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Berkeley Lab Experts Helping Test Novel Monitoring Solutions for Unconventional Oil Recovery with Reduced Environmental Footprint

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

Carl Steefel Named 2019 American Geophysical Union Fellow

August 14, 2019

  Carl Steefel, a senior scientist in the Earth & Environmental Sciences Area at Berkeley Lab, has been named by the American Geophysical Union (AGU) as a 2019 AGU Fellow. Every year, the AGU Fellows program recognizes members who have made exceptional contributions to the Earth and Space sciences. Vetted by a committee of AGU Fellows,…

Climate Change Expected to Shift Location of East Asian Monsoons

November 25, 2019

Berkeley Lab climate scientists studied how the Hadley cell, a tropical air flow closely linked to monsoons, will change as the climate warms. (Credit: iStockphoto) More than a billion people in Asia depend on seasonal monsoons for their water needs. The Asian monsoon is closely linked to a planetary-scale tropical air flow which, according to a…

Charlie Koven Named One of 2019’s Most Influential Researchers

November 23, 2019

For the second consecutive year, Charlie Koven, a staff scientist in the Climate and Ecosystem Sciences Division, has been named among the world’s most cited research scientists. Since 2002, the Highly Cited Researchers list has identified global research scientists and social scientists who have demonstrated exceptional influence – reflected through their publication of multiple papers…

EGD Hosts Symposium on Coupled Processes in Radioactive Waste Disposal and Subsurface Engineering Applications

On November 4-5, 2019, the Environmental Geosciences Division co-hosted the DECOVALEX 2019 Symposium on “Coupled Processes in Radioactive Waste Disposal and Subsurface Engineering Applications” in Brugg, Switzerland. Coupled thermo-hydro-mechanical-chemical (THMC) processes in geological systems are critically important to the performance and safety assessment of geologic disposal systems for radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel. Understanding…

Romy Chakraborty and Boris Faybishenko Honored with 2019 Directors’ Awards

Two EESA scientists were honored with Berkeley Lab Director’s Awards at a ceremony on November 15 in Building 50. Romy Chakraborty, Ecology Department head, and EESA Staff Scientist Boris Faybishenko, are among 15 individuals who received this year’s awards from Lab Director Mike Witherell. The Director’s Awards program recognizes Lab employees each year for exemplary…

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