Spe 163061 JPT

Journal of Petroleum Technology
R&D Grand Challenges series

Sponsored by SPE R&D Committee
Contents
The R&D Grand Challenges series was published in the Journal of Petroleum Technology beginning in
May, 2011.
The SPE R&D Committee shared the results of a committee effort to identify the oil and gas industry’s
major R&D challenges.
The R&D challenges comprise five broad upstream business needs:
• Increasing recovery factors
• In-situ molecular manipulation
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• Carbon capture and sequestration
• Produced water management
• Higher resolution subsurface imaging of hydrocarbons.
May 2011
The Five R&D Grand Challenges Plus One
Arnis Judzis, SPE, Schlumberger; Richard Felder, SPE, consultant; David Curry, SPE, Baker Hughes; and
Bernard Seiller, SPE, Total
July 2011
Recent Developments and Remaining Challenges of Enhanced Oil Recovery
Gary A. Pope, University of Texas at Austin
October 2011
Brine Management: Produced Water and Frac Flowback Brine
David Burnett, Texas A&M University
December 2011
Can Geoscientists Resolve the CCS Paradox?
Tore A. Torp, Statoil
March 2012
Higher Resolution Subsurface Imaging
Jack Neal and Chris Krohn, ExxonMobil Upstream Research
May 2012
Unconventional Resources: Cracking the Hydrocarbon Molecules In Situ
John M. Karanikas, Royal Dutch Shell
June 2012
Grand Challenges for Earth Resources Engineering
R. Lyn Arscott, Charles Fairhurst, and Larry Lake
July 2012
A Roadmap for Addressing Environmental and Social Issues Associated With Horizontal
Drilling and Hydraulic Fracturing
Richard A. Liroff, Executive Director, Investor Environmental Health Network
September 2012
Reviewing the Five R&D Grand Challenges Plus One
Arnis Judzis, SPE, Schlumberger, and Anoop Poddar, SPE, Energy Ventures
Copyright 2011-2012 Society of Petroleum Engineers

The Five R&D Grand Challenges Plus One
Arnis Judzis, SPE, Schlumberger; Richard Felder, SPE, consultant; David Curry, SPE, Baker Hughes; and Bernard Seiller, SPE, Total
Editor’s note: This is the first in a series of articles on the needs within the industry. The white papers will be posted on
great challenges facing the oil and gas industry as outlined the SPE website with the goal of acquainting basic science and

by the SPE R&D Committee. Subsequent articles will exam- R&D groups from both inside and outside our industry with
ine each of the challenges in depth. our technology needs. The papers should provide researchers
with sufficient information to stimulate innovative thoughts
The SPE Research and Development (R&D) Committee and to develop new research project proposals.
would like to share with SPE members the results of a recent
committee effort to identify the oil and gas industry’s major
R&D challenges. Defining these challenges is important
because the committee’s primary goal is to encourage R&D The SPE R&D Committee
and promote dialog between industry and research groups
with the aim of matching industry needs with R&D activi- The SPE R&D Committee is a standing committee with
ties. Another key committee goal is to ensure that R&D capa- the role of promoting R&D that contributes materially
bilities and resources are used most effectively by addressing to the production of energy. In 2002, a task force recom-
the highest priority E&P business needs. mended to the SPE Board of Directors that a committee
The R&D challenges comprise five broad upstream busi- be formed to “identify, encourage, facilitate, and help
ness needs: global R&D activities that will provide needed technol-
• Increasing recovery factors ogy for future use by petroleum engineers.” The mis-
• In-situ molecular manipulation sion of this committee is “to encourage and facilitate
• Carbon capture and sequestration global R&D activities by establishing (1) an ongoing
• Produced water management dialog among industry, government, and academia that
• Higher resolution subsurface imaging of hydrocarbons. will match industry needs with research efforts, (2) a
Increasing recovery factors refers to the need for innova- cooperative framework for development of technol-
tive and cost-effective improved and enhanced oil recovery ogy and a competent work force for the future E&P
(IOR and EOR) and well geometry solutions for maturing industry, and (3) R&D efforts that satisfy the needs of
reservoirs. In-situ molecular manipulation concerns the need industry, governments, and academia in meeting their
for subsurface alteration of fluids or matrix to facilitate the goals for success.”
production of very heavy oil, sour gas, or shale oil/gas while Members of the committee are:
reducing the environmental footprint of production. Carbon Arnis Judzis, Schlumberger, chairman
capture and sequestration focuses on the need for effective Vikas Bhushan, Shell
methods for CO2 storage in subsurface geological struc-
tures. Produced water management refers to the challenge Ian Calder, CMBC
of safely and economically processing increasing volumes of David Curry, Baker Hughes
produced water from mature reservoirs and the opportunity Ali Dogru, Saudi Aramco
to serve growing needs for fresh water with this resource. Alain C. Gringarten, Imperial College
Finally, higher resolution subsurface imaging of hydrocar-
bons concerns the need for more accurate and complete Jaime Jimenez, Shell
imaging of hydrocarbons during exploration, appraisal, field George King, Apache
development, and production. Jenn-Tai Liang, University of Kansas
Each of the five R&D challenges will be described more Kishore Mohanty, University of Texas at Austin
completely in upcoming JPT articles and white papers. With
Anoop Poddar, Energy Ventures
these publications, the authors will explain the scope of the
industry’s current and future technology needs and discuss Krishna Ravi, Halliburton
examples of emerging technologies or new R&D efforts that Bernard Seiller, Total
may improve the current approaches. Our hope is that the arti- Michael Sheppard, Schlumberger
cles will promote further interest and discussion of technology
34 JPT • MAY 2011

Additionally, the committee has identified the environ- The R&D Committee also seeks to increase awareness of
ment as a key overarching area of concern for our industry. It the key R&D challenges through seminars and activities of
must have high priority as we identify the technology needs the SPE R&D Technical Section. The technical section has
and R&D challenges and as we formulate R&D projects that begun holding a series of webinars this year that include
address these challenges. presentations on each of these five grand challenges. The
These major R&D challenges—plus the environment with section operates as an online community to promote
a focus on the environmental footprint of normal operations oilfield research and technology development to foster
and on oil spill prevention and response—also will provide communication and cooperation between providers and
the basis for the technical program at the third SPE R&D users of R&D, and to facilitate R&D efforts to meet the
Symposium, which will be held in Austin, Texas, on 6-8 June industry’s needs. All interested SPE members are welcome
2011. As with the previous symposia, this meeting will bring to join. Information on the R&D Technical Section and

together a broad spectrum of representatives from operators, upcoming webinars can be found at www.spe.org/groups/
service companies, academia, government, and other inter- tech_section.
ested organizations to discuss technology challenges and We hope reader interest will be sparked by the upcoming
possible solutions. To expand the interaction and exchange JPT articles on these R&D challenges, and we welcome any
of ideas with others from outside our industry, the committee comments. We also invite your participation in the webinars
plans to invite leading representatives of basic science profes- being hosted by the R&D Technical Section and encourage
sional societies to the event. The R&D Symposium technical you to attend the R&D Symposium. Your participation is
program and more details on the meeting can be found at valuable because broad intellectual exchange can help us
www.spe.org/events/rdc. achieve our goals. JPT
Arnis Judzis, SPE, is vice president of TerraTek David Curry, SPE, is a Baker Hughes
at Schlumberger Testing Services and leads the Technology Fellow who has more than
business development for worldwide opera- 25 years of experience in drilling-related
tions. He joined TerraTek in 1999 and served research and technology development. An
as executive vice president when Schlumberger SPE Distinguished Member, Curry has been
acquired the company in 2006. Previously technical editor, review chairman, and exec-
Judzis held various management and techni- utive editor of SPE Drilling & Completion.
cal positions in the US and abroad for British He is currently chairman of the SPE R&D
Petroleum after its acquisition of Standard Oil Technical Section, a member of the Books
of Ohio. Judzis has been active in SPE, the American Institute of Development and R&D committees, and of the organizing com-
Chemical Engineers, the Offshore Technology Conference, and the mittee for the SPE 2011 R&D Symposium. He is a fellow of the
Drilling Engineering Association for more than 28 years. He serves Institution of Mechanical Engineers, a professional member of
on the OTC Board of Directors and was chairman during 2006 the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining, and a Chartered
and 2007. He is also a member of the SPE International Board Engineer. He earned a MA in natural sciences and a PhD in fracture
of Directors. Judzis received a BS degree in chemical engineering mechanics, both from the University of Cambridge.
from Cornell University and master’s and PhD degrees in chemical
engineering from the University of Michigan. Bernard Seiller, SPE, is vice president
of research and development at Total. He
Richard Felder, SPE, is a consultant who has held numerous positions of increasing
retired from ExxonMobil Upstream Research responsibility in reservoir engineering since
Company in 2009 after 32 years of service. joining Elf Aquitaine in Gabon, Houston,
His assignments with ExxonMobil covered for- London, and Pau, France. From 1998 to
mation evaluation research, training, research early 2009, he held several technical mana-
management of reservoir description, reservoir gerial positions at Total’s E&P headquarters
engineering, software development research, and was the geoscience reserves manager
and strategic research planning. He is an SPE before taking his current position. From 2001 to 2005, Seiller
Distinguished Member and has been an SPE served on the SPE Oil and Gas Reserves Committee and was chair-
Distinguished Lecturer and Distinguished Author. He previously man in 2003. He served again as a member of that committee from
served as president of the Society of Professional Well Log Analysts. 2006 to 2009. He is 2011 R&D Symposium program co-chairman.
Felder received a BS in physics from Texas A&M University and
master’s and PhD degrees in physics from Rice University.
JPT • MAY 2011 35

Recent Developments and Remaining
Challenges of Enhanced Oil Recovery
Gary A. Pope, University of Texas at Austin
Editor’s note: This is the second in a There has been a renaissance in water increases its viscosity. The benefit
series of articles on the great challeng- chemical EOR during the past few of polymer flooding increases as the oil

es facing the oil and gas industry as years because of major advances in viscosity and/or the reservoir heteroge-
outlined by the SPE R&D Committee. the technology and high oil prices. neity increases. Polyacrylamide copo-
The R&D challenges comprise broad Thermal and miscible gas methods are lymers or hydrolyzed polyacrylamide
upstream business needs: increasing much more mature with the excep- (HPAM) polymers are by far the most
recovery factors, in-situ molecular tion of processes such as co-injection widely used polymer for EOR. Much
manipulation, carbon capture and of gases and surfactants for mobil- higher molecular weight HPAM is now
sequestration, produced water man- ity control. The synergy between the available than when it was first used
agement, higher resolution subsur- EOR processes and improved res- in the 1960s and 1970s. The quality of
face imaging of hydrocarbons, and ervoir characterization and forma- commercial HPAM polymer has also
the environment. The articles in this tion evaluation, reservoir modeling improved dramatically and the price
series are examining each of these and simulation, reservoir manage- relative to crude oil has decreased.
challenges in depth. ment, well technology, production In the early 1970s, oil sold for about
methods, and facilities is significant USD 3/bbl and HPAM polymer for
The world is changing. Some look back and not as widely recognized as it about USD 1.50/lb. Now oil is about
and some look forward. Some look at should be. USD 100/bbl and HPAM stays about
the challenges of ramping up enhanced Polymer flooding is the simplest and the same price.
oil recovery (EOR) in the past and most widely used chemical EOR pro- About 1 to 2 lbs of polymer are
some look at the opportunities for cess. Polymer flooding has been used needed to produce an incremental
doing so now. This article will provide a commercially since the 1960s; more oil barrel of oil, which means the poly-
broad view of recent developments and is produced by polymer flooding than mer cost is about USD 1.50/bbl to
the remaining challenges for readers all of the other chemical EOR process- USD 3/bbl. This helps explain why the
who are not EOR specialists. es combined. Adding polymer to the number of polymer floods is increas-
ing exponentially and about 1 billion
lbs of polymer will be used for EOR
Gary A. Pope, SPE, holds the Texaco Centennial Chair in this year. Most early polymer floods
Petroleum Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin, were done using very small amounts
where he has taught since 1977. He is director of the Center of polymer (i.e., low polymer concen-
for Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering at the University of trations and small pore volumes of
Texas at Austin and also director of the Center for Frontiers in polymer solution), but now we know
Subsurface Energy Security, a Energy Frontier Research Center,
at the US Department of Energy.
polymer floods perform much better
Previously he worked in production research at Shell at large polymer concentration.
Development Company for five years. His teaching and research Incremental oil recovery is on the
are in enhanced oil recovery, geological storage of greenhouse gases, reservoir engi- order of 12% original oil in place
neering, natural gas engineering, and reservoir simulation. He has received numer- (OOIP) when polymer solution is
ous awards including SPE Honorary Member, AIME Environmental Conservation injected for about one pore volume
Distinguished Service Award, Hocott Distinguished Centennial Engineering Research and values as high as 30% OOIP have
Award, SPE IOR Pioneer Award, Lohmann Metal, SPE/AIME Anthony F. Lucas Gold been reported for some field projects.
Medal, SPE John Franklin Carll Award, SPE Distinguished Achievement Award, SPE We have also learned that under some
Distinguished Member Award, and SPE Reservoir Engineering Award. circumstances, HPAM polymer can
Pope earned a BS degree from Oklahoma State University and a PhD from Rice
University, both in chemical engineering. He was elected to the US National Academy
reduce the so-called irreducible oil
of Engineering in 1999 for his contributions to understanding multiphase flow and saturation below its water flood value
transport in porous media and applications of these principles to improved oil recovery and thus further increase oil recovery.
and aquifer remediation. Furthermore, low salinity brine can be
used for the polymer solution with the
JPT • JULY 2011 65

R&D GRAND CHALLENGES
ics of ASP flooding appear to be very

favorable since the chemical costs can
be reduced to as little as USD 10/bbl
of incremental oil produced. However,
conventional ASP flooding is much more
complex than SP flooding, requires oils
that react with the alkali to form soap
in-situ, and the injection brine must
be softened. Incremental oil recoveries
vary widely; when properly designed, it
ranges between 20% and 30% OOIP fol-
lowing mature water floods.
There have been major advances
A polymer injection facility at the Daqing oil field in China. The world’s in both SP and ASP EOR during the
largest polymer flood was implemented at the giant oil field in December past five years. It is hard to overstate
1995. By 2007, 22.3% of total production from the Daqing oil field was the potential impact of these technical

attributed to polymer flooding. advances. Some of the best surfactants
now have a molecular weight 10 times
potential of reducing the irreducible oil cations (such as calcium), HPAM will larger than was previously used and
saturation even more as well as requir- precipitate. Commercial copolymers of the surfactant molecule is much more
ing a lower polymer concentration to acrylamide can be used under such highly branched. These surfactants have
provide the same viscosity. conditions to extend the temperature low adsorption on both sandstones and
It is not surprising that injecting one limit in hard brines to about 100°C. carbonates in part because of the great-
pore volume or more of polymer solu- More expensive copolymers of acryl- er molecular branching. Though they
tion increases oil recovery and profit amide or some more expensive bio- cost about the same per pound as the
because decades of field experience show polymers are stable in hard brines up old surfactants, they can be more than
that profit is increased by continuing to to at least 120°C. The best choice of three times more efficient in terms of
inject carbon dioxide in miscible gas polymer will depend on the brine’s oil recovery per pound of surfactant.
floods and steam in steam drives. The hardness, temperature, polymer cost, Surfactants that perform well in high
benefit of injecting polymer solution reservoir characterisitcs and other fac- salinity brines and at very high tem-
for long periods is often underestimated tors that need to be carefully studied peratures up to at least 120°C are avail-
based on numerical simulations. Water and optimized to reduce risk and cost. able. Both SP and ASP floodings can be
fingers into the more viscous polymer Low permeability is another techni- used to recover oils with a viscosity up
solution when it displaces it. This pro- cal limitation of polymer flooding. The to at least 200 cp. If the surfactants are
cess is difficult to simulate unless very lower limit of permeability depends on added to hot water, then the oil viscos-
small grid blocks are used. the molecular weight distribution of ity range can probably be extended to
It is a myth that HPAM cannot be the polymer and the pore size distribu- 10,000 cp or higher. Remarkably, the
used in high salinity brines, but it is tion of the rock. Usually the limit is on same high-performance anionic sur-
true that more polymer is required to the order of 5 md. A highly successful factants, such as alkyl ether sulfates
achieve a given viscosity as the salin- commercial full field polymer flood developed for sandstone reservoirs, are
ity increases up to about 40,000 ppm was done in a 5 md dolomite reservoir also good choices for carbonate reser-
total dissolved solids. No additional in the 1980s. In general, the econom- voirs. Furthermore, these surfactants
viscosity reduction occurs at still higher ics become unfavorable at such low are of higher purity and quality than
salinities. However, the choice of a suit- permeability because more polymer is those used previously and the inflation
able polymer also depends on the hard- needed to viscosify the water using low adjusted cost has gone down.
ness of the brine and the temperature. molecular weight polymers. In addition to having better surfac-
Under anaerobic conditions, polyacryl- tants at a lower cost relative to crude
amide is thermally stable up to at least Surfactant Polymer Flooding oil, major advances have occurred in
120°C, but it does hydrolyze at a signif- Unlike polymer floods, surfactant poly- how to select the best surfactants, how
icant rate above about 75°C depending mer (SP) flooding was not commercial to test them in the laboratory, and how
on the pH and other variables. In soft when oil prices were low, but many tech- to scale up laboratory data to the field.
brine, this is not a problem and, in fact, nically successful SP pilots were done The primary goal of adding surfactants
the viscosity increases with additional by 1986. Adding alkali to the surfactant to water is to lower the interfacial
hydrolysis. The brine must be softened solution (ASP flooding) reduced the cost tension (IFT) to about 0.001 mN/m.
for alkaline surfactant polymer (ASP) significantly. Several small commercial Essentially all of the oil trapped by cap-
flooding to use a conventional alkali ASP projects were reported in the 1990s. illary forces (residual oil) is displaced
such as sodium carbonate, so HPAM A much smaller amount of surfactant from the pores when the IFT is reduced
polymer can be used in ASP floods even is needed for ASP flooding than for SP to such ultra-low levels. It is of equal or
at high temperature. However, above a flooding. At current prices and under greater importance that the surfactant
certain level of hydrolysis and divalent some reservoir conditions, the econom- solution form a microemulsion with
66 JPT • JULY 2011

0.70 especially complex, but even so there
0.65
are just a few design factors that domi-
0.56 nate its performance.
0.47 Research into altering the wettabil-
0.37
ity of a rock using surfactants has also
been under way for decades. The main
0.28
target is mixed wet or oil wet fractured
0.19 carbonate reservoirs where most of the
0.09 oil remains in the tight matrix. Cationic
surfactants were used in most early
0.00
research because of the positive charge
Fig. 1—Reservoir simulation is needed to scale up the laboratory results on carbonate surfaces. Less expensive
to the field. anionic surfactants have recently been
found to perform as well or better than
low viscosity when it mixes with the the value possible in the oil reservoir, cationic surfactants.
oil in the rock. In practice, we almost then the core flood data are not a good The co-injection of gas with surfactant

always mix several chemicals in what indication of reservoir performance and solutions (SG/ASG) is a new and rapidly
we refer to as a formulation: prima- corrective measurements must be taken evolving option that does not require the
ry surfactant, cosurfactant, cosolvent, to improve the surfactant formulation. use of polymer and thus avoid some of
alkali (for ASP only) and brine of vary- Core floods must be done with a suffi- the limitations of commercial polymers.
ing salinity and hardness (we typically ciently long core and a sufficiently high Research on foams goes back several
add polymer later). Fortunately, there residence time to be able to reliably scale decades, but the differences now are so
is a simple, fast and inexpensive way to them up by more than 100- to 1000- profound that it is probably better to use
observe many chemical mixtures with fold to reservoir well spacing by using a new names for the process rather than
the brine and oil and then select the mechanistic reservoir simulator (Fig. 1). call it foam. The goal is not to make
best one for more detailed testing. We We now have mechanistic chemical highly viscous foam for near well treat-
mix several aqueous solutions of the flood simulators that can be used to ments. The goal of SG/ASG is to pro-
chemicals with the crude oil and visu- design SP/ASP flooding processes and vide mobility control for an ultralow
ally observe the IFT and viscosity from predict performance. The improvements IFT surfactant solution by increasing the
a few hours up to a few weeks until in simulation capability during the past apparent viscosity by a factor similar to
the mixture equilibrates, an approach few years have been continuous and polymer viscosity so the pressure gradi-
we refer to as phase behavior test- highly significant. We also now have a ent will be low and the surfactant will
ing. For surfactant mixtures that form better understanding of what is most transport long distances between wells. A
good microemulsions, we can reliably important to measure and model. And low-quality foam seems to work best for
calculate the IFT from theory using we can do it much faster and more this purpose. Remarkably, most if not all
only equilibrium phase behavior data. accurately than before. We can integrate of the best surfactants for SP/ASP create
This saves tremendous amounts of time the chemical flooding simulation process enough foam in situ to reduce the mobil-
and money and has other advantages. into the project workflow to ensure a ity by the desired factor of about 10.
The surfactant mixture must be formu- more robust design. Decades of labora- Surfactants can also be used with
lated with each crude oil since they are tory and field experience with SP flood- miscible gas flooding EOR such as
all different. With current technology, ing have shown that they are most robust carbon dioxide flooding. New CO2
good results can be found for any crude when the formation salinity is higher soluble surfactants have been devel-
oil, but the surfactant phase behavior than optimum salinity (lowest IFT) and oped that can be injected as a gas
tests must be done and careful observa- the salinity in the polymer drive is lower solution. There are several advantages
tions made to achieve optimum results. than optimum salinity (called a salin- to this approach. For example, if the
Using off-the-shelf surfactants without ity gradient) so that the surfactant goes surfactant is injected as an aqueous
testing will inevitably lead to below through the optimum salinity even if the solution, then the water can segregate
optimum results and maybe failure. reservoir conditions (temperature, pres- because of gravity or heterogeneity or
sure, oil composition e.g. solution gas) both. Segregation reduces its effective-
Solutions in Reservoir Cores are different than expected. ness in controlling the mobility of the
The next step in the laboratory testing One of the biggest challenges of gas and thus decreases its effectiveness
program is to evaluate the SP or ASP applying chemical flooding commer- in improving sweep efficiency and oil
solutions in reservoir cores. The phase cially is to focus on just a few critical recovery. We used the same fundamen-
behavior method is now so effective that issues, such as the salinity gradient, tal scientific understanding of how to
the SP/ASP flood usually reduces the rather than on issues that make almost optimize surfactant molecular structure
final oil saturation to less than 0.03 on no difference with currently available to make new surfactants for CO2 that
the very first try. The most critical mea- high-performance surfactants and poly- was developed by extensive research
surement of any core flood is the pres- mers. The most critical engineering in the 1970s and 1980s for SP flood-
sure drop across each section of the core. design factor by far is the salinity of the ing. In fact, adding surfactant to CO2 is
If the pressure gradient greatly exceeds injected polymer drive. ASP flooding is likely to be the most common way to
JPT • JULY 2011 67

ratory and field measurements followed

by more modeling. In many cases, a sin-
gle well test will be justified to evaluate
injectivity, reduction in oil saturation
and other performance indicators that
can only be assessed with field tests.
When comparing the economics of
different processes, many factors must
also be taken into account. The chemi-
cal methods have the advantage of lower
capital cost than miscible gas and ther-
mal methods, and commercial projects
can start small and be expanded if suc-
cessful without the need for expensive
infrastructure such as a pipeline. On the
other hand, there may be an incentive

to sequester CO2 oil reservoirs at some
locations. Typically it takes about 10 Mcf
of CO2 to recover an incremental bar-
Supplying chemicals for EOR offshore presents special challenges. rel of oil and about half of this gas will
be left in the reservoir at the economic
do CO2 floods in the future. There may heat is used to reduce the oil viscosity. limit. The cost of the CO2 will vary over
be a continuum between these different Polymer flooding has been used up to a wide range depending on the location.
processes in the future. about 1000 cp. Above 1000 cp, con- Large volumes of inexpensive CO2 are
ventional thermal EOR may be the best available in some places such as the
Selection of EOR Process choice unless the reservoir is too deep Permian Basin in the US, whereas CO2
How does an operator decide which or too thin and would cause excessive that must be captured from a power
EOR process to use and when? To pro- heat losses. plant will be very expensive.
vide a satisfactory answer requires an • What is the permeability and poros- So what are the most significant con-
integrated study of the reservoir and its ity and how heterogeneous is the res- straints on any kind of EOR? My guess
characteristics. In many cases, several ervoir? If the permeability is less than is the following in order of importance:
of the EOR methods should be studied 5 md, then polymer, SP and ASP flooding a shortage of experienced engineers
in depth before making a final deci- become much less efficient compared and geoscientists with a fundamental
sion rather than follow conventional with gas flooding processes such as understanding of EOR, uncertainty in
wisdom or simplified screening criteria CO2 flooding and SG/ASG flooding. Of oil prices, and risk aversion due in part
that may be out of date. The choice course the economics of EOR improve to out-of-date knowledge and in part
between carbon dioxide miscible flood- dramatically for all of the processes to the complexity of EOR compared
ing and one of the chemical flooding as permeability, porosity and thickness with more conventional oil recovery.
methods seems difficult in many cases. increase but to different degrees. There are also environmental concerns
A good starting point is to ask some • Are sufficient volumes of CO2 that must be addressed for each pro-
very high-level questions: available or likely to be available at a cess and location. For these and other
• What is the current oil saturation? reasonable cost in the future to flood reasons, it may take many years to
What is the expected residual oil satu- the reservoir? Is the reservoir deep ramp up EOR production to millions
ration after water flooding? The latter enough for the pressure to exceed of barrels per day. The ultimate poten-
is often very uncertain and may require the minimum miscibility pressure tial to increase total light and heavy
special testing such as partitioning trac- for CO2? oil production as both EOR technol-
ers to determine the oil saturation with • Is the reservoir naturally fractured ogy and enabling upstream production
sufficient accuracy for EOR planning and what are the characteristics of the technologies continue to improve is
purposes. If the residual oil saturation fractures? Polymer flooding and sur- likely to be on the order of 1 trillion
is too small, then both CO2 miscible factant imbibition/wettability alteration barrels assuming favorable economic
gas and SP/ASP flooding are unlikely to processes can be used even in some and regulatory conditions exist over
be profitable. On the other hand, poly- highly fractured reservoirs. the next few decades, and the above
mer flooding might still make sense if After these questions are addressed, constraints are fully understood and
the remaining oil saturation is high. then what? The ideal strategy is to use addressed. A much higher priority and
• What is the oil viscosity? CO2 flood- both simplified models and detailed much greater level of effort than cur-
ing becomes very inefficient as the oil reservoir simulation models to explore rently being expended will be required
viscosity increases above about 10 cp the options assuming the process might over the long term to achieve that high
unless surfactant is used to improve be economic. If initial calculations indi- potential. The technology is sound.
sweep efficiency. SP/ASP becomes less cate the process may be profitable, then The need is great. The potential is
efficient above about 200 cp unless there will be a need for additional labo- huge. Let’s get started. JPT
68 JPT • JULY 2011

Brine Management: Produced Water
and Frac Flowback Brine
David Burnett, Texas A&M University
Editor’s note: This is the third in a The world is changing. The transfor- shale plays offer the US more than
series of articles on the great chal- mation from onshore infill drilling and a 400-year supply of this abundant,

lenges facing the oil and gas indus- occasional field extension operations to clean-burning fuel.
try as outlined by the SPE Research the rapid development of super major So why is there a controversy over
and Development (R&D) Committee. gas fields throughout the United States development of these resources? One
The R&D challenges comprise broad is being called the great gas shale revo- issue stands out—the environmental
upstream business needs: increasing lution. This disruptive change is as sig- footprint of unconventional gas devel-
recovery factors, in-situ molecular nificant as the advent of rotary drilling opment. Along with this new aware-
manipulation, carbon capture and in the 19th century. ness of the availability of abundant
sequestration, produced water man- Three issues drive this revolution: energy, the environmental impact of
agement, higher resolution subsur- • The world’s energy needs are energy production is a critical part of
face imaging of hydrocarbons, and increasing at an exponential rate and, the equation.
the environment. The articles in this led by the US and the European Union,
series examine each of these chal- there is a major thrust to move toward Operating Practices
lenges in depth. clean energy. Driven by Technology
• In the US, vast reserves of uncon- Records showed that the first horizon-
White papers covering these chal- ventional gas are technically recover- tal well in Texas was drilled near Texon
lenges are available at www.spe.org/ able within its own boundaries and that in the early 1930s. Some 50 years later,
industry/globalchallenges and allow energy security is one of its benefits. as a result of the industry’s effort to
reader comments and open discussion • Most important, technology to exploit the Austin Chalk, horizon-
of the topics. White papers are cur- access these resources is advancing at tal drilling technology was improved
rently available on the subjects of in- an increasing rate. and finally accepted by the drilling
situ molecular manipulation, increas- Today we are seeing major develop- industry. In the 1980s, most of Texas
ing hydrocarbon recovery factors, and ments—not only the Barnett Shale, production was from conventional oil
carbon capture and sequestration with but also the Fayetteville, Haynesville, and gas reservoirs, dominated then
additional papers to be added in com- Eagle Ford, and Marcellus shales in (and even now) by the Permian Basin.
ing months. North America. Together, these and And water management technology
other developing and prospective gas for conventional exploration and pro-
duction (E&P) operations perhaps
reached its zenith. During this time,
David Burnett is director of technology at the Global horizontal drilling technology used in
Petroleum Research Institute and is the research project coor- central Texas began to be adopted else-
dinator at the Department of Petroleum Engineering at Texas where (e.g. the Bakken Oil Shale) and
A&M University. He is currently the principal investigator and other fields, where vertical wells did
project manager of the research project, “Membrane Treatment not allow production rates sufficient to
Options to Allow Re-Use of Frac Flowback and Produced pay off investments and the numerous
Brine for Gas Shale Resource Development,” funded by the US dry holes.
Department of Energy and the New York State Energy Research In west Texas in the 1980s, opera-
and Development Authority. Burnett served as the managing tors were redirecting their secondary
partner of the US Department of Energy project, “Field Testing of Environmentally
recovery efforts away from the use
Friendly Drilling Systems,” representing a joint partnership among university,
of fresh water in the Ogallala aquifer
industry, and government organizations dedicated to reducing the impact of opera-
tions in environmentally sensitive areas. At the institute, he leads a research team as makeup water for pressure main-
developing advanced membrane filtration technology to reduce wastewater volumes, tenance, and toward CO2 recovery
including flowback fracturing fluids, at rig sites. He received a 2006 Hearst Energy projects. Fresh water was too precious
Award for Technology in the oil industry. and as water/oil ratios crept higher,
there was copious brine to handle in
46 JPT • OCTOBER 2011

trol in these brines varied widely: shows the almost asymptotic growth
enhanced oil recovery (EOR) projects in reserves.
were experiencing injectivity declines; Technology has driven this growth.
isochronal tests measuring wellbore Many of these technology develop-
skins showed large formation dam- ments have been aimed at reducing
age; and operations fought effects of the environmental footprint of drilling
reservoir souring from sulfate-reduc- operations. Multiwell pads for drilling
ing bacteria. Eventually, researchers at are now common. Multilateral well-
Amoco, Texaco, and Chevron labora- bores with more than 20 stage fractures
tories showed the detrimental effect of are being adopted and the record is
excess oil carry-over into formations more than 40 stages. Lightweight drill
and the harmful effects of suspended rigs, top drive rigs, and casing drilling
solids in the waters and the need for have become common.
Fig. 1—Growth in US shale gas re- careful bacterial control. Water use for multistage fracs has
serves, according to Securities and In 1981, the first Barnett Shale risen to more than 10 million gal-
Exchange Commission. well, C.W. Slay No. 1, was drilled by lons. Water is held in large volume-

Mitchell Energy in north Texas. This lined pits or “frac ponds.” The industry
granddaddy shale development took has turned away from frac brine and
practically every field. Reinjection for off 18 years later with the advent of produced brine discharge into public
pressure maintenance and secondary large volume, low-cost slick water waterways and re-use of frac flow back
recovery became widespread. fracs using hydrolyzed polyacrylamide brine is gaining acceptance. Truck traf-
Operators spent their capital on friction reducers, inexpensive cor- fic is reduced by adoption of tempo-
developing infill drilling, reducing rosion inhibitors, and scale control rary surface flow lines for brine trans-
patterns from 160 acres to 80 acres, agents. Early stimulation treatments fer rather than high-volume trucks.
and then 40 acre spacing. Centralized used fresh water from surface water Some companies have gone to 100%
water plants handled produced brine sources, such as municipal water sup- recycling of untreated fracturing fluids
and if oil content was less than about plies, and water transport trucks to despite the industry’s early experience
50 ppm, it was deemed acceptable for bring water to and from well pads. with poor water quality and impaired
injection. Standards for solids con- Frac flowback brines and produced well performance.
waters were trucked to salt water dis-
posal wells. Drilling boomed and esti- Water Management and
mated gas reserves grew from less than Energy Production in 2020
2 Tcf to more than 50 Tcf as gas recov- Energy from natural gas will become the
Online eries went from 1% to 2% in the early
1990s to more than 40% by 2010.
“clean energy” of the US for the fore-
seeable future. Aging coal-fired power
Initial results in Fayetteville shale plants will be replaced by gas-fired facil-
play came in 2004 as Southwestern ities as the US shifts from coal to natural
Energy discovered its economic viabil- gas for electrical power generation. The
ity and was the first company to drill drive to reduce development costs with
and successfully produce its natural better bits, drilling fluids, fracturing
gas. Petrohawk reported early suc- fluids, proppants, etc. will enable wells
cesses in 2008 in the Haynesville to be drilled and completed at lower
Shale. Then came the US Geological overall cost. Well plans will require that
Survey report on technically recover- water management practices specify
able reserves in the Marcellus Shale. clean, solids-free brines. Chemicals used
Drilling activity spread East and the in frac operations will be monitored
E&P industry was transformed in a and frac flowback brines and produced
few years. water will be recycled and contaminant
disposal will be handled by safe envi-
Your daily source for more industry
The Pace of Change ronmental practices.
news, technical information and
Technology changed our industry Finally, our industry will have
coverage on the topics you need
and reversed the decline in US fos- learned its lesson—the lesson that
to know about.
sil energy reserves. The US Energy sound environmental practices are as
Information Administration has fore- essential to operations as safety is in
www.JPTOnline.org cast that the growth of US shale gas the workplace. With those practices,
production is expected to increase we will have the key that ensures sus-
by almost fourfold between 2007 tainable fossil energy production into
and 2020. Recoverable reserves have the 22nd century, able to support an
increased more than 40% in the past increasing standard of living for the
four years to more than 800 Tcf. Fig. 1 world’s population. JPT
48 JPT • OCTOBER 2011

Can Geoscientists Resolve the CCS Paradox?
Tore A. Torp, Statoil
Editor’s note: This is the fourth in a series ronmental organizations say that mak- be split roughly 75%-10%-15% for
of articles on the great challenges facing our energy use more efficient and capture-transport-storage.

ing the oil and gas industry as outlined building enough new renewable ener- In the past, CO2 was captured for
by the SPE Research and Development gy capacity takes too long. We need to industrial use, such as fire extinguish-
(R&D) Committee. The R&D chal- get the CCS working to curb the grow- ers, food packaging, and carbonated
lenges comprise broad upstream busi- ing greenhouse gas emissions if too drinks, and on a larger scale, enhanced
ness needs: increasing recovery factors, large a climate change is to be avoided. oil recovery. There was a customer
in-situ molecular manipulation, carbon CCS consists of three major interde- willing to pay for it. But if the climate
capture and sequestration, produced pendent steps: is the beneficiary, how can CCS be
water management, higher resolution • Capture the carbon, CO2 out of paid for? In Europe, authorities are
subsurface imaging of hydrocarbons, flue gases, either from the stack of a putting a “price” on CO2 emission
and the environment. The articles in power plant or the blast furnace top gas through cap-and-trade or a tax. The
this series examine each of these chal- in iron making. prime emitter has to invest in captur-
lenges in depth. • Transport it by pipeline or ship it ing the emission and paying a com-
White papers covering these chal- underground. pany to store it safely, and a pipeline
lenges are available at www.spe.org/ • Safely keep it in a storage site for company to transport it to storage.
industry/globalchallenges and allow thousands of years. Authorities need to establish rules
reader comments and open discus- The technology for each of these and regulations for the planning and
sion of the topics. White papers are steps has been used for decades in the operation of pipelines and storage sites
currently available on the subjects industry, mostly in oil and gas. The to create equal opportunity for com-
of in-situ molecular manipulation, important change is the scale—from panies to compete and to protect the
increasing hydrocarbon recovery fac- about 100,000 to 1 million metric public against malpractice.
tors, the challenges of reusing pro- tons per year in the past. Today, we This drives the technology in two
duced water, and carbon capture and see the need for handling 10 million directions:
sequestration with additional papers tons in each installation and for per- • Capture cost has to come down.
in coming months. haps several thousand installations. • Storage must be proven safe.
The amount of CO2 produced from Driving down the cost is immedi-
International energy and climate orga- one power station varies from 2 mil- ately obvious since large scale means
nizations have found carbon capture lion to 10 million tons; a modern large cost. This has led industry man-
and storage (CCS) to be a promis- iron-making blast furnace emits up agement and policymakers, all primar-
ing technology to resolve the squeeze to 10 million tons per year. The costs ily concerned about cost, to focus on
between fast-growing global energy of the technologies for a large-scale capture. A way of establishing how the
needs and global warming. Even envi- CO2 handling chain are estimated to technology works and to get a basis for
cost estimations is to build a capture
pilot, capturing about 1 ton of CO2
Tore A. Torp is adviser for CO2 storage at Statoil, leading the per hour. Today, there are 20 to 30
storage part of Statoil’s research and development program capture pilots in operation around the
(R&D) on CO2 capture and storage. He joined Statoil in 1984 world. Why so many, when we know
from the steel industry. Between 1984 and 1996, he led large that a chemical contact tower works
international R&D cooperation projects developing complex almost identical and independent of
offshore field technologies. Since 1997, he has been project the geographical latitude? The low-
manager of Statoil CO2 storage R&D projects. He was vice
cost pipeline transportation, which
chairman of the CSLF Technical Group, and was a lead author
of the IPCC Special Report on Carbon Dioxide Capture and
resembles a natural gas pipeline, is
Storage. He received a PhD in material sciences from Norwegian University of largely forgotten.
Science and Technology. The public, which is concerned pri-
marily about safety, focus on CO2 stor-
30 JPT • DECEMBER 2011

age. Will the CO2 stay subsurface? Will North America. The CO2 will be trans- to trust new, unknown activities in
leaks be dangerous? Will the individ- ported in dense phase (density 0.8 g/cc), our backyard.
ual be compensated for any damage? in contrast to natural gas (density And to move the CCS concept for-
Members of the public can only learn 0.2 g/cc), both at about 80 bar pipe ward for the benefit of the climate, we
how the process works and trust the pressure. All the pipelines will be buried need more CO2 injection pilots. From
storage by seeing it in practice. underground, out of the way of farming a recent experience, a CO2 injection
The industrial storage sites currently and other activities on the ground. pilot handling 10,000 to 100,000 tons
in operation are few and most of them The Intergovernmental Panel on of CO2 can be built, operated, and
are in remote places. A few examples are Climate Change special report on CCS monitored for EUR 10 million to EUR
Sleipner and Snohvit offshore Norway, stated in 2007 that the risks involved 20 million. A capture pilot costs 10
and In Salah in the Algerian Sahara. in handling CO2 is similar to risks times more.
Weyburn-Midale in Saskatchewan, undertaken in the oil and gas industry, The anxiety over CCS can be over-
Canada, looks like an oil field. and may even be safer because CO2 come by CO2 storage pilots that are
A few CO2 storage pilots have been cannot burn. carefully planned and executed in dif-
established: Ketzin outside Berlin, The public needs to be informed ferent geologies and in different coun-
Rousse in southwestern France, and and educated about CCS and CO2. tries. Some proposed projects have won
Otway in southern Australia. Each is Understanding risk is difficult even for approval and some have not. The com-

injecting 1,000 tons of CO2 per year. specialists. We all relate to the conse- panies that succeeded spent much time
A few more are under preparation in quences of risks, not the probability—a and effort explaining to their future
Europe, the United States, and Canada. theoretical number with little relevance neighbors what their plans were and
This disparate focus between capture to most people. Many think that fly- answered many questions. In some
cost and storage safety has led to the ing in a commercial airplane is more cases, the company went “back home”
paradox: Dozens of capture pilots are dangerous than driving a car. Statistics to find the answer for the enquirer.
now in operation compared with a few tell us the opposite is true. We need The next step for CCS implementa-
storage injection sites. Most chemical to see to understand and talk with tion is to build more CO2 storage injec-
processes used for capture behave more project proponents and authorities. We tion pilots. This is an opportunity for
or less identically, whether in China or need to have our questions answered geoscientists in the oil and gas industry
in Germany. Geology, however, is very from the people in charge and to learn to do something for the climate. JPT
specific and different from place to place.
At the same time, there is great dis-
trust shown by some countries against
CO2 storage. Some European countries,
such as Germany and Austria, see diffi-
culty implementing the European CCS
Directive because of political turmoil.
Protests build on many factors, from
legitimate doubts of the future energy
system to a misunderstanding of physi-
cal laws. The common factor is that
most people have limited knowledge
of the underground and how fluids
behave there. The injection of millions
of tons of CO2 would necessarily mean
a large industrial complex.
The reality is that the CO2 will be
delivered by pipelines or shipped to
the storage site. In both cases, it will
be compressed into a dense phase
fluid that flows like water. A million
ton per year can be delivered and
injected through a 150 mm (6-in.)
pipe. The injection site only needs a
wellhead with flow control equipment
and a small building for operating the
monitoring equipment. Controlling the
underground movements of millions of
tons of fluids is the very essence of the
oil and gas industry.
Pipelines carrying CO2 will gener-
ally be smaller than today’s natural gas
pipelines, and criss-crossing Europe and
JPT • DECEMBER 2011 31

Higher Resolution Subsurface Imaging

Jack Neal and Chris Krohn, ExxonMobil Upstream Research
Editor’s note: This is the fifth in a series control points. Selection of the right dep- and depositional bars hold the coars-
of articles on the great challenges facing ositional model, facies distribution, and est sediments with the most porosity
the oil and gas industry as outlined geostatistical analog depends on having while oxbow lakes and floodplain muds

by the SPE Research and Development the sharpest, most detailed and accurate can be seen as potential barriers to flow.
(R&D) Committee. The R&D challenges image of the subsurface possible—the Now imagine that instead of air between
comprise broad upstream business Grand Challenge of Higher Resolution the observer and the geologic feature,
needs: increasing recovery factors, Subsurface Imaging. you must see through countless layers
in-situ molecular manipulation, Over the past century, the industry of rock with complex physical proper-
carbon capture and sequestration, has relentlessly sought ways to improve ties that obscure or muddle your vision
produced water management, higher subsurface imaging of hydrocarbons. of the delta below. Further imagine that
resolution subsurface imaging of Canadian inventor Reginald Fessen- you have a handful of well penetrations
hydrocarbons, and the environment. den first patented the use of the seis- in your delta that stretches over several
The articles in this series examine each mic method to infer geology in 1917. A square kilometers and you want to see
of these challenges in depth. White decade later, Schlumberger lowered an how produced and injected fluids move
papers covering these challenges are electric tool down a borehole in France to between wells.
available at www.spe.org/industry/ record the first well log. Today, advances The industry’s goal is to continuous-
globalchallenges and allow reader in seismic and gravity data acquisition, ly improve the subsurface images needed
comments and open discussion of electromagnetics, signal processing and to better find and produce hydrocarbons
the topics. modeling powered by high-performance in reservoirs such as this. Obstacles to
computing, and the nanotechnology rev- this goal include remote-sensing limita-
olution are at the forefront of improved tions imposed by the physics of the rocks
Introduction reservoir imaging. themselves (e.g. energy attenuation with
It is hard to read road signs if you have In this paper, we will examine the depth, bed thickness and lateral extent
poor eyesight, which is why driver’s challenges of getting higher resolution relative to signal wavelength, and vari-
licenses are issued with restrictions subsurface images of hydrocarbons and able rock velocity and density properties
requiring that corrective lenses must be touch on emerging research trends and that can scatter or complicate input sig-
worn. Likewise, it is hard to find and technologies aimed at delivering a more nal), as well as instrumentation and com-
exploit subsurface resources if you can’t accurate reservoir picture. puting power limits. On top of the tech-
clearly see your targets or monitor the nology challenges, there are economic
movement of fluids in the reservoir. The Problem Statement considerations. If it costs more to acquire
Engineers now have powerful tools Hydrocarbon accumulations occur thou- an advanced dataset than you can hope
to precisely model subsurface reser- sands of feet below the Earth’s surface to recoup from a development, the tech-
voir production behavior, but a precise and the days of finding subsurface hydro- nology might as well not exist. We recog-
answer is still wrong if it is derived from carbons through extrapolation of surface nize that absolute accuracy and precision
an inaccurate subsurface description. geology are all but gone. Now explora- will never be achieved, no matter how
Geoscientists make maps and rock prop- tion is done with remote sensing tools good our technology becomes, since all
erty models of the subsurface by inter- that seek to generate sharper pictures measured data are imperfect. The “grand
preting images that are produced from with greater detail of the lateral and ver- challenge” is to achieve the truly fit-for-
remote sensing data. Analogs from mod- tical changes in subsurface rock layers purpose subsurface image at good eco-
ern depositional environments and out- and sometimes the porosity and pore- nomic value.
crop exposures guide subsurface data filling hydrocarbons we require. If you Research that addresses imaging
interpretation to predict ahead of the bit, have ever seen an aerial photograph of limitations is advancing worldwide on a
then postdrill geostatistics are used to fill a delta, you can imagine what a subsur- dizzying array of technologies, but the
in stratigraphic details between wellbore face reservoir could look like—channels problem is complex. Sometimes the res-
44 JPT • MARCH 2012

ervoir target is undermasking layers of medium highlight not only the challenge part of the challenge. Accurate place-
salt, thrust sheets, or volcanics. It may to achieve higher resolution, but also ment of a target can be even more criti-
be more than 30,000 feet below the sur- concerns on depth conversion. Diffract- cal and correct depth placement is espe-
face, hidden within a producing field, or ed, attenuated, and multiply reflected cially important for exploration drilling
have physical properties that are near- signal energy can result from the com- in areas of overpressure. Increasing com-
ly indistinguishable from surrounding plex physical property structure of rock putational power, multicomponent and
rocks. The problems generated by imag- layers to degrade subsurface imaging, but rich azimuth data collection, and algo-
ing through a complex and unknown a higher resolution of the image is only rithm efficiency are bringing the indus-
try forward toward a more accurate and
detailed Earth model that uses all of the
signals possible in seismology; even bet-
ter seismic data acquisition and process-
ing technologies are needed.

Only a minuscule fraction of the
subsurface can be directly observed: the
portion generally less than 12 inches in
diameter that is penetrated by boreholes.
Directly observed, that is, if cored, oth-
erwise indirectly observed through well
logs. Well logs can sense a short distance
into the formation, depending on the
character of the signal/receiver setup,
but the tradeoff is depth into the forma-
tion at the expense of vertical resolu-
tion. Moving just a few meters away from
the wellbore puts reservoir imaging back
into a remote sensing problem with limi-
tations for our ability to illuminate and
view the region. Generally, sources and
receivers must be placed far away at the
surface and energy propagated a long
distance to the target and back. Corre-
spondingly, there is a large drop in reso-
lution. Compare this situation with the
medical imaging problem, which allows
X-ray sources and detectors to be used
around the patient. In some cases, geo-
physical sources and receivers can be
placed much nearer to the zone of inter-
est along wellbores, but then it like try-
ing to see through a key hole; the source
and receiver locations may or may not
adequately illuminate the region that we
want to image.
Reflection seismology is the most
used remote sensing method in geophys-
ics. Seismic data delineates subsurface
velocity and density variations, but if
rock properties are favorable, they can be
used to distinguish hydrocarbons versus
formation water in a reservoir. Repeated
3D surveys over the same area can track
fluid movement through time (4D). How-
ever, 4D surveying has its challenges:

topic for research and development. The

understanding of these rocks as reser-
voirs is still in its infancy compared with
conventional reservoirs. Therefore, addi-
tional research into resolving controls
on unconventional resource producibil-
ity remains a challenge.
Reflection Seismology
What progress is being made toward
delivering more accurate and higher res-
olution subsurface images? Seismology
has earth physics challenges to overcome.

Signals sent into the ground are reflected,
refracted, diffracted, mode converted,
and attenuated as they pass through lay-
ers of the earth. At greater depth, signal
attenuation reduces resolution. Under
Fig. 1—Processing speed in flops (floating point operations per complex geology, distortion of the wave-
second) through time of the top 500 published computers and the field can give false images. The past few
sum total global capacity. years have seen a flurry of innovation
and image improvement, due largely to
time to acquire, process, and accurately has not reached broad application. There advances in computing speed, which con-
align with past surveys, limits in coverage is a great need for improved technolo- tinues to follow Moore’s Law by averaging
caused by production facilities, and lim- gies that image reservoirs and pore-fill- a doubling of processing speed every year
its in resolution due to earth physics and ing fluids at high resolution within pro- up to the current record holder that is
illumination. Furthermore, it is costly. ducing fields while operating within the capable of 8 petaflops (8 quadrillion cal-
Emerging technology of cross-well constraints imposed by the environment. culations per second—Fig. 1) processing.
geophysical imaging offers to bridge the With the growth of unconvention- What all that computing power allows is
gap between high resolution well logs and al resources that require stimulation to the mathematical transformation of 10s
surface seismic resolution, but the tech- produce at economic rates, imaging of to 100s of terabytes of data recorded in a
nology has significant limitations and the stimulation itself has become a hot modern survey into images that geoscien-
tists can interpret.
The processing capability increase
has occurred in parallel with data
recording advancements such as multi-
component and high effort, multi-azi-
muth surveys now common in areas of
the greatest imaging challenges such
as the Gulf of Mexico sub-salt plays.
Enabling this type of data-rich survey is
instrumentation to record an increas-
ing number of channels, a capability that
has doubled every three and one-half
years since 1970, with 1 million channel
acquisition in the near future. These new
acquisition capabilities seek to illumi-
nate geology previously hidden by com-
Fig. 2—Dual coil shooting acquisition. Left, two source and recording
plex rock structure. Additionally, data
vessels, S1 and S2, sail along two circles (12–15 km in diameter) that recorded at far offset angles and azi-
have the centers separated by dx and dy distances. Right, coverage muths, capturing shear waves in addi-
fold (data density) and bin offset-azimuth distribution (spider tion to compressional waves, can pro-
diagram—data richness); the bin size used to calculate the attributes vide information on rock anisotropy
was 25 m×25 m (Moldoveanu and Kapoor, 2009) that may be driven by differences in

lithology, fracture density, or pore flu- up recently with increased high-per- ciency in acquiring high-density surveys
ids. Greater recording capabilities have formance computing, instrumentation (Beasley, 2008), now extended into the
led to new methods of acquisition and with greater recording channel counts, marine realm. With new dual coil acqui-
processing aimed at capturing a broad- increased multicomponent data acquisi- sition surveys, very high data fold and
er range of frequencies (bandwidth) of tion demand, and the constant pressure full azimuth coverage can be achieved
seismic signal, without introducing too on cost reduction. Data collection from (Fig. 2) to better stack and migrate seis-
much noise. Increased bandwidth is a simultaneous source locations has the mic data, improve signal-to-noise ratio
key to higher resolution seismic reflec- potential to significantly increase effi- and resulting image quality, and it can be
tion images.
The current frontier for seismic
Visit us at OTC
acquisition includes cableless and wire-
less recording, high-density rich-azi- Arena B
Booth 811
8115
muth recording with simultaneous

sources, higher quality land seismic, and
low frequency signals. Both cableless
and wireless recording are very attrac-
tive concepts, enabling easier and safer
seismic data acquisition in remote or
sensitive environments. Cableless sys-
tems with local memory are commer-
cially available, but the data cannot be
collected in real time. Although not yet
ready to be deployed at large commercial
scale (Crice, 2011), wireless sensors are
promising. Success will come if the lim-
itations of wireless transmission band-
width needed to accommodate seismic
data recording rates and volumes can
be overcome, and if recording and real-
time QC objectives can be met through
advances in memory and battery power.
Several contractor groups are promot-
ing this technology, including a Shell/
HP partnership
Higher quality land seismic data is
the focus of the 2011-2014 SEAM II proj-
ect (Society of Exploration Geophysicists
Advanced Modeling), an industry asso-
ciate group targeting three core chal-
lenges: high density geometries, near
surface complexities, and fractured res-
ervoir characterization (www.seg.org/
SEAM). A key enabling technology for
better land seismic data is simultane-
ous sourcing, which is the capabili-
ty to acquire returning signal from one
source while another is still propagat-
ing through the earth. Mobil developed
and licensed a High Fidelity Vibroseis
System (HFVS) in the late 1990s to sepa-
rate data from multiple vibrators operat-
ing simultaneously (Krohn and Johnson,
2006). Although the concept is not new,
widespread application has only picked
JPT • MARCH 2012 49


Fig. 3—An east-west line image of a 3-D data set in the Gulf of Mexico: (a) Kirchoff migration and (b) RTM
(Kim et al., 2011)
made even more cost-effective by using is seismic modeling, in which geolog- is acoustic RTM or isotropic elastic RTM,
simultaneous sources. ic realizations are converted into seis- using a simplified version of the wave
Low-frequency data has been a tar- mic images by passing a seismic signal equation. Elastic RTM without isotropic
get for processors seeking greater band- of some frequency through the geologic assumptions is emerging with increas-
width for years. This low-frequency model. Inversion modeling can be done ing computing power to include more of
extension of bandwidth is particularly at many scales and with different lev- the wavefield in image reconstructions,
important in its ability to penetrate deep- els of conditioning. Quantitative rock promising even more imaging improve-
er into the earth and through rugose lay- property inversion can be done at a field ment. Inverting for an earth model that
ers such as basalt, salt and volcanics. scale with well log calibration of the seis- matches the recorded data takes massive
Also, a body of work exists to suggest mic signal. Of interest to engineers are computing power and could be limited in
low-frequency signals and spectral anal- parameters such as porosity and per- effectiveness without the fullest possible
ysis as a direct hydrocarbon indicator meability that must be derived through bandwidth, especially the low-frequency
(DHI) tool (Walker, 2008). Challenges to calibrated transforms using well data or spectrum. RTM data has demonstrated
acquire this data type lie in the need for empirical approximations. A good inver- improved sub-salt imaging, but it cannot
nonstandard sources, including passive sion produces a geologic realization that solve all the subsurface resolution and
monitoring of earthquake signals, and matches the recorded seismic signal. Full detection challenges such as fluid effect,
increasing signal-to-noise ratios. Gen- wavefield inversion is the purest form subvolcanics imaging, and complicated
erating sufficient low-frequency signal of the technique. In it, all output data velocity thin bed imaging.
energy requires very large sources. The collected from the reflected, refracted,
presence of much larger environmen- diffracted and converted energy modes Imaging Within a Field
tal noise and surface-wave noise further are used to create a visco-elastic earth Time-lapse (4D) acquisition of seismic
complicates low-frequency data acqui- model. Currently, this capability is out of data over a producing field to image
sition. Low-frequency data may ulti- reach despite marketing claims of “full movement of fluids in a reservoir has
mately become another competitive DHI wavefield inversion,” which really invert obvious benefits, but the practical mat-
tool; even if not, the collection of this parts of the wavefield using simplifying ters of actually achieving that objective
data may be a key to the next break- assumptions. Still, amazing results have have slowed deployment of the technol-
through in subsurface imaging—full been achieved by partially solving the ogy. In a recent special section of The
wavefield inversion. problem, thus showing the promise of Leading Edge, case studies presented
Full wavefield and general seis- the technique. show the promise and challenges to 4D
mic inversion is the other aspect of Reverse time migration (RTM) is a seismic data acquisition as it evolved
improved subsurface resolution that processing technique that uses the wave over the past 20 years to gain wide accep-
increased computing power enables. equation in reverse to model the subsur- tance in the marine environment, partic-
Seismic inversion is the process to con- face velocity field and obtain improved ularly among the reservoir engineering
vert seismic data into a rock property images of geology at steep dips or under community as a complement to produc-
realization. The flip side of this process salt (Fig. 3). Current industry capability tion logging techniques (MacBeth and

4-D seismic anomalies show
anisotropic trends
Fig. 4—Effect of 4D seismic interpretation at Marlim field, offshore Brazil, on the field flow model. New 4D
data water flood anomalies confirmed a new conceptual sedimentological model of the field that differed
from the flow model constructed just from well data (Johan et al, 2011)
Michelena, 2011). Planning early in field Alternatives to Surface Seismic veillance in the giant field (Ferguson et
development for 4D seismic acquisition Not all technologies targeted to improve al., 2008). This work highlighted the
over the field life is beneficial because subsurface resolution of hydrocarbons challenges to achieving a reliable base-
repeat surveys take significant time to involve traditional reflection seismol- line for corrected measurements, but
acquire, process, and accurately align ogy. Advances in field instrumentation also showed the technology feasibility.
with past surveys. Permanent geophones sensitivity and robustness combined Modeling work to track CO2 injection for
or ocean-bottom cable options help with improvements to computer mod- sequestration and enhanced oil recov-
some of the alignment challenges and eling capabilities have brought several ery shows a time-lapse microgravity sig-
can produce a better result. The upfront alternative geophysical sensing technol- nal when oil and water are displaced,
cost of this investment is a difficult hur- ogies onto a higher resolution hydro- consistent with an independent analy-
dle for many operators to overcome. It is carbon imaging plane. Micrograv- sis with seismic data (Krahenbuhl et al.,
hard to quantify before production start ity, crosswell seismic, and controlled 2011). High-quality reservoir models,
just how much benefit 4D images will source electromagnetic (CSEM) imaging precise measurement, and careful quan-
have over a field’s life. The one constant are alternative geophysical technologies tification of uncertainty are required
of 4D acquisition seems to be that the that have been used in field examples to gain full benefit from time-lapse
results will surprise you. Repeat survey to track fluid movement in reservoirs. microgravity but the low cost makes the
results continually change flow models Time-lapse microgravity technology effort worthwhile.
to drive better field production history shows promise as a low-cost alternative Crosswell CSEM was described as a
matches, which improve predictability to 4D seismic for shallow reservoirs as practical subsurface hydrocarbon detec-
and bypassed pay identification (Johan instrumentation and modeling capabili- tion tool by Wilt et al. in 1995. As instru-
et al., 2011). If the data are collected ties improve (Krahenbuhl et al., 2011). mentation and modeling capabilities
and processed correctly, those surprises This technique was meticulously applied have improved, the technology moved
should help an operator to more profit- over Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, for a period from basic detection to potentially pro-
ably develop fields, even if they dramati- from 2003 to 2007 to confirm a micro- viding higher resolution imaging of sub-
cally change the existing understanding. gravity signal to enable water flood sur- surface fluid movement. By inducing

ponent or azimuthal seismic data can

identify anisotropy that may be related
to fracture density and orientation. Such
knowledge is useful in well stimulation
frac design or to avoid areas where frac-
tures may have connected aquifers to
tight gas reservoir. Multicomponent and
azimuthal seismic also has the potential
to identify areas of greater organic con-
tent since organics in shale have been
demonstrated to produce a transverse
anisotropy that can impact Vp and Vs
and produce an amplitude versus offset

effect (Vernik and Nur, 1992).
Microseismic data acquisition tech-
nology records seismic energy generat-
ed from rocks breaking in the subsurface
Fig. 5—Crosswell resistivity profile after steam injection, recording
as a result of induced fracture stimu-
a dramatic drop in resistivity once the formation has been heated
(Marion et al., 2011)
lation in a well. Data from the record-
ing of microseismic events can be used
an electrical signal into the ground and Austin, seeks to “develop intelligent sub- to predict a well’s relative productivity
recording resistance between source and surface micro and nanosensors that can or identify incomplete stimulation and
recorder locations, the technology pro- be injected into oil and gas reservoirs infill opportunities. In new shale gas
vides insight, through advanced mod- to help characterize the space in three plays where the geomechanics of the
eling, into the distribution of resistive dimensions and improve the recovery of shale reservoir are unknown, microseis-
hydrocarbons and conductive formation existing and new hydrocarbon resources” mic is now routinely collected to deter-
waters. With source and receiver pairs at (www.beg.utexas.edu/aec/mission.php). mine play potential and to confirm iso-
reservoir depth between two wells, the Conceptually, nanomaterials can be used lation from adjacent aquifer zones. In
resistance structure can indicate reser- as highly mobile contrast agents that established plays, the technology can
voir complexity at higher resolution than can be detected with remote sensing. help optimize lease development by
surface remote sensing methods such as If imbued with intelligent sensing and identifying refrac needs or calibrate well
seismic data. Crosswell seismic acqui- recording capabilities themselves, nano- drainage to space infill drilling more
sition can also offer resolution uplift meter-scale machines may one day fully efficiently and avoid interference. New
although challenges of cost and con- illuminate and describe subsurface res- insight into the nature of fracture stimu-
ditions for downhole sources remain, ervoir conditions. Research to achieve lations is now emerging with microseis-
and similar results might be obtainable these goals is under way today, even if mic moment tensor data recording that
through offset vertical seismic profiling. commercial application is a long distance combines with geomechanical analysis
While CSEM can produce unique insight into the future. The promise of higher to produce a clearer picture of stimu-
under the right circumstances, there resolution subsurface imaging through lated rock volume and ultimately assist
are challenges to overcome in modeling functionalized nanocomposite materials unconventional reservoir model simula-
non-unique solutions to resistivity pro- injection into reservoirs for remote sens- tions (Maxwell and Cipolla, 2011).
files and finding a solution to the limita- ing is one to watch.
tion that data be collected in openhole or Conclusion
specially cased wells. If these hurdles can Imaging Unconventionals Higher resolution subsurface imaging
be surmounted, crosswell CSEM could No overview of higher resolution subsur- of hydrocarbons is one of SPE’s Grand
become a powerful tool in brownfield face imaging would be complete these Challenges for a good reason. As long
developments to identify bypassed pay days without a discussion of uncon- as the industry has sought to find and
and image waterflood sweep efficiency. ventional resources, namely tight gas exploit subsurface resources, it has
Nanotechnology is at the cutting and shale gas/liquids. These resources sought to see them better. The challenge
edge of technology for higher resolu- have distinct imaging needs. For exam- is difficult. We are largely restricted to
tion reservoir imaging with fundamental ple, natural fracture imaging in the sub- source and receiver locations on the
research ongoing at many universities. surface is sought to determine geologic surface of the earth, trying to illuminate
The Advanced Energy Consortium (AEC), sweet spots or areas to avoid, depending deep targets and resolve images through
managed from the University of Texas at on your play success needs. Multicom- a complex and unknown medium.

The good news is that much progress References Wilt, M.J., Alumbaugh, D.L., Morrison, H.F.,
is being made to improve our capabilities Crice, D., 2011. Emerging market for seismic Becker, A., Lee, K.H. and Deszcz-Pan, M.,
and data coverage. Seismic data covers acquisition systems without cables still has 1995. Crosswell electromagnetic tomo-
much of the planet, with more and high- problems to solve, First Break, v. 29, pp graphy: System design considerations and
er quality 3D and 4D data each year. 81–84. field results, Geophysics, v. 60, pp. 871–885.
Advanced computing capabilities permit Johann, P., Abreu, C.E., Grochau, M., and Marion, B., Safdar, M., Wilt, M., Zhang, P.,
construction of more detailed inversion Thedy, E., Advanced Seismic Imag- Loh, F. and Nalonnil, A., 2011. Crosswell
models from the collection of high-qual- ing Impacting Brazilian Offshore Bra- Technologies: New Solutions for Enhanced
ity datasets. Improved acquisition tech- zil Fields Development, http://dx.doi. Reservoir Surveillance, Paper SPE 144271
nology is gathering new data in places org/10.4043/21934-MS presented at the presented at the SPE Enhanced Oil Recov-
and ways previously beyond reach. New Offshore Technology Conference, 2–5 May ery Conference, 19–21 July 2011, Kuala
nanotechnologies offer great potential 2011, Houston, Texas. Lumpur, Malaysia.
for improved subsurface imaging with Kim, Y.C., Ji, J., Yoon, K.J., Wang, B., Li, Z. Krahenbuhl, R., Li, Y. and Davis, T., 2011.

advances in the fundamental sciences, and Xu, W., 2011. SS: The Future of Seismic Understanding the applications and limi-
but this potential remains a distant real- Imaging; Reverse Time Migration and Full tations of time-lapse gravity for reservoir
ity. The “bad” news is that earth physics Wavefield Inversion—Multi-step Reverse monitoring, The Leading Edge, Vol. 30, No.
complications will mean that improve- Time Migration, DOI 10.4043/19875-MS 9, 1060–1068.
ments can always be made, which trans- presented at the Offshore Technology Con- Ferguson, J., Klopping, F., Chen, T., Seibert, J.,
lates into job security for scientists ference, 2–5 May 2011, Houston, Texas. Hare, J., and Brady, J., 2008. The 4D micro-
and engineers. JPT Beasley, C., 2008, A new look at marine simul- gravity method for waterflood surveillance:
taneous sources, The Leading Edge, Vol- Part 3—4D absolute microgravity surveys
Acknowledgements ume 27, Issue 7, pp. 914–917. at Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, Geophysics, Vol.
Thanks to Anoop Podor as Imaging White Moldoveanu, N. and Kapoor, J., 2009. What 73, No. 6, pp. WA163-WA171.
Paper project coordinator and to Arnis is the next step after WAZ for explora- Vernik, L. and Nur, A., 1992. Ultrasonic
Judzis on the SPE R&D Committee for tion in the Gulf of Mexico? SEG Expand- velocity and anisotropy of hydrocarbon
bringing this effort together. Thanks ed Abstracts 28, International Exposition source rocks, Geophysics, Vol. 57, No. 5,
also to co-chairs in the SPE R&D Sym- and Annual Meeting 41, Houston 2009, pp. 727–735.
posium Imaging Session, Carlos Abreu 41–45. http://dx.doi.org/10.1190/1.3255750 Walker, D., 2008, Recent developments in low
and Michel Dietrich, along with speak- Krohn, C. and Johnson, M., 2006. HFVSTM: frequency spectral analysis of passive seis-
ers Craig Beasley, Wafik Beydoun, Phil- Enhanced data quality through technology mic data, First Break, Vol. 26, 69–78.
lipe Doyen, Sergey Fomel, Alex Martinez, integration. Geophysics, v. 71, no. 2, pp. E13– Maxwell, S. and Cipolla, C., 2011. What Does
Martin Poitzsch, and Michael Wilt for E23 http://dx.doi.org/10.1190/1.2187730 Microseismicity Tell Us About Hydraulic
enlightening presentations. Helpful edits MacBeth, C. and Michelena, R., 2011, Intro- Fracturing? Paper SPE 146932 presented at
were made by Kate Baker, Craig Beasley, duction to this special section: Time-lapse the SPE Annual Technical Conference and
Len Srnka, Alex Martinez, Sam Perkins, measurements, The Leading Edge, Vol. 30, Exhibition, 30 October–2 November, Den-
and Gavin Wall. No. 9, pp. 1006–1007. ver, Colorado.
Jack E. Neal is the strategic technology capabilities. He has published on Society of Exploration Geophysics
advisor at ExxonMobil Upstream geology and geophysical integration (SEG) Research Committee. As part
Research. He is a member of the SPE in many environments, including the of the committee, she has organized
R&D Committee and co-chaired the current SEPM best-seller, Concepts several research workshops and
imaging session of the 2011 SPE R&D in Sedimentology and Paleontology given keynote speeches. During her
Symposium from which this white #9, “Sequence Stratigraphy of career, she has worked and published
paper grew. He has worked globally in Siliciclastic Systems: The ExxonMobil extensively in diverse areas such as
research, exploration, development, Methodology”. Neal received a BSc seismic acquisition, receiver coupling,
and production assignments with from the University of Tulsa and a rock physics, near surface geophysics,
Exxon and ExxonMobil since 1994. PhD. from Rice University in geology crosshole seismic, 3D VSPs, first arrival
His current role at ExxonMobil and geophysics. and surface wave tomography, seismic
is to interface between research, noise mitigation, vibroseis, and seismic
operations and external parties to Christine E. Krohn is a senior research inversion. Krohn received a BSc. from
develop technology strategies and associate at ExxonMobil Upstream Emory University and a PhD from
communicate differentiating technical Research and the current chair of the University of Texas at Austin in physics.

Unconventional Resources: Cracking

the Hydrocarbon Molecules In Situ
John M. Karanikas, Royal Dutch Shell
Editor’s note: This is the sixth in

a series of articles on the great
challenges facing the oil and gas

industry as outlined by the SPE
Research and Development (R&D)
Committee. The R&D challenges
comprise broad upstream business
needs: increasing recovery factors,
in-situ molecular manipulation,
carbon capture and sequestration,
produced water management, higher
resolution subsurface imaging of
hydrocarbons, and the environment.
The articles in this series examine each
of these challenges in depth. White
papers covering these challenges are
available at www.spe.org/industry/ 100 billion BOE Extra-heavy oil and bitumen Oil shale
globalchallenges and allow reader
Source: Modified from Oil Shales of the World: Their Origin, Occurrence, and Exploitation.
comments and open discussion of
the topics. Fig. 1—Unconventional resources around the world. Copyright Royal
Dutch Shell.
Discoveries of accumulations of light oil shale, it is the only realistic recovery to 80% of the oil sands in Alberta are
crude oil are dwindling, and known option. There are three approaches by deposited at intervals that are too deep
resources are increasingly concentrated which in-situ manipulation of molecules (deeper than 60 m) to mine economical-
in areas that are predominantly acces- can be accomplished: biological, chemi- ly, and the same holds true for the richest
sible by state-owned or state-affiliated cal, and thermal. Although this article and thickest sections of oil shale (deeper
energy companies. As a result, the qual- focuses on the thermal route, it should than 1,000 ft). Ever-increasing concerns
ity of (conventional) crude oil—partic- be noted that hybrid recovery meth- about the environmental impact of min-
ularly oil sourced from non-OPEC res- ods may be more effective in satisfying ing (soil removal, tailings ponds, etc.)
ervoirs—has been declining. The trend the requirement to maximize economic provide additional incentives toward the
is bound to accelerate as unconvention- value while minimizing water consump- use of in-situ recovery methods.
al hydrocarbons such as bitumen are tion, emissions, and land usage.
brought into production to satisfy the The oil sands of Alberta, Canada, Steam Injection
world’s energy demand, which is expect- and the oil shale deposits in Colorado Steam-based recovery methods such
ed to increase by slightly less than 50% contain volumes of hydrocarbons that as cyclic steam stimulation (CSS) and
in the next 20 years. are at least comparable to the conven- steam-assisted gravity drainage (SAGD)
Because the recovery and surface tional oil resources in the Middle East are practically the only commercial in-
processing of these heavier molecules (Fig. 1). Extraction by open pit mining is situ recovery methods in oil sands; their
is more difficult, it is appropriate to ask the dominant recovery method for com- applicability in oil shale deposits is ques-
whether a portion of the surface pro- mercial exploitation of the oil sands and tionable. The operating steam satura-
cessing can be performed downhole (in is the only commercially practiced recov- tion temperature is 200°C to 325°C, cor-
situ). In fact, in the case of deeper-lying ery method for oil shale. However, 70% responding to the operating pressure,
68 JPT • MAY 2012

which is dictated by the depth of the only a few centipoise at temperatures The lighter cuts generated in the
resource. Deeper targets can sustain in the range of 200°C to 250°C, so it can section of the steamed volume that
higher pressures—and therefore high- flow to the production well without suf- reached visbreaking temperatures
er steam temperatures—but heat loss- ficient exposure to visbreaking. spread through the cooler parts, mix with
es in the overburden section limit the The benefit of in-situ visbreaking the unaltered oil, and reduce its viscos-
amount of enthalpy that is deposited in can be gleaned from reservoir simula- ity sufficiently to facilitate its sweep to
the reservoir. tions for deeper targets in which the the production well. The benefit of mix-
Laboratory data show that when the production wells could be operated at ing a small volume of in-situ-generated
crude oil is subjected to temperatures in sufficiently high bottomhole pressures lighter products of thermal cracking with
the upper third (280°C to 325°C) of the to ensure that the bulk of the reservoir extra-heavy oil can also be assessed by
operating range, its viscosity undergoes achieves visbreaking temperatures while analogy from the results of steam/sol-
an irreversible reduction of up to three the hydrocarbons are subjected to long vent coinjection at Cold Lake in Alberta,
orders of magnitude while its API grav- residence times. At a cutoff point of Canada, where gains of about 30% in

ity rises by 10°API; the detection of bio- t=35 years, the recovery efficiency can recovery efficiency and in energy balance
markers corroborates its chemical alter- increase from about 25% to 40% and (oil/steam ratio) are reported for solvent/
ation. This process is called visbreaking the oil API gravity can increase by 10°API, steam ratios of less than 10%.
(viscosity breaking) and has been stud- with only about 10% of the heavy oil ini- However, given the higher operat-
ied thoroughly because it is applied in tially in place having cracked to lighter ing pressures and the delay in produc-
refining operations. Field data from fractions. This disproportionate benefit tion required for the in-situ generation
steam-based projects, however, indicate can be attributed, to a large extent, to of solvent, the economic benefit may
that in-situ modification is practically the nonlinear impact of lighter hydrocar- not be as robust. Thus, it is seen that
absent. This may be because the viscosi- bons in diluting (reducing the viscosity in-situ molecular modifications are a
ty of unaltered extra-heavy oil is already of) heavy crude. beneficial side effect in a steam-based
© 2012 Halliburton. All Rights Reserved.

recovery method, but they are not one times at lower temperatures, whereas, potentially capital intensive, guarantees
of the essential drivers. The opposite in a coker unit, the feedstock is subject- heat delivery and minimizes time to
is true for thermal-conduction-based ed to short residence times at higher convert/upgrade and to first production.
recovery methods. temperatures. In either application of ◗ Heat propagation: Unlike steam
thermal conduction, the in-situ modifi- recovery methods that rely on heat
Thermal Conduction cation is achieved by carbon rejection, propagation mainly via mass transfer,
Thermal-conduction-based recovery so resources that are already poor in in a thermal-conduction-treated reser-
methods are still in the development hydrogen (e.g., atomic H/C≤1.4) are voir, heat is transferred predominantly
phase. Thermal conduction in oil shale not likely to be economically attractive. via conduction, which mitigates against
could be described as the artificial accel- The alternate route—hydrogen addi- reservoir effects such as discontinuities
eration of the natural, prolonged mat- tion—has been proven in the laborato- and heterogeneities and results in a very
uration of immature source rock into ry and has been assessed by numerical efficient thermal sweep.
hydrocarbon fluids. The source rock simulations but has not been proven in ◗ Vapor phase flow: Owing to its

contains kerogen, preferably Type I or the field. operating temperature regime, the
II, although the process has also been From a reservoir engineering per- products (modified molecules) in the
field-tested successfully in coal (Type spective, a thermal-conduction-based subsurface exist mostly in the vapor
III kerogen). recovery method has the following phase. Thus, recovery is less vulner-
Thermal conduction in oil sands characteristics: able to subsurface complexities such as
could be described as the downhole ◗ Heat delivery: To ensure maxi- reservoir connectivity that can impact
implementation of delayed coking in mal reservoir contact, tightly spaced performance in steam-based recovery
a refinery that processes heavy crudes heater wells—either vertical or hori- processes, where subsurface transport
into lighter hydrocarbons, except that zontal—are used to deliver heat directly of hydrocarbons occurs primarily in the
in-situ upgrading entails long residence to the reservoir. This approach, while liquid phase.
◗ Self-generated drive mechanism: of (heating period)×(heater well spac-

The most important differentiating ing)2. Thus, after taking into account
characteristic of the thermal recovery temperature-dependent effects such as
methods is the significant capacity to heat of vaporization and heat losses,
self-generate a reservoir drive mecha- the bulk of the reservoir can reach in-
nism via bitumen expansion and gas situ modification conditions in slightly
evolution. Both mechanisms drive the more than 3 years at 30-ft spacing and
heavier fractions of the products and in about 8 years at 45-ft spacing.
any unconverted material toward the
production wells. Vapor Phase Flow. The end state of a
These characteristics are discussed reservoir that has been treated by ther-
below. mal conduction is characterized by Fig. 2—Heat delivery. Copyright
T∼325°C, P∼7 atm, and its pore volume Royal Dutch Shell.

Heat Delivery. There is, in principle, is filled by a mixture of steam, hydrocar-
no limitation on the type of heater that bon fluids, and organic solids (“coke”) also partition in the vapor phase at high
can be—and has already been—insert- generated by the decomposition (vis- temperatures. While the volume of dis-
ed in the heater wells. Examples include breaking and pyrolysis) of the heavier solved gas in the original oil in place
electrical (resistive) cables, gas-fired oil fractions initially in place. Thermo- may be low, the gas/oil ratio for ther-
combustors, circulating hot fluids, or dynamic calculations (phase envelope) mally cracked bitumen can rise to above
combinations of these. Experimental show that, at the end state, more than 1,000 scf/bbl and much higher in the
designs also include electrical heaters 85% of the hydrocarbon molecules have case of pyrolyzed oil shale.
constructed of electrically conductive partitioned into the vapor phase; in fact, Because the oil at the prevailing
media deposited in hydraulic fractures. the majority of them have partitioned temperature and pressure cannot dis-
The upper limit of the heater tem- into the vapor phase before the reservoir solve so much gas, pockets of free gas
perature is determined by material lim- reaches the end state. Therefore, a reser- begin to develop in the vicinity of the
itations. The lower limit of the heater voir that has been developed by thermal- heater wells, where most of the thermal
temperature is determined by econom- conduction-based recovery methods cracking is initially concentrated. Con-
ic considerations because, all else being behaves, in the end, like a gas reservoir. currently, in the bulk of the reservoir
equal, a small temperature gradient away from the heater wells, the heavy
between the heater wells and the tar- Self-Generated Drive Mechanism. The oil has become hot enough to be very
geted reservoir temperature of 300°C to reservoirs that are suitable targets for mobile. The rising volume of thermal-
350°C would result in a slow rate of heat thermal-conduction-based recovery ly generated gas exerts pressure on the
injection into the reservoir and a delay in have either very low reservoir energy mobile oil and sweeps it toward the pro-
the production of hydrocarbons, which (extra-heavy oil) or none (oil shale), duction wells.
hurts the net present value (Fig. 2). which results in low recovery efficien- More importantly, because the
cy. Thermal conduction increases the pyrolysis isotherm propagates by ther-
Heat Propagation. The rate of propa- reservoir energy by two mechanisms: mal conduction, it is essentially guaran-
gation of heat from the heater wells to thermal expansion and thermal genera- teed to reach most locations in the tar-
the colder sections of the targeted vol- tion of gas. geted volume regardless of the presence
ume is determined by the thermal dif- In the case of heavy oil, the vol- of permeability barriers (shale streaks)
fusivity of the formation. The range of ume of hydrocarbon mix initially in or thief zones (fractures) that impair the
thermal diffusivity for the formations of place increases by about 6% for every performance of recovery schemes based
interest is very narrow compared with 100°C increase in temperature. Thus, on mass injection (e.g., steam and sol-
that of the hydraulic diffusivity. This even in the absence of thermal crack- vents). Therefore, pockets of heavy oil
is because reservoir heterogeneities, ing or vaporization of liquids, as the that have not already been swept by the
such as a small number of moderately reservoir temperature is raised to more gas generated near the heater wells will
extended fissures, can increase the per- than 300°C, a stock-tank volume of eventually be subjected to pyrolysis tem-
meability by orders of magnitude but 16% to 18% of the oil initially in place peratures and will thermally crack into
have a rather moderate (negative) effect can be produced just by maintaining gas and lighter hydrocarbons, thereby
on thermal conductivity. reservoir pressure. creating a self-propulsion mechanism.
The combination of thermal diffu- Thermal cracking delivers an even The combination of thermal expan-
sivity, heater temperature, and target- stronger increase in reservoir energy sion and self-propulsion by thermally
ed reservoir temperature determines, by generating gaseous products togeth- generated gas results in recovery effi-
within a very tight range, the product er with lighter oleic compounds, which ciency in excess of 50% on a barrel of
72 JPT • MAY 2012

Notional Cumulative C 5+ Hydrocarbon Distribution mally advantageous because it increases

1.00
the recovery efficiency until the trade-
off between quality and yield—the
0.90 economic limit—is encountered. The
economic limit of in-situ modification
0.80 projects cannot be determined by the
usual exploration and production cri-
0.70
Resid teria but requires input from the down-
Weight Fraction
0.60 stream and trading departments; these

VGO are inherently integrated projects.
0.50
Diesel
Reservoir Simulation
0.40 The numerical modeling of steam-injec-

Kero
tion processes is well established, at
0.30
Naphtha least for conditions that result in min-
0.20 imal in-situ modification of the oil,
while chemical reaction schemes can
0.10 be implemented to explain the genera-
tion of nonhydrocarbon gases such as
0.00
Initial Final
carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulfide.
Heating and Production Progress
For thermal-conduction-based process-
es, solid progress has been made during
Fig. 3—Product quality. Copyright Royal Dutch Shell. the past 5 years in the development of
numerical codes and chemical reaction
oil equivalent (BOE) basis. A theoreti- then the product mix will be dominated schemes that are able to history match
cal upper bound of recovery efficiency by the hydrocarbon cuts that are in the and, to an extent, predict the in-situ
can be estimated from the performance vapor state at the prevailing tempera- modification in even the most challeng-
of delayed coking units, where 30% ture and pressure. ing targets.
to 35% of the mass of the feedstock is Conversely, a production outlet at The forecasting work stream starts
rejected to coke. However, in a ther- the bottom of the treated volume will with laboratory scale experiments in
mally treated reservoir, a non-negligible produce a disproportionately high frac- which samples of about 1 kg to 3 kg
fraction of the heavy oil initially in place tion of either original or partially vis- are subjected to a thermal treatment
is mobilized and produced in the visbro- broken heavy oil. Therefore, there is that mimics the expected thermal his-
ken state (i.e., no loss of mass to coke). no unique graph of oil quality vs. time tory of the average (bulk) of the target.
Therefore, if the production wells are or temperature. A notional graph that A numerical model of the laboratory
drilled and operated with the intent to compiles the impact of time, tempera- experiment is constructed for the pur-
maximize oil recovery, including “bot- ture, pressure, and producer location pose of matching the chemical modifi-
tom of the barrel” cuts, the BOE-based for a cluster of heat injection and pro- cations. Unique to the modeling of in-
recovery efficiency can exceed 75%. duction wells is presented in Fig. 3. situ modification processes is the need
This tradeoff between oil quality and The API gravity of the oil initially to include components for chemically
recovery efficiency has been well docu- in place is in the range of 6.5° to 7.5°API reactive solids such as coke and carbon-
mented for both oil shale and bitumen. while the API gravity of the cumulative ate minerals, with the latter needed to
produced oil is about 30°API. The sulfur forecast/history match the volume of
Product Quality content of the oil would drop to about produced carbon dioxide.
In principle, in a reservoir that is devel- 2.5% from the initial value of 6% to 7%. Lastly, a system of chemical reac-
oped by thermal conduction, the degree Halfway through the process, the tions is constructed and integrated into
of in-situ modification vs. time is deter- instantaneous API gravity of the pro- the flow and heat transfer calculations.
mined by the temperature and pressure duced oil reaches 19°API, which is a tip- The kinetics parameters and stoichio-
history. In practice, because of vertical ping point because this oil density meets metric coefficients are adjusted until the
segregation of fluids, the quality and the acceptance specifications of Cana- calculated volume and composition of
composition of the produced fluids is dian pipelines without the need for mix- produced fluids match the results of the
also a strong function of the location ing with diluent. In heavy oil projects, experiments as shown in Fig. 4.
of the production well. If the producers a continuation of the in-situ modifica- Upscaling from laboratory to field
are drilled at the top of the heated pay, tion past the 19°API gravity point is nor- scale is one of the more challenging
74 JPT • MAY 2012

aspects of reservoir simulation because 60
the laboratory vessel or core does not
55
capture the complexity of a reservoir.
However, the chemistry should be simi- 50
lar between laboratory and field, and, 45
with the exception of in-situ combus-
40
tion or steam/solvent mixing with bitu-
Weight, %
men, the reactions of interest are not 35
occurring at a thin interface because 30 Resid-Simulation
thermal conduction or steam convection Resid-Data
25 HO-Simulation
tends to spread (diffuse) the tempera-
HO-Data
ture front. Therefore, field scale grid- 20
LO-Simulation
blocks of the order of 1 m to 10 m can 15 LO-Data

honor the laboratory-derived chemis-
10
try while delivering sufficiently accurate
field scale results. 5
0
Geology Picks the Technology 250 300 350 400 450
Given the breadth of hydrocarbon Temperature, °C
resources that may be amenable to some
Fig. 4—Laboratory pyrolysis—data and history match. Copyright Royal
degree of in-situ modification, there is
Dutch Shell.
no single optimal recovery technology.
However, a few technical criteria and
operations-related perspectives need to dle. Mining is the brute force method to heavy oil developments based on main-
be considered before running economics buy down 100% of geologic risk; ther- stream recovery methods such as steam
or assessing hybrid recovery schemes. mal conduction is the natural extension injection. It will assume the lead role
The location where complexity is for deeper resources. only when the cost of heat delivery sys-
addressed needs to be selected judi- The operating cost of injected heat tems or the effectiveness of nanoscale
ciously. Operators with high confidence is a significant fraction of the total cost catalysts have improved sufficiently—
in their ability to understand and over- in all thermal projects. Steam-based and persuasively—to overcome the
come the geologic complexity of the projects with oil/steam ratios of about reluctance of operators to adopt new
subsurface would select a mass-based 0.30 to 0.33 require lower amounts of recovery schemes. JPT
recovery method such as steam injection injected heat per barrel of produced
or steam/solvent coinjection because it extra-heavy oil than developments based
requires minimal in-situ manipulation on thermal conduction. However, when
of molecules to achieve recovery effi- the envelope is extended to span the
ciencies that promise economic success. well-to-tank portion of the value chain,
Operators with confidence in their the heat requirement per barrel of trans-
ability to manage complex, simultane- portation fuel is comparable between John Karanikas is chief scientist
ous operations on the surface would buy these two recovery methods because of reservoir engineering for Royal Dutch
down geologic risk by starting with a the higher losses sustained by the extra- Shell, a position he assumed in 2010.
thermal-conduction-based recovery heavy oil during its surface processing Previously, he was a technology advisor
method that maximizes in-situ manipu- and refining stages. in Shell’s Unconventional Technologies
lation of molecules because it is more Naturally, this approximate parity Department. His first job at Shell was
immune to subsurface heterogeneity and in heat requirement translates to com- as a member of the Bellaire Research
progress, through hybrid schemes, to parable volumes of carbon dioxide gen- Center team developing thermal
a mass-based recovery method based erated per barrel of end product. On a recovery methods for unconventional
on lessons accumulated in the early well-to-wheels basis, this volume of car- reservoirs, such as oil shale and heavy
stages of the commercial development. bon dioxide is about 10% higher than oil. He has worked in this area for 20
The dominant share of mining in the the life cycle volume associated with the years, mostly in a reservoir engineering
exploitation of oil sands, which are, in use of conventional light oil. capacity, and has been awarded more
principle, relatively homogeneous, sin- Looking ahead, in-situ modifica- than 70 patents. He holds a PhD degree
gle-porosity reservoirs, indicates that tion of molecules is likely to enter com- in condensed matter physics from Ohio
geologic complexity is the highest hur- mercial operations in an auxiliary role in State University.
JPT • MAY 2012 75

Grand Challenges for

Earth Resources Engineering
R. Lyn Arscott, Charles Fairhurst, and Larry Lake
A recent report by the US National ◗ Minimize the environmental subsurface infrastructure such as elec-
Academy of Engineering (Grand Chal- footprint. trical cables or pipelines.
lenges for Engineering, NAE 2008) ◗ Protect people.

identified 14 grand challenges covering Make the Earth Transparent
the broad range of engineering disci- The primary objective of Earth That the solid Earth is opaque is a major
plines that await engineering solutions resources engineering is to apply engi- obstacle in all aspects of Earth resources
and that, when accomplished, will make neering principles to the discovery, engineering. The challenge for subsur-
significant improvements to the broad development, and environmentally re- face engineering is similar to the imag-
realms of human concern: sustainabil- sponsible production of subsurface ing problem in medicine. We need tools
ity, health, vulnerability, and joy of liv- Earth resources. The traditional engi- that will allow us to see into the subsur-
ing. Two of those challenges are in Earth neering disciplines for this objective are face just as medical tools allow doctors
resources engineering: developing car- mining engineering, mineral process- to see into the human body.
bon sequestration methods and providing engineering, petroleum engineer- Geological structures range from the
ing clean water. Many other engineering ing, and geological engineering. How- microscopic grains and crystals of the
challenges fall into the category of Earth ever, other science and engineering rock matrix and associated pore spac-
resources engineering so a task force disciplines contribute critical expertise, es to the topography of a basin. This
composed of members of the academy’s particularly geophysics and hydrogeolo- range spans nanometers to kilometers,
Earth Resources Section identified four gy. The skills needed to explore and pro- or 12 factors of 10. To complicate matters
challenges that were the most critical. duce resources from the Earth are also further, geological properties are mostly
They are: important in the study of earthquakes, anisotropic (vary with direction) and het-
◗ Make the Earth transparent. the subsurface flow of groundwater, the erogeneous (vary in space). Because of
◗ Understand, engineer, storage of wastes such as carbon dioxide the scale effect, many methods and tools
and control subsurface or nuclear wastes, and the design of sub- are required to characterize geological
coupled processes. surface structures for human habitat or structures. On the largest scale (1–10 km
During 2010, the SPE Research and Development the benefits of R&D in the upstream oil and gas industry so
(R&D) Committee developed a list of some of the great this third series of invited guest JPT articles was begun in
challenges facing the oil and gas industry. The committee May 2011. These have been published every two or three
prioritized these needs and called them the “R&D Grand months with two remaining articles to appear.
Challenges”: increasing recovery factors, in-situ molecular Readers will find interesting the recent effort by the
manipulation, carbon capture and sequestration, produced Earth Resources Section of the US National Academy of
water management, higher resolution subsurface imaging Engineering to also identify critical challenges. After carbon
of hydrocarbons, and the environment. These “grand capture and sequestration and clean water, it identified
challenges” incorporate as much as possible enabling transparent Earth, coupled processes, environmental
technologies (e.g., drilling performance can improve footprint, and protection of people as their grand challenges.
recovery) as well as address the technical disciplines within These critical areas correlate very well with the view of
the SPE organization—Drilling and Completions; Facilities the SPE R&D Committee and add clear messages related to
and Construction; Reservoir Description and Dynamics; complex underground processes and protection of people
Production and Operations; Health, Safety, and the through operational excellence and isolation of wastes.
Environment; and Management and Information. It is the Arnis Judzis, Schlumberger
intent of the SPE R&D Committee to articulate and promote Chairman SPE R&D Committee
66 JPT • JUNE 2012

geneity, the feedbacks often lead to unsta-

Thermal Convective Fluid Flow Hydrologic ble phenomena, such as viscous fingering
or the creation of fast flow paths. Heat
transfer, in thermal recovery processes
Energy Transfer
or in nuclear waste disposal, affects rock
Thermal Expantion (Rock and Fluid)
Ra
dio
mass expansion and displacement and,
che
mic
al
consequently, fluid flow and permeabili-
Permeability Alteration
Eq ty. Aqueous ionic reactions, such as those
Frictional/Deformational Heating
uili n
bri atio
lter
Mass Transfer
um
ty A ge
s occurring in groundwater, are affected by
bili an
m ea e Ch pore surface electrical charges, the ionic
r r Ch
Pe ssu em
e Pre ica
l strength of the aqueous solution, and the
r R
Po ea
ctio
Re ns applied electrical field. Moreover, when
act
ion
Kin
etic organic contaminants enter groundwa-

s
ter as waste products, complex coupled
chemical reactions occur involving the
Modified Reactive Surface Area chemicals in the waste stream, the ambi-
ent groundwater, and the rock matrix.
Mechanical
Heating/Weathering/Dissolution
Chemical
Adding to this complexity is the dif-
ficulty of quantifying or upscaling the
Modified after Yow and Hunt (2002) effects of the large range of both time and
physical dimensions on the process equa-
Fig. 1—Coupled thermal, hydrologic, mechanical, and chemical processes.
tions. The mechanics of deformation and
fracture of rock depend on the size of the
spatial resolution), airborne gravity, mag- ogists to assess groundwater resources rock under stress and the duration of the
netic and electromagnetic imaging, and and quantify movement of contaminants loading. Injection of fluids into fractures
satellite-based synthetic aperture radar in the subsurface. Geophysical methods can induce seismic slip and tremors as
measurements are used. On the scale of that would sharpen the ability to see frac- observed when fluid is injected into geo-
10–100 m, seismic waves are used, either tures or changes in rock or fluid proper- thermal reservoirs. The effect of long peri-
actively generated by explosive charges ties ahead of a drill bit or just a few (three ods of time on subsurface processes is par-
or mechanical vibrators or naturally gen- or more) tunnel diameters ahead of a tun- ticularly important for long-term storage
erated by distant earthquakes or ocean nel-boring machine could improve the of waste and the diagenesis of minerals.
waves. On a smaller scale of centimeters efficiency of subsurface engineering. In Deciphering this complex coupling
to 1 m, a variety of well logging tools that addition, they could save lives. Monitor- and dependence is a fundamental chal-
use electromagnetic, nuclear, and gamma ing the stability of mine pillars or tunnels lenge in Earth resources engineering. The
ray technology exist. would provide information on the risk of efficacy of numerical simulation models
Geophysical techniques that sense rock failure. of subsurface processes directly depends
the subsurface ahead of a drill bit are on the accuracy of the equations used to
reaping enormous benefits for effective Understand, Engineer, describe the processes. Development of
recovery of resources. Such techniques and Control Subsurface better field-scale models requires that we
provide clear images of the rock within Coupled Processes understand coupled processes sufficient-
a radius of several meters around a bore- Underground thermal, mechanical, chem- ly to quantify them, to characterize and
hole and enable a drill bit to be steered ical, and hydrologic processes are com- quantify heterogeneity, and to raise lab-
precisely into producing horizons either plex and interactive (Fig. 1). For example, oratory and field observations to a scale
automatically or under real-time control pressure gradients lead to momentum suitable for modeling.
by an operator on the surface. flux and fluid flow, but they also may A better understanding of subsurface
Better imaging will enable better esti- affect the displacement of rock masses coupled processes will benefit the engi-
mates of the Earth’s potential resources. (e.g., in fractured reservoirs) or trigger neering, design, and control of all subsur-
In addition, it will enable geoscientists to landslides. Conversely, mechanical stress- face projects, including enhanced recov-
monitor both anthropogenic and natural es on rocks change fracture apertures and ery of oil and gas, exploration of minerals,
changes in the subsurface. Monitoring affect flow permeability. Chemical reac- surface and underground mining opera-
subsurface fluid flow in real time provides tions affect fluid mobility because of vis- tion, geothermal recovery, in-situ mining,
invaluable input to the management and cosity alteration, and the dissolution of a subsurface disposal of wastes, fate and
optimization of the recovery of oil and pore surface-lining mineral would affect transport of contaminants in groundwa-
gas resources. It can also enable hydrol- permeability. In the presence of hetero- ter, and earthquake mechanics.
68 JPT • JUNE 2012

Minimize the water supply. Thus, the real-time moni- that, companies recognize the business
Environmental Footprint toring of fluid flow, both in and around imperative to be more socially respon-
Minimizing the environmental footprint the ore deposit, is critical to success. sible. The 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil
of operations is a major challenge for When producing oil and gas, one way spill in the Gulf of Mexico reinforced
all industries, but particularly for Earth to reduce the environmental footprint is this trend.
resources engineering because it deals to drill many wells from a single surface Management systems involve a com-
with enormous volumes of both Earth site by using extended-reach boreholes. prehensive set of instructions, policies,
material and materials introduced to the The direction of the inclined holes is con- best practices, and operational proce-
subsurface, many of which are flamma- trolled from the surface by signals to the dures to minimize risk. Engineers must
ble, corrosive, or toxic. The effect of steerable rotary drill to stay within the design equipment and processes that
the extraction process on surface water narrow producing horizon. The number minimize accidents. Operators must be
and groundwater ranks among the major of boreholes needed to develop an oil or trained in safe operating procedures and
concerns of the industry and the public. gas reservoir can be reduced if effective to respect the environment. Clearly, the

Extraction of minerals from the conduits can be created to link the fluid penalties for noncompliance are major
Earth can involve many square miles of in the rock matrix with the borehole. incentives, but it is critical to business
the surface, which must be restored after This can be accomplished by hydraulic success to create and maintain a safety
completion of the extraction operations. fracturing. Recent public concern about culture throughout an organization.
The processes often use large amounts of the environmental consequences of the Prescriptive regulations for design
water, which can be very difficult to sep- application of fracturing in the devel- of equipment and facilities, such as the
arate from the finely ground produced opment of oil and gas from shales has height and dimensions of handrails or
material. Reagents are needed that are increased attention on the need to ensure the placement of alarm systems, are not
more effective in the separation and are that development operations adequate- enough to prevent accidents. One out-
not toxic to workers or the environment. ly protect groundwater. Public concerns come of the Piper Alpha accident was
Mineral processing also can consume about the potential for stimulating earth- a set of risk-based regulations that
prodigious amounts of energy for the quakes by injecting high pressure fluid required operators in the North Sea to
comminution of ore and for slurry trans- into the ground must also be considered. analyze all the risks in their operations
port. Reducing this energy consumption and to develop risk reduction procedures
is a major challenge. Protect People and contingency plans. The US regula-
Developing an ore body by in-situ Operational Excellence. The highest pri- tors did not adopt the North Sea regula-
leaching would eliminate the need for a ority for any industry is to ensure the tions at that time because of the compli-
surface or underground mine. Recovery health and safety of the public and its cations involved in applying the concepts
by in-situ processes also would reduce workers. Safety is particularly impor- to the very large number of facilities in
the number of workers exposed to poten- tant for the extractive industries because US coastal waters. The incident at the
tially dangerous underground environ- workers are exposed to the high risks of Macondo well has prompted US regu-
ments and could possibly reduce the working in confined subsurface openings, lators to implement regulations requir-
costs of production. The major challenge on remote offshore platforms, or in other ing operators to develop comprehensive
in in-situ leaching is the creation of con- extreme environments. The public could management programs to address and
duits between a borehole and the rock be exposed to health and safety risks from manage safety and environmental risks.
matrix to enable fluids, called lixiviants, air emissions from operations, failure of
to extract the ore. The conduits are then impoundments, spills, and contamina- Subsurface Isolation of Wastes. Safe
used to transport the extracted fluid to tion of surface or groundwater. Design- isolation of nuclear wastes from the bio-
the borehole for delivery to the surface. ing the appropriate equipment and pro- sphere for thousands of years is a major
Hydraulic fracturing is a technol- cedures, as well as creating a culture of challenge for society. Success in meet-
ogy that creates one or more fractures operational excellence and environmen- ing this challenge, especially following
that emanate through the rock matrix tal awareness, is a major challenge. the tsunami-related nuclear disaster in
through which fluids can flow into the Operational excellence should per- Japan in 2011, will have a major effect
borehole. However, the fractures must meate through all levels of an organiza- on the future of nuclear power. Safe iso-
not communicate with active or poten- tion. In response to the 1988 Piper Alpha lation requires a firm understanding of
tial sources of groundwater. Groundwa- accident in the North Sea and the Exxon subsurface coupled processes to predict,
ter in the mining zone, which may be Valdez oil spill in 1989, the oil and gas with some assurance, the long-term fate
contaminated by the ore body or the industry increased its diligence in devel- of radioactive material. Sequestration of
lixiviant and chemicals used in the frac- oping comprehensive management sys- carbon dioxide in subsurface formations
turing process, should not be allowed to tems to reduce accidents and to ensure has been demonstrated on a small scale.
contaminate groundwater being used for compliance with regulations. Beyond However, it will require a massive effort
70 JPT • JUNE 2012

to demonstrate that the technique is safe Acknowledgments sota, professor emeritus; Raj Ramani, Uni-
and economical on the enormous scale The task force members are Mary Ander- versity of Pennsylvania, professor emer-
required to significantly reduce the emis- son, University of Wisconsin, profes- itus; and Yannis Yortsos, University of
sion of CO2 to the atmosphere. Devel- sor emeritus; Lyn Arscott, International Southern California, dean of engineering.
opment and installation of long-term Association of Oil and Gas Producers and
monitoring networks (e.g., microseis- Chevron, retired; Brian Clark, Schlum- Reference
mic systems) to observe the performance berger; Don Gentry, consultant; Charles Yow, J., and Hunt, J. Int. J. Rock Mech. Min.
of such sequestration and storage along Fairhurst, Itasca and University of Minne- Sci., 39, 143 (2002).
with models that simulate the coupled
processes will be needed.
Conclusion
The Earth is richly endowed with many

resources, but its burgeoning population From design to decommissioning,
is consuming them at a rate that is unsus-
tainable. In addition to the challenge of
you will find it all inside.
supplying the raw materials, the genera-
tion, processing, and eventual discharge
of the enormous quantities of materi-
als and energy used in a modern society
creates a massive burden on the plan- Oil and Gas
et’s capacity to sustain the ecosystem.
Today, oil, gas, coal, and uranium provide Facilities 2
2 | April 201
93% of the energy currently consumed Magazine Vol. 1 No.
in the United States. Given the slow rate

of development of renewable energy, oning
there will be a very long transition away Decommissi f Mexico
in the Gulf o
from nonrenewable resources. Engineer-
ing solutions are urgently needed dur-
Initial
ing this transition to ensure that we meet
Our new bimonthly magazine Planning for ess
c
society’s needs with reliable, safe, and Startup Suc
covers the global projects,
environmentally protective production
equipment, systems, and
of traditional energy and minerals. This Learning the
f
transition will require vigorous interdis- technologies of facilities Language o
ciplinary dialog and collaboration involv- engineering. Each issue Subsurfac e
ing many technical disciplines to supple- includes timely reports
ment the traditional extractive industry on projects, facilities, and
disciplines of mining, petroleum, and construction-related news, um Enginee
rs
iety of Petrole
tion of the Soc
geological engineering. JPT An Official
Publica
technical advances, and people. ww w.spe.org
R. Lyn Arscott, SPE, was 1988 SPE

president, past executive director of
the International Association of Oil and
Take advantage of the special member introductory
Gas Producers, and a retired Chevron
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JPT • JUNE 2012 71

A Roadmap for Addressing Environmental

and Social Issues Associated With
Horizontal Drilling and Hydraulic Fracturing
Richard A. Liroff, Executive Director, Investor Environmental Health Network
Editor’s note: This is the latest nential growth of combined horizontal Africa, among other jurisdictions, have
in a series of articles on the great drilling and hydraulic fracturing during enacted moratoria.

challenges facing the oil and gas the past 15 years. Thoughtful companies Bans and moratoria are denials of
industry as outlined by the SPE recognize that this has not been a suc- companies’ social license to operate—
Research and Development (R&D) cessful strategy for building public trust, denials of public consent—arising from
Committee. The R&D challenges and they are beginning to speak direct- concerns about environmental and social
comprise broad upstream business ly to the real risks associated with their risks. Bans and moratoria impose a wide
needs: increasing recovery factors, operations. These real risks include, for range of costs on companies, ranging
in-situ molecular manipulation, example, poor cementing practices in from the costs of delays to the complete
carbon capture and sequestration, well construction and inadequate waste- loss of access to valuable resources where
produced water management, higher water management. sunk costs must be written off.
resolution subsurface imaging of Since mid-2009, investors have been Investors make decisions based on
hydrocarbons, and the environment. seeking increased disclosure by compa- assessments of risks and rewards. Data
The articles in this series examine each nies of the environmental and social risks on hard financial indicators are relative-
of these challenges in depth. White associated with natural gas operations ly easy to gather, but data on companies’
papers covering these challenges are in shale formations and the policies and processes for managing environmen-
available at www.spe.org/industry/ procedures they are adopting to reduce tal and social risks pose a greater chal-
globalchallenges and allow reader or eliminate these risks. Risks are associ- lenge. To better address investor con-
comments and open discussion of ated with the broad life cycle of shale gas cerns, it is necessary for companies to
the topics. operations, not just with hydraulic frac- provide investors with assurance that,
turing as technically defined. Fracturing all along the corporate chain of com-
The energy industry faces a massive and horizontal drilling together make mand, managers are reducing business
communications challenge in persuad- substantial recovery of gas from shales risks by addressing operational hazards
ing sizeable sections of the public in the economically possible and have brought and are capturing the genuine, mea-
United States and overseas that natu- drilling and production to localities on a surable business rewards flowing from
ral gas operations relying on horizon- scale previously not experienced. environmental management practices
tal drilling and hydraulic fracturing Many governments and communi- that have the potential to lower costs,
can be conducted safely. Mitchell Ener- ties around the world are looking to learn increase profits, and enhance commu-
gy founder George Mitchell has stated from the US experience before decid- nity acceptance. Investors require rel-
that industry has “the duty to fracture ing whether and how to permit exploi- evant, reliable, and comparable infor-
responsibly.” He was candid when he tation of their shale resources. In the mation about companies’ operations to
said, “There is no question that acci- US, there have been numerous incidents make investment judgments based on a
dents have occurred and mistakes have of poorly constructed wells, equipment robust assessment of companies’ envi-
been made during the rush to develop.” failures, degraded local and regional air ronmental, social, and governance poli-
Mitchell’s candor was remarkable quality, water contamination, strained cies, practices, and performance.
because, for too many years, the industry community relations, and related gov- To assist companies in their report-
has mainly responded to attacks on shale ernment enforcement actions and pri- ing and to promote greater consisten-
gas operations by pointing out errors vate lawsuits. Moratoria or bans on cy and comparability among company
or omissions in critical media accounts. hydraulic fracturing have been enacted reports, in December 2011, the Investor
The industry has also emphasized the in New York state, the Delaware River Environmental Health Network and the
60-year history of hydraulic fracturing basin, and by local governments in sev- Interfaith Center on Corporate Respon-
while ignoring the growth of legitimate eral US states. Outside the US, France has sibility published Extracting the Facts:
public concerns arising from the expo- banned fracturing and Quebec and South An Investor Guide to Disclosing Risks
60 JPT • JULY 2012

from Hydraulic Fracturing Operations. ◗ Evaluation of the environmental control equipment; monitor ambient air
The guide evolved from two parallel impact of chemical additives quality before and during operations.
investor engagements with companies. ◗ Efforts to minimize water use ◗ Prevent contamination from
The first was a collaborative 18-month or minimize the impact of disposal on solid waste and sludge residuals:
consultation jointly organized by Bos- surface waters Minimize risks and impacts by
ton Common Asset Management and deploying closed loop systems for
Apache Corporation to provide a safe The guide is organized around 12 solid waste and sludge residuals from
harbor for conversation between inves- core management goals, recommended drilling and fracturing operations and
tors and energy companies on risks, practices to implement them, and indica- fully characterizing and tracking toxic
management practices, and disclosure. tors for reporting progress. substances.
Six meetings were held in 2010 and 2011 The 12 core management goals for ◗ Assure best in class contractor
that included a shifting mix of inves- natural gas operations include performance: Systematically assess

tors and companies. In addition, George ◗ Manage risks transparently contractor performance against the
King, global technology consultant at and at the board level: Ensure that company’s own best management
Apache, offered a half-day well construc- environmental, health, safety, and social practices and key performance
tion course to educate investors on how risks are core elements of corporate risk indicators across the entire range of
to distinguish larger risks from small- management strategy. environmental, health, safety, and social
er ones and what companies can do ◗ Reduce surface footprint: concerns, with the objective of engaging
about them. Minimize surface disruption from and retaining best in class, continually
The guide also benefited from a natural gas exploration and production improving contractors.
series of bilateral conversations that activities. ◗ Secure community consent:
other investment managers held with ◗ Assure well integrity: Achieve During the site selection process,
about two dozen companies between zero incidence for accidental leaks identify all communities affected and
2009 and 2011. These began with a series of hazardous gases and fluids from address major concerns central to
of letters directed by investors to indi- wellsites. community acceptance of company
vidual companies asking for increased ◗ Reduce and disclose all toxic operations; establish community
disclosures of risks, policies, and prac- chemicals: Comprehensively disclose engagement process and third party
tices. In some cases, these led to con- and virtually eliminate toxic chemicals conflict resolution mechanisms.
structive conversations and increased used in fracturing operations. ◗ Disclose fines, penalties,
disclosures on corporate websites. In ◗ Protect water quality by rigorous and litigation: Acknowledge
others, investors believed it necessary monitoring: Identify baseline conditions performance issues by disclosing
to file shareholder resolutions present- in neighboring water bodies and infractions, legal controversies, and
ed at corporate annual meetings formal- drinking water sources and routinely lessons learned.
ly asking for increased disclosures. As monitor quality during natural gas
a result of all these engagements, com- operations. Goals, practices, and indicators can
panies have been disclosing much more ◗ Minimize fresh water use: Draw ◗ Drive operational efficiencies
than they formerly did, although disclo- the minimum potable water necessary (reduced costs yield increased margins
sures remain very uneven. to conduct fracturing operations, and profitability)
The US Securities and Exchange substituting nonpotable sources to the ◗ Provide insurance in case of
Commission (SEC) further underscored fullest extent practicable. accident or natural disaster (lowered
the importance of such reporting when, ◗ Prevent contamination from toxicities and volumes of chemicals
in 2011, it began asking companies for waste water: Store waste waters in reduce risks from chemical spills)
information about the environmen- secure, closed containers, not in pits ◗ Reduce air emissions and fresh
tal impacts of their hydraulic fracturing open to the atmosphere, and recycle water withdrawals that trigger violations
operations, with an eye toward determin- and reuse waste water to the maximum of environmental standards (regulators
ing whether companies were providing extent practicable. consequently may ban and limit
adequate disclosure. The SEC’s areas of ◗ Minimize and disclose air operations)
inquiry included emissions: Prevent/minimize emissions ◗ Protect and enhance companies’
◗ Established steps to ensure that of greenhouse gases and toxic chemicals social license to operate by increasing
drilling, casing, and cementing adhere by systematically identifying emission the odds of positive community
to known best practices sources of all sizes, implementing response to the best-managed, most
◗ Real-time monitoring of the rate operational practices to reduce transparent companies addressing
and pressure of the fracturing treatment emissions, and installing emission community needs and concerns
62 JPT • JULY 2012

Some of the practices are immedi- ◗ Anticipate and respond to local
ately implementable—for example, sys- community noise, road damage, and
tematic use of “green” completions to other nuisance concerns
minimize air emissions—while some ◗ Acknowledge regulatory
are more aspirational, such as virtual transgressions and lessons learned
elimination of toxic chemicals from frac- from them JPT
turing operations. The guide draws on
documented examples of 17 different References
companies’ use of best practices. Liroff, R. 2011. Extracting the Facts: An
The guide also addresses a central Investor Guide to Disclosing Risks
concern that invariably arises in discus- From Hydraulic Fracturing Operations.
sions of best practices—that a “one size Investor Environmental Health Network

fits all” best practice may, in fact, not and the Interfaith Center on Corporate
be best in all situations and might even Responsibility. http://iehn.org/documents/
create perverse incentives. To address frackguidance.pdf.
this sticking point, the guide adopts the Mitchell, G.P, and Zoback, M.D. 2012. The
approach of “comply or explain.” That duty to fracture responsibly. Houston
approach provides companies with an Chronicle, 17 February 2012, www.chron.
off-ramp for not using best practices in com/opinion/outlook/article/The-duty-to-
all cases. For example, green completions fracture-responsibly-3340070.php.
are increasingly used to reduce air emis- King, G.E. 2012. Hydraulic Fracturing
sions, but they’re more relevant to devel- 101: What Every Representative,
opment wells than to exploratory wells. Environmentalist, Regulator, Reporter,
So, a company could report that its plan- Investor, University Researcher, Neighbor
ning process makes green completions and Engineer Should Know About
the default choice for well completion Estimating Frac Risk and Improving
except where such completions are not Frac Performance in Unconventional
technically feasible. Gas and Oil Wells. Paper SPE 152596
The companies most likely to be presented at the SPE Hydraulic Fracturing
trusted by investors and most readily Technology Conference, The Woodlands,
welcomed by local communities will be Texas, USA, 6–8 February. http://dx.doi.
those that org/10.2118/152596-MS.
◗ Have an across-the-board,
transparent record of voluntary actions
to reduce the quantity and toxicity of
chemicals Richard Liroff is the founder and
◗ Develop innovative methods Executive Director of the Investor
for reducing use of fresh water—for Environmental Health Network based
example, recycling fracturing waste in Washington, D.C. The Investor
waters or using saline or industrial waste Environmental Health Network is a
waters for fracturing collaborative partnership of investment
◗ Systematically inventory and managers and advisors concerned
reduce air emissions from operations, about the financial and public health
including using green completions risks associated with corporate toxic
where appropriate and substituting chemicals policies. Previously, he was
closed waste storage structures for senior fellow and senior program
open pits officer with the World Wildlife Fund
◗ Closely oversee their contractors for 27 years and was a research fellow
to prevent shoddy well construction and guest scholar at the Brookings
and demonstrate rapid emergency Institution. Liroff holds a BA degree
response capability in political science from Brandeis
◗ Know what’s in their waste and University and a PhD degree in political
what happens to it science from Northwestern University.
JPT • JULY 2012

Reviewing the Five R&D Grand Challenges

Plus One
Arnis Judzis, SPE, Schlumberger, and Anoop Poddar, SPE, Energy Ventures
Editor’s note: This is the last in our desire to minimize environmental “The ultimate potential to increase

a series of articles on the great impact strengthens. total light and heavy oil production
challenges facing the oil and gas as both EOR technology and enabling
industry as outlined by the SPE Increasing Recovery Factors upstream production technologies con-
R&D Committee. The R&D Grand Gary A. Pope, Texaco Centennial Chair in tinue to improve is likely to be on the
Challenges Series, comprising Petroleum Engineering at The University order of 1 trillion bbl assuming favor-
articles published in JPT during of Texas at Austin, kicked off the series able economic and regulatory conditions
2011 and 2012, will be available of “R&D Grand Challenges” articles exist over the next few decades, and the
as a collection at www.OnePetro.org. with his view on recent developments above constraints are fully understood
and remaining challenges of enhanced and addressed. A much higher priority
In May 2011, the SPE R&D Committee oil recovery. and much greater level of effort than cur-
kicked off a series of guest articles in JPT He wrote, “There has been a renais- rently being expended will be required
to highlight the oil and gas industry’s sance in chemical EOR during the past over the long term to achieve that high
major research and development (R&D) few years because of major advances potential. The technology is sound. The
challenges. Defining these challenges in the technology and high oil prices. need is great. The potential is huge. Let’s
is important because the committee’s Thermal and miscible gas methods are get started.”
primary goal is to encourage R&D and much more mature with the exception
promote dialog between industry and of processes such as coinjection of gases Produced Water Management
research groups with the aim of match- and surfactants for mobility control. David Burnett, director of technology
ing industry needs with R&D activities. The synergy between the EOR process- at the Global Petroleum Research Insti-
The R&D challenges comprise five es and improved reservoir characteriza- tute and Research Project Coordinator at
broad upstream business needs plus the tion and formation evaluation, reser- the Harold Vance Department of Petro-
environment: voir modeling and simulation, reservoir leum Engineering at Texas A&M Uni-
◗◗Increasing recovery factors management, well technology, produc- versity, presented the case about brine
◗◗In-situ molecular manipulation tion methods, and facilities is signifi- management-produced water and frac
◗◗Carbon capture and cant and not as widely recognized as it flowback brine.
sequestration should be. He wrote, “The world is changing.
◗◗Produced water management “So what are the most signifi- The transformation from onshore infill
◗◗Higher resolution subsurface cant constraints on any kind of EOR? drilling and occasional field extension
imaging of hydrocarbons My guess is the following in order operations to the rapid development of
◗◗Environment of importance: a shortage of experi- super major gas fields throughout the
enced engineers and geoscientists with United States is being called the great gas
Why Have Grand Challenges? a fundamental understanding of EOR, shale revolution. This disruptive change
Exploiting hydrocarbons from the deep uncertainty in oil prices, and risk aver- is as significant as the advent of rotary
reaches of Earth has been no easy task. sion due in part to out-of-date knowl- drilling in the 19th century.
The scale of innovation required rivals edge and in part to the complexity of “Energy from natural gas will
those in any other high technology indus- EOR compared with more conventional become the ‘clean energy’ of the US for
try. As an industry, we have done well in oil recovery. There are also environmen- the foreseeable future. Aging coal-fired
finding and producing sufficient hydro- tal concerns that must be addressed for power plants will be replaced by gas-fired
carbons to satisfy the world’s energy each process and location. For these and facilities as the US shifts from coal to nat-
needs to date; however, the task becomes other reasons, it may take many years to ural gas for electrical power generation.
harder in the future as the resource base ramp up EOR production to millions of The drive to reduce development costs
becomes more difficult to extract and barrels per day. with better bits, drilling fluids, fractur-
JPT • SEPTEMBER 2012 69

ing fluids, proppants, etc. will enable tries. Some proposed projects have won tems or the effectiveness of nanoscale
wells to be drilled and completed at approval and some have not. The compa- catalysts has improved sufficiently—
lower overall cost. Well plans will require nies that succeeded spent much time and and persuasively—to overcome the
that water management practices spec- effort explaining to their future neigh- reluctance of operators to adopt new
ify clean, solids-free brines. Chemicals bors what their plans were and answered recovery schemes.”
used in frac operations will be moni- many questions. In some cases, the
tored and frac flowback brines and pro- company went ‘back home’ to find the Higher Resolution Subsurface
duced water will be recycled and con- answer for the enquirer. The next step Imaging of Hydrocarbons
taminant disposal will be handled by safe for CCS implementation is to build more Jack E. Neal, strategic technology advis-
environmental practices. CO2 storage injection pilots. This is an er, and Christine E. Krohn, senior
“Finally, our industry will have opportunity for geoscientists in the oil research associate, both at Exxon-

learned its lesson—the lesson that sound and gas industry to do something for Mobil Upstream Research, reviewed
environmental practices are as essential the climate.” developments in higher resolution
to operations as safety is in the work- subsurface imaging.
place. With those practices, we will have In-Situ Molecular Manipulation They wrote, “Engineers now have
the key that ensures sustainable fossil John Karanikas, chief scientist of reser- powerful tools to precisely model sub-
energy production into the 22nd century, voir engineering at Royal Dutch Shell, surface reservoir production behavior,
able to support an increasing standard of presented a case for “Unconventional but a precise answer is still wrong if
living for the world’s population.” Resources-Cracking the Hydrocarbon it is derived from an inaccurate sub-
Molecules In Situ.” surface description. Geoscientists make
Carbon Capture and “Discoveries of accumulations of maps and rock property models of the
Sequestration light crude oil are dwindling and known subsurface by interpreting images that
Tore A. Torp, adviser for CO2 storage at resources are increasingly concentrated are produced from remote sensing data.
Statoil, discussed whether geoscientists in areas that are predominantly acces- Analogs from modern depositional envi-
can resolve the CCS paradox. sible by state-owned or state-affiliated ronments and outcrop exposures guide
“International energy and climate energy companies,” Karanikas wrote. subsurface data interpretation to pre-
organizations have found carbon capture “As a result, the quality of (conventional) dict ahead of the bit, and then postdrill
and storage (CCS) to be a promising tech- crude oil—particularly oil sourced from geostatistics are used to fill in strati-
nology to resolve the squeeze between non-OPEC reservoirs has been declin- graphic details between wellbore con-
fast-growing global energy needs and ing. The trend is bound to accelerate as trol points. Selection of the right depo-
global warming,” he wrote in the article. unconventional hydrocarbons such as sitional model, facies distribution, and
“Even environmental organizations say bitumen are brought into production geostatistical analog depends on having
that making our energy use more effi- to satisfy the world’s energy demand, the sharpest, most detailed and accurate
cient and building enough new renew- which is expected to increase by slight- image of the subsurface possible—the
able energy capacity takes too long. We ly less than 50% in the next 20 years. Grand Challenge of Higher Resolution
need to get the CCS working to curb the Since the recovery and surface process- Subsurface Imaging.
growing greenhouse gas emissions if too ing of these heavier molecules is more “Higher resolution subsurface
large a climate change is to be avoided. difficult, it is appropriate to ask wheth- imaging of hydrocarbons is one of SPE’s
CCS consists of three major interdepen- er a portion of the surface processing Grand Challenges for a good reason. As
dent steps: can be performed downhole (in situ). In long as the industry has sought to find
◗◗Capture the carbon, CO2 out of fact, in the case of deeper lying oil shale, and exploit subsurface resources, it has
flue gases, either from the stack it is the only realistic recovery option. sought to see them better. The challenge
of a power plant or the blast There are three approaches by which is difficult. We are largely restricted to
furnace top gas in iron making. in-situ manipulation of molecules can source and receiver locations on the
◗◗Transport it by pipeline or ship it be accomplished: biological, chemical, surface of the Earth, trying to illuminate
underground. and thermal. deep targets and resolve images through
◗◗Safely keep it in a storage site for “Looking ahead, in-situ modifica- a complex and unknown medium.
thousands of years. tion of molecules is likely to enter com- “The good news is that much prog-
mercial operations in an auxiliary role in ress is being made to improve our capa-
“The anxiety over CCS can be over- heavy oil developments based on main- bilities and data coverage. Seismic data
come by CO2 storage pilots that are stream recovery methods such as steam covers much of the planet, with more
carefully planned and executed in dif- injection. It will assume the lead role and higher quality 3D and 4D data each
ferent geologies and in different coun- only when the cost of heat delivery sys- year. Advanced computing capabilities
70 JPT • SEPTEMBER 2012

permit construction of more detailed directly to the real risks associated with
inversion models from the collection of their operations.
high-quality datasets. Improved acqui- “The companies most likely to be
sition technology is gathering new data trusted by investors and most readily
in places and ways previously beyond welcomed by local communities will be
reach. New nanotechnologies offer great those that
potential for improved subsurface imag- ◗◗Have an across-the-board,
ing with advances in the fundamental transparent record of voluntary
sciences, but this potential remains a actions to reduce the quantity
distant reality. The ‘bad’ news is that and toxicity of chemicals
earth physics complications will mean ◗◗Develop innovative methods for

that improvements can always be made, reducing use of fresh water—for
which translates into job security for sci- example, recycling fracturing
entists and engineers.” waste waters or using saline
or industrial waste waters for
Environment fracturing
Richard Liroff, founder and executive ◗◗Systematically inventory and
director of the Investor Environmental reduce air emissions from
Health Network, wrote an interesting operations, including using green
article related to the environmental chal- completions where appropriate
lenge titled “A Roadmap for Address- and substituting closed waste
ing Real Environmental and Social Issues storage structures for open pits
Associated With Horizontal Drilling and ◗◗Closely oversee their contractors
Hydraulic Fracturing.” to prevent shoddy well
“The energy industry faces a mas- construction and demonstrate
sive communications challenge in per- rapid emergency response
suading sizable sections of the pub- capability
lic in the United States and overseas ◗◗Know what is in their waste and
that natural gas operations relying on what happens to it
horizontal drilling and hydraulic frac- ◗◗Anticipate and respond to local
turing can be conducted safely,” Liroff community’s noise, road damage,
wrote. “Mitchell Energy founder George and other nuisance concerns
Mitchell has stated that industry has ◗◗Acknowledge regulatory
‘the duty to fracture responsibly.’ He transgressions and lessons
was candid when he said, ‘There is no learned from them.”
question that accidents have occurred
and mistakes have been made during Looking Forward
the rush to develop.’ Mitchell’s can- At the upcoming 2012 SPE Annual Tech-
dor was remarkable because, for too nical Conference and Exhibition in Octo-
many years, the industry has main- ber, the R&D Technical Section will host
ly responded to attacks on shale gas a Topical Luncheon titled, “Subsurface
operations by pointing out errors or Hydrocarbon Containment: Challeng-
omissions in critical media accounts. es and R&D Needs.” Panelists will dis-
The industry has also emphasized the cuss what has become a hot issue with-
60-year history of hydraulic fracturing in the oil and gas industry. Widespread
while ignoring the growth of legitimate interest has been sparked by a num-
public concerns arising from the expo- ber of events and new developments
nential growth of combined horizontal including the occurrence of some major
drilling and hydraulic fracturing dur- offshore and deepwater well integrity
ing the past 15 years. Thoughtful com- incidents; general unease of the public
panies recognize that this has not been toward the rapid growth in the applica-
a successful strategy for building public tion of resource recovery methodolo-
trust, and they are beginning to speak gies involving fracturing; uncertainties
JPT • SEPTEMBER 2012

regarding the long-term risks associ- during well drilling and field
ated with CO2 sequestration in reser- injection operations?
voirs; emphasis on improved predic- ◗◗What R&D efforts are required
tion of pore pressure, fracture pressure, to enable improved world-
geomechanics, rock physics, and frac- class seal integrity analysis and
ture propagation modeling; reliability containment risk mitigation?
concerns with aging wells and infra- ◗◗What new insights and lessons
structure, and questions related to cap can the industry draw from
rock integrity in conjunction with the recent subsurface containment
expanding use of thermal EOR methods. failure incidents?
Under consideration are articles and We hope you have enjoyed reading

conference sessions aimed at shedding the articles in this series related to the
light on subsurface hydrocarbon con- R&D Grand Challenges. Please contact the
tainment. Some pertinent questions that authors if you have comments on these
will be addressed are: articles. A series of white papers on these
◗◗How well do we understand Grand Challenges can be found at www.
containment risks in assets spe.org/industry/globalchallenges. JPT
Arnis Judzis, SPE, is vice president of TerraTek at

Schlumberger Testing Services and leads business development
for worldwide operations. He joined TerraTek in 1999 and
served as executive vice president when Schlumberger acquired
the company in 2006. Previously Judzis held various
management and technical positions in the United States and
abroad for British Petroleum after its acquisition of Standard
Oil of Ohio. Judzis has been active in SPE, the American Institute of Chemical
Engineers, the Offshore Technology Conference, and the Drilling Engineering
Association for more than 30 years. He served on the OTC Board of Directors and
was chairman during 2006 and 2007. He is currently a member of the SPE
International Board of Directors. Judzis received a BS degree in chemical
engineering from Cornell University and master’s and PhD degrees in chemical
engineering from the University of Michigan.
Anoop Poddar, SPE, is a partner in Energy Ventures, which

invests in high-potential technology companies in the upstream
sector. He is a board member of Fotech Solutions, Deep Casing
Tools, Red Spider, Read Well Services, and Geoglobal
Resources. Previously he was a board member of Novadrill.
He is also a member of the SPE R&D Committee and has
7 years of global drilling and completions experience with
Schlumberger and Essar Oil. Poddar earned a BE degree in petroleum engineering
from the Indian School of Mines, an MBA from Harvard Business School, and an
MSc in offshore engineering from Robert Gordon University.
JPT • SEPTEMBER 2012

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R&D Grand Challenges series

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Copyright 2011-2012 Society of Petroleum Engineers

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JPT • JULY 2011 65

ics of ASP flooding appear to be very

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JPT • JULY 2011 67

ratory and field measurements followed

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46 JPT • OCTOBER 2011

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30 JPT • DECEMBER 2011

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JPT • DECEMBER 2011 31

Higher Resolution Subsurface Imaging

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topic for research and development. The

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JPT • MARCH 2012 51

ponent or azimuthal seismic data can

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JPT • MARCH 2012 53

Unconventional Resources: Cracking

Editor’s note: This is the sixth in

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68 JPT • MAY 2012

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© 2012 Halliburton. All Rights Reserved.

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◗ Self-generated drive mechanism: of (heating period)×(heater well spac-

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Notional Cumulative C 5+ Hydrocarbon Distribution mally advantageous because it increases

0.60 stream and trading departments; these

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Grand Challenges for

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66 JPT • JUNE 2012