during initial production and enhanced oil recovery from a re-fractured well.

 

News & Events

Daniel Stolper Selected by DOE’s Early Career Research Program2 min read

June 22, 2022

Daniel Stolper is among five Berkeley Lab researchers to receive funding through the Department of Energy’s Early Career Research Program (ECRP), and is one of just 83 nationwide to be selected this year by the DOE for this prestigious award. Stolper is an EESA faculty scientist with a joint appointment at UC Berkeley, where he…

Wageningen Students Visit Ecology Department Team2 min read

On May 31, a delegation of students from Wageningen University & Research Center (WUR) Microbiology and Systems Biology Groups in the Netherlands came to visit EESA’s Ecology department. WUR is a highly esteemed world-class Dutch university that trains specialists in a variety of life sciences disciplines. WUR’s research and teaching activities range from sustainable agriculture…

Strengthening Wildland Fire Science and Scientific Collaboration through New Data Management Platform3 min read

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  Wildfires are increasing in severity and frequency worldwide. A new report called Spreading like Wildfire: The Rising Threat of Extraordinary Landscape Fires indicates that wildfires are responsible for significant economic, environmental, and sociopolitical damage (UNEP, GRID-Arendal, 2021). They also contribute significantly to greenhouse gas emissions – thereby further fueling climate change.  Researchers need to…

Bhavna Arora Describes Agricultural Managed Aquifer Recharge5 min read

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Managed Aquifer Recharge is a water management strategy used to store excess surface water underground and thereby replenish groundwater basins when and where possible. This strategy enables communities to use depleted groundwater basins as natural water storage to augment water supplies and prevent land subsidence. In coastal regions, MAR can be implemented to act as…

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