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Research performed at the University of Leeds allows the petroleum industry to reduce radically the amount of time that taken to estimate the key properties of tight sandstones containing natural gas. These properties largely determine whether gas fields are economically viable. Tests used in the past have taken between six months and two years to complete; with the Leeds research, results can now be obtained in less than one day — a radical improvement. Industry has used the results to justify drilling new prospects and to improve understanding of the controls on gas and water production in existing fields, which has shaped appraisal and production strategies.
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.
Research on faults and fluid flow led by the University of Leeds has dramatically increased the ability of the petroleum industry to predict the impact of faults on fluid flow in petroleum reservoirs. The work has allowed the industry to reduce the risks associated with the exploration of fault- bounded reservoirs, and to identify areas of un-drained reserves in producing reservoirs. The research has won a series of important industrial and academic awards, and has provided a platform for the growth of Rock Deformation Research, a successful consultancy spin-out company whose turnover rose from £1.93 million in the period 2008-2010 to £4.0 million today.
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.
University of Leeds Research has been used by its specialist Turbidites Research Group (TRG) to underpin consultancy work for oil companies that has, in turn, steered them to make high-value decisions. Examples include an oil well placement, the development of an oil field, and a decision to only partially develop another. The TRG has been funded by 14 oil companies since 1992, and its annual income has risen from £125k/yr prior to 2008 to £380k/yr during the REF period. It is estimated that the cumulative value of oil company decisions based on TRG research exceeds several hundred million dollars. Following the impact, Leeds have replicated the TRG business model to form new specialist industrial research groups that have each generated further impact.
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.
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.
ERPE research led to the following impacts in the REF2014 period:
Research into the quantification and reduction of geological uncertainty has directly resulted in changes to UK government policy relating to the subsurface as a geological resource. Through Prof Shipton's membership of the Royal Society/Royal Academy of Engineering (Joint Academies) expert working group on risks associated with shale gas extraction in the UK, her research has informed the Department of Energy and Climate Change on ways to calculate and mitigate the risk of seismicity and associated undesirable fluid flow. The Joint Academies report resulted in the lifting of the UK Government embargo on fracking in Dec 2012, allowing exploration for shale gas in the UK to resume, with associated economic and societal benefits of an enhanced UK gas resource. Prof Lunn's membership of the UK Government Committee for Radioactive Waste Management (CoRWM) (2008-present) has resulted in her research informing the substantial changes made to the siting policy for UK radioactive waste disposal from February 2013.
UCL's Deep-Water Research Group (DWRG) creates knowledge transfer between research and the hydrocarbon industry. Oil companies use the DWRG's research results to generate improved in-house computer-generated hydrocarbon reservoir models, allowing them to manage, develop and value their reservoirs better. The same companies also use the research to run training courses for employees, including reservoir engineers and managers, leading to improved understanding and more informed decision-making about the management of hydrocarbon reservoirs. Improved management and development of reservoirs ultimately leads to oil companies being able to extract a greater amount of oil.