In Review

Rocky Mountain
Always looking for new ways to serve producers, 2004 began with an "Online Software Fair." This organized listing of information about free and low cost (generally under $1000) software packages presents information in 12 different categories. Staff continued to emphasize hands-on training for popular industry packages, including those from Seismic Micro Technology, GeoPlus and GeoGraphix. The region debuted the Core Locator, an interactive map-based search engine that will allow a user to find (for a selected map area) what cores are available and where they are. Beginning with Colorado and portions of Texas BEG's core holdings, the Locator will ultimately be national in scope.

Thanks to 28 sponsors, the "Futures in Energy" outreach program provided O&G training, drawing 20 high school teachers and 13 high school students. Eight students received four-week paid internships. Effort was so successful that it looks like it will be held in both Denver and southwest Wyoming in 2005.

South Midcontinent
The home run for the year has to be the 2-day "Unconventional Gas Symposium" that Brian Cardott with the Oklahoma Geological Survey developed. More than 300 individuals learned insights about CBM and potential shale development. Insights were captured in PTTC Network News (www.pttc.org/news/1qtr2004/v10n1p7.htm). Play-based studies performed by the Oklahoma Geological Survey, with tech transfer support from PTTC, continue to be of strong interest—the most recent focusing on the Cromwell formation. Field- and operations-oriented workshops delivered by Oklahoma's Marginal Well Commission support yet another industry niche. Personal connections developed during the region's DOE-supported PUMP project effort have borne fruit in Arkansas—there's now a solid workshop program in place. Looking forward to the future, the region also supports the AAPG Student Expo at the University of Oklahoma.

Southwest
Environmental and data issues remain a strong focus in New Mexico. Staff developed workshops on produced water management and soil remediation and supported a series of workshops by New Mexico's Oil Conservation Division on pit rules. Usage of the New Mexico State Lands database continues to grow, plus staff continually works to expand and refine online access to conventional O&G data. Where relevant, insights from other research work within New Mexico Tech's Petroleum Recovery Research Center are incorporated into workshops. The region leverages efforts through open cooperation with the Texas Region, a prime example being joint support for the CO2 Conference in Midland. In some instances the region works with the Rocky Mountain Region to develop and deliver events to producers in northwestern New Mexico.

Texas
Mention Texas and one thinks of the Barnett Shale, one of the hottest plays in the domestic U.S. Supporting industry the region worked with the Ellison Miles Geotechnology Institute at Brookhaven College on a major Barnett Shale Symposium (more than 200 attendees) and developed a web section devoted specifically to the Barnett Shale. In the cooperative effort vein, one would be remiss not to mention the "Annual CO2 Conference" in Midland that is supported by PTTC's Texas and Southwest regions, plus several other groups. This has become the preeminent CO2 flooding conference in the world, and recent additions of a Carbon Management workshop make a natural tie. In an effort that will bear future fruit for Texas producers, the region is supporting the Texas Bureau of Economic Geology's Permian Basin Initiative as it works toward developing an integrated database of geological, geophysical and petrophysical information for Permian Basin reservoirs. Bob Kiker's operations experience extends throughout Texas and into other regions through his involvement in PTTC's series of workshops on "Produced Water Management."

West Coast
There was a consistent focus on case studies during 2004, ranging from "Power Consumption Reduction in California Oilfields" to "Water Control." Global Energy Partners developed and administered an energy efficiency audit/rebate program for the California oilpatch. The consumption reduction workshop summarized their results and presented individual case studies documenting power savings realized from different producer actions. The "Water Control" workshop summarized insights from the region's DOE-supported PUMP effort. Focus there is on learning to identify causes for excessive water production and demonstrating affordable solutions. Small-scale field demos of water control technologies are being implemented. Beyond these practical operations issues, geological workshops focused on diatomites and faults, of which there are plenty in California. Continuing the region’s pioneering effort, the COMET 2004 student training and internship program drew 15 students this year.