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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.
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.
One of the major problems experienced in the oil production industry is the formation of mineral scale deposited downhole within an oil reservoir and topside. The scale creates a blockage causing a detrimental effect to the productivity of the well. ERPE Research in scale management has led to the following impacts in the REF2014 period:
Thermally sensitive polymers are injected into oil reservoirs to increase the recovery of oil. Experimental and theoretical modeling carried out at the BP Institute, University of Cambridge, has led to a new understanding of the behaviour of such polymers and increased their effectiveness in recovering oil, through improved design of the injection, and led to the discovery of a new reservoir monitoring technique to detect their effect on production. Optimising injection of polymer increases well production by over 1000 bbl/day and has generated annual revenues of over $US 300 million. This technology is also being applied to thermal energy storage systems.
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.
Resistivity anomalies resulting from hydrocarbon reservoirs can be located and measured using controlled source electromagnetic (CSEM) techniques. The University of Southampton played a pivotal role in the first full-scale marine CSEM survey over a hydrocarbon target in late 2000. This survey and subsequent work spawned one of the greatest technological advances in the field of oil exploration since the development of 3D seismic techniques. By the end of 2012 over 650 commercial CSEM surveys had been completed worldwide, with annual survey revenues in excess of US$200 million. The University continues to develop impact through consultancy and industry-funded research projects.
Accurate forecasting of oilfield souring is vital for the oil industry. Souring (an increase in concentration of toxic hydrogen sulphide) increases the cost of maintenance and repairs four-fold, and reduces the value of crude oil by up to 20%. Our research led to development of the World's first predictive models for the souring of oil-wells. The implementation of the models in software, commercialised by Rawwater Engineering Limited, provides accurate forecasts and has been validated by major Operators, including BP, Shell and Chevron. Since 2008, twelve different Operators have used the models in souring management, which has led to an estimated cost saving of US$360m since 2008.
Like using glasses to improve eyesight, or the corrective lens of the Hubble telescope, the development of a stable deconvolution algorithm for oil well pressure data has increased the amount of information that can be extracted from well test analyses. The method specifically allows the volume of the reservoir connected to the well to be determined. Several oil and gas companies attest to an increase in their estimates of reserves by more than 20% using deconvolution, with one company indicating a doubling of reserves. The research has led to better design of recovery, better financial planning and more informed investment decisions in the oil and gas industry.
Our research has had a global impact on understanding the tectonic development and fill of rift basins, providing a predictable spatial and temporal template for the distribution of hydrocarbon reservoir rocks. The models are embedded in exploration workflows of global oil companies and have influenced recent exploration success (North and East Africa, Atlantic conjugate margins). Translational research on 3-D rift basin outcrop data capture and resulting software licencing has improved reservoir modelling, optimising positioning of $100m wells. Field-based training for several hundred oil industry staff since 2005 has ensured in-depth knowledge transfer.