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Energy Resources and Carbon Management

Hydrocarbon Science

More »
  • Highlights
  • Projects
Highlights
Projects
Stock Image of Oil Field

The Hydrocarbon Science Program focuses on developing the understanding of the basic concepts and methodologies governing the coupled processes and associated phenomena involved in resource development and production. EESA scientists work to develop improved understanding of the basic concepts and processes governing multiphase non-isothermal flow in subsurface porous/fractured media during hydrocarbon production under challenging conditions.

Highlights

Project

The Hydraulic Fracturing Field Test (HFTS) Project

The Hydraulic Fracturing Field Test (HFTS) project, fielded within the Wolfcamp Formation in the Permian Basin, provides an excellent opportunity to further develop our understanding of the geomechanical response to hydraulic stimulation and associated fluid transport and hydrocarbon production in nano-porous lithologies. The drilling program was designed to elucidate the intra- and inter-well stress interactions…

Project

Numerical and Laboratory Investigations for Maximization of Production from Tight/Shale Oil Reservoirs…

Numerical and Laboratory Investigations for Maximization of Production from Tight/Shale Oil Reservoirs: From Fundamental Studies to Technology Development and Evaluation Gas production from tight gas/shale gas reservoirs over the last decade has met with spectacular success with the advent of advanced reservoir stimulation techniques (mainly hydraulic fracturing), to the extent that shale gas is now…

Program Overview

The Hydrocarbon Science Program focuses on developing the understanding of the basic concepts and methodologies governing the coupled processes and associated phenomena involved in resource development and production. EESA scientists work to develop improved understanding of the basic concepts and processes governing multiphase non-isothermal flow in subsurface porous/fractured media during hydrocarbon production under challenging conditions.

Key to this work is understanding the associated coupled hydrological, thermal, geomechanical, geophysical, chemical, and biological processes. EESA translates this fundamental knowledge into production methods and strategies that industry could adopt to optimize production and minimize environmental impacts. Our primary focus is on unconventional resources including tight/shale gas, shale oil, and gas from methane hydrate. Efficient, clean production of hydrocarbon resources is critical, as these resources are expected to provide a majority of the nation’s energy supply for the foreseeable future.

Support for the Hydrocarbon Science Program comes from the DOE’s Fossil Energy and Hydrate Research Programs, international research organizations such as the Korean Institute of Geosciences and Mineral Resources, and from national and international energy companies.

 

 

Featured Projects

Project

Behavior of Sediments Containing Methane Hydrate, Water and Gas…

Behavior of Sediments Containing Methane Hydrate, Water, and Gas Subjected to Gradients and Changing Conditions   OBJECTIVES The objective of this work is to measure physical, chemical, mechanical, and hydrologic property changes in sediments containing methane hydrate, water, and gas subjected to varying stimuli and conditions such as injection of non-methane gases, effects of sediment…

Project

Numerical and Laboratory Investigations for Maximization of Production from Tight/Shale Oil Reservoirs…

Numerical and Laboratory Investigations for Maximization of Production from Tight/Shale Oil Reservoirs: From Fundamental Studies to Technology Development and Evaluation Gas production from tight gas/shale gas reservoirs over the last decade has met with spectacular success with the advent of advanced reservoir stimulation techniques (mainly hydraulic fracturing), to the extent that shale gas is now…

Project

The Eagle Ford Shale Laboratory (EFSL) Project

The Eagle Ford Shale Laboratory (EFSL) Project The Eagle Ford Shale Laboratory: A Field Study of the Stimulated Reservoir Volume, Detailed Fracture Characteristics, and EOR Potential   OBJECTIVES The ultimate objective of this project is to help improve the effectiveness of shale oil production by providing new scientific knowledge and new monitoring technology for both…

Project

The Hydraulic Fracturing Field Test (HFTS) Project

The Hydraulic Fracturing Field Test (HFTS) project, fielded within the Wolfcamp Formation in the Permian Basin, provides an excellent opportunity to further develop our understanding of the geomechanical response to hydraulic stimulation and associated fluid transport and hydrocarbon production in nano-porous lithologies. The drilling program was designed to elucidate the intra- and inter-well stress interactions…

Program Contacts

David Lee Alumbaugh
Carbon Storage Program Lead;
Hydrocarbon Science Program Lead;
Staff Scientist

Reed Helgens
Program Operations Analyst

News & Events

Algorithm Provides Early Warning System for Tracking Groundwater Contamination

August 13, 2018

Groundwater contamination is increasingly recognized as a widespread environmental problem. The most important course of action often involves long-term monitoring. But what is the most cost-effective way to monitor when the contaminant plumes are large, complex, and long-term, or an unexpected event such as a storm could cause sudden changes in contaminant levels that may…

EESA Scientists Leverage Machine Learning to Connect Measurements of Shale Across Scales

May 2, 2018

  EESA Scientists were able to use the new synchrotron Infrared Nano Spectroscopy (SINS) capability at Advanced Light Source. Above: Diagrams of the setup of (a) the Germanium-hemisphere enhanced attenuated total reflection (Ge micro-ATR) and (b) the resonance enhanced SINS.   Berkeley Lab scientists have identified a way to use machine learning to connect fine-…

Scientists Unveil New Version of Popular Flow-Simulation Tool

March 22, 2018

Scientists from the Energy Geosciences Division at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) have released the latest version of TOUGH (Transport Of Unsaturated Groundwater and Heat), a suite of software codes used worldwide to simulate nonisothermal multiphase flow and transport in fractured and porous media. TOUGH3 builds on the impressive legacy of its TOUGH predecessors, which…

Berkeley Lab Scientists Go Deep Underground to Study Rock Fractures in Geothermal Environments

March 5, 2018

  In February EESA Staff Scientist Tim Kneafsey helped escort leadership from the DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy on a journey 4,850 feet below the ground. They toured Sanford Underground Research Facility (SURF), an old South Dakota gold mine turned testing ground for studying how the process of extracting heat from rocks…

New EESA Study Indicates Greater Capacity for Carbon Storage in the Subsurface

February 6, 2018

New research from the Energy Geosciences Division at Berkeley Lab shows that carbon dioxide can penetrate the inner layers of some non-swelling clay minerals which make up the dominant clays in the Earth’s deep subsurface. Results of the work performed at the Center for Nanoscale Controls on Geologic CO2 (NCGC) and the national lab’s Molecular Foundry could help inform practices intended to help limit carbon dioxide emissions, such as carbon capture and storage (CCS) and enhanced oil recovery (EOR).

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

January 25, 2018

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. Their work is focused on increased recovery from previously fractured wells that were left behind because of low production, and has the potential to foster continued growth in U.S. oil production, but with a much lower environmental footprint.

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