Log in
Newcastle University research on biodegraded petroleum systems has had a number of broad reaching impacts on the oil industry (ExxonMobil, Statoil, Woodside, and Shell), related companies (Permedia) and regulators (Alberta Energy Regulator). A new approach to oil viscosity determination was developed, which directs well-placement in biodegraded oilfields to lower viscosity areas, resulting in improved production of heavy oil. Software tools developed to model oil composition have been incorporated into proprietary in-house, oil company reservoir simulations. A spin-out company was founded, Gushor Inc., which provides services to the heavy oil sector and was recently acquired by Schlumberger. Collectively the research from Newcastle University has saved oil companies hundreds of millions of pounds by avoiding poorly producing viscous zones in biodegraded reservoirs.
The data generated from research undertaken by ERPE has enabled BP to leverage an investment of $125M for full field implementation of Lo-Sal® EOR technology in the Clair Ridge Field, west of Shetland.
This research has provided BP with a step change in understanding of how to maximise oil recovery and production. Low Salinity Water Flooding has been shown to increase oil recovery by an average of ~16% when compared to standard "High Salinity" water flooding. Based on this work, BP made a strategic decision in September 2012 to use Low Salinity Water Flooding as their default position for field development, by adopting this significant development in water-flooding technology.
Since Prof Blunt's appointment as a Professor of Petroleum Engineering at Imperial College in 1999, his Consortium on Pore-Scale Modelling has developed numerical tools to analyse the pore spaces of reservoir rocks, predict multiphase flow properties and determine field-scale impacts on oil recovery. This technology is now exploited by at least two start-up service companies with annual revenue of around $20 million, and is widely employed by major oil companies, leading to better reservoir management and improved oil and gas recovery. Statements submitted from just one company (Kuwait Oil Company, KOC) suggest a benefit of $100 million from efficiency savings and improved recovery in a just single field.
Research by the University of Aberdeen's research group on Stratigraphic Evolution of large Igneous Provinces (StratLIP) has guided the successful development of new oil-producing fields in the North East Atlantic that were previously not in production, aided by an improved understanding of the geological context within which the reserves were discovered. The research has informed every phase of exploration and development by several of the UK's leading energy companies, in one project saving the partners £600m and proving the financial viability of a major oilfield development deemed important to the UK's oil supply. The findings have contributed to an increase in the UK's energy security and the strength of the UK's oil and gas industry, especially in the context of the local economy of Aberdeen, the energy capital of Europe.
Researchers in petroleum geology at the University of Aberdeen have since the mid 1990's been investigating the characteristics and geological context of sand injectites. The geological contexts within which injected sands are discovered have permitted a step change in the production potential in some oil fields (up to c. 1 billion barrels oil), and to define new exploration targets (up to 250 million barrels oil) to make a significant increase to the overall proven reserves of hydrocarbons in any given province (e.g. the North Sea). The findings of this research have been utilised by a number of multinational oil & gas companies to optimise their exploration and field development strategies to maximise the commercial production of hydrocarbons. This case study describes the economic impacts resulting from two projects in particular in the North Sea, the Volund field (Marathon Oil) and the Mariner Field (Statoil) resulting in the enhancement of strategy, operations and management practices; improvements in performance and adoption of new processes; and creation of new employment as a direct result of research facilitating the development of new assets that would otherwise have remained fallow.
Prof. White's research, and the associated computer algorithms he has developed,have played a key role in decision-making in the petroleum industry, particularly as the search for new resources has moved into increasingly hostile and remote regions on deep-water continental margins, where the uncertainty of exploration involves multi- million pound risks. The key to reducing the geological element of that risk is a detailed understanding of the structure and evolution of the thinned crust and lithosphere that underlie these margins. Prof. White's insights, algorithms and methodology are used by hydrocarbon companies, in particular BP Exploration, to predict hydrocarbon potential and to gain access to exploration acreage.
Approximately 70% of the continental margins contain significant volcanic flows, created when continents broke apart. Because large quantities of hydrocarbons may be trapped in sediments beneath the lava flows the ability to image through the basalt layers is of tremendous commercial value. However, these lava flows impede conventional seismic imaging by scattering energy, thus blocking the view of what lies beneath. Professor White and his team developed a technique, based on work in the 1990's, for imaging through the lava flows which differs radically from the conventional commercial approach. Professor White's technique has been widely adopted by the oil industry and has had a dramatic global impact, particularly for companies expanding exploration into deeper waters, including the north-west margin of Europe, the South American coast, particularly off Brazil and the continental margins of India. This approach has now become the norm having been adopted by oil companies globally.
Geological storage of CO2 requires prediction of the fate of stored CO2 for ~ 10,000 years after injection, a period much longer than can be observed in injection experiments or modelled. The only way to directly observe the behaviour of CO2 in crustal reservoirs over such time periods is to study accumulations of natural CO2. This case study developed from research undertaken in the Department of Earth Sciences by Bickle between 2006 and 2011 on one such natural accumulation at Green River, Utah, USA. As a result of this research, Shell Global Solutions International BV, identified Green River as a location where they could evaluate the long-term response of caprocks to CO2accumulations. In 2011 they commenced a major drilling and research program to recover and study caprock, reservoir rocks and fluids. The data we have generated from this work is being used to evaluate large-scale CCS projects including the proposed Goldeneye project in the UK North Sea.
This case study describes the economic impact to sections of the hydrocarbons industry resulting from research into deep water sediment transport and depositional processes. turbidites.org is a multi-institutional, interdisciplinary research platform based at University of Aberdeen, which takes a multi-scale approach to understanding deep-water depositional systems and their significance as a stratigraphic record of long-term environmental change. The resulting research outputs have been applied to deep-water hydrocarbon reservoir prediction.
The University of Liverpool (UoL) has developed novel tamponade agents used to treat retinal detachments. They are modified silicone oils that have an increased extensional viscosity. This makes it easier to inject into the eye by the vitreoretinal surgeons and, experimentally, they have an increased emulsification resistance. This technology has been licenced to Fluoron GmbH who manufacture these products under the name Siluron® 2000 and Siluron® Xtra. Siluron® 2000 has been on the market worldwide since 2008 and used to treat patients providing an impact to health by enhancing the clinical outcome for retinal detachment patients. Siluron® Xtra was launched in July 2013.