Central Gulf

Eastern Gulf

Midwest

North Midcontinent

Rocky Mountain

South Midcontinent

Southwest

Texas

West Coast

2004 Year In Review, A Focus On Technology
Excerpts in PTTC Network News, 4th Quarter 2004

PTTC has summarized regional results in the technology transfer realm during 2004. The following article highlights focused areas that are of broad interest and value to industry. Nationally, PTTC strives to support and share these initiatives inter-regionally to speed technology uptake across the country. To accomplish this PTTC continues to provide case studies in World Oil, writes a monthly Tech Connections column in American Oil and Gas Reporter and assembles frequent E-mail Tech Alerts, for which the audience continues to grow. PTTC encourages readers to view individual regional websites periodically to access the expanding technology information and data from over a decade of contributions.

Appalachian
A feature of continued interest to Appalachian producers is the online GIS maps of Trenton-Black River, horizontal wells and coalbed methane activity. These interactive GIS maps along with the extended online newsletter that captures technical insights keep producers current. Industry response to a coalbed methane road mapping exercise held late in 2003 has led to formation of a Northern Appalachian Basin Coalbed Methane Research Consortium. Among their core activities, the Consortium will develop a coalbed methane database and evaluate research proposals submitted by Consortium members.

Central Gulf
The region responded to strong producer interest in coalbed methane, co-sponsoring a workshop on "Coalbed Methane Resources in the Southeast" with the University of Louisiana Lafayette's Energy Institute. A follow-on workshop and field trip focused solely on Louisiana's fledgling CBM industry is planned in spring 2005. Early on, the region developed the Louisiana Desktop Well Reference CD, which spurred development of the state's SONRIS online information system. Now the region is supporting a pilot project called the Louisiana Parish Well Reference that has more detailed information, but only at the parish level. Hopes are that this pilot project will demonstrate sufficient value to attract the major state funding required should it be implemented statewide. A late 2004 workshop focused on finding the potential in inactive/marginal wells. Don Goddard's study of "Shallow Miocene Gas Potential" provides another resource for stimulating activity in Louisiana.

Eastern Gulf
Consistent with a historical emphasis on exploration, key workshops focused on "AVO Technology" and "Seismic Attributes for Reservoir Characterization." A fall workshop presented three field case studies (North Blowhorn Creek, Vocation Field, and Womack Hill Field) that are a product of DOE-supported research projects at the University of Alabama. Beyond identifying potential in the individual fields, these case studies demonstrated concepts useful for exploitation in other fields. Alabama's Black Warrior Basin CBM play is the most mature in the U.S. Regional support for the "International CBM Symposium" in Tuscaloosa helps capture operational insights of value to other CBM basins across the country as they mature. Staff has been working with the Mississippi State Board of Registered Professional Geologists to provide events that will help individuals meet their professional development requirements.

Midwest
The ILOIL interactive mapping service developed by the Illinois State Geological Survey (ISGS) in a DOE-supported PUMP project is serving Illinois Basin producers well. Several regional events focused on acquainting producers with ILOIL’s features and capabilities and there are already good reports about how producers are using the online information. ISGS and PTTC are helping maintain and even expand ILOIL now that the PUMP contract has been completed. Importing a concept from the Appalachian region, staff worked with the Illinois O&G Association to tailor pumper operations and safety training for the Illinois Basin. Michigan producers continued their strong support for exploration- and case study-oriented workshops, creating full houses for "Niagaran" and "Michigan Basin Undiscovered O&G Resources."

North Midcontinent
Working alongside KU's Tertiary Oil Recovery Project group, case study information has been placed online for three technologies of regional interest: (1) polymer-gel water-shutoff (WSO) treatments, (2) GasGunTM solid propellant stimulation treatments and (3) small scale 3-D seismic surveys. Polymer-gel WSO treatments are of such interest that a separate website was developed. Case study examples from the above effort were featured in workshops in Wichita and Hays that focused on exploitation of mature reservoirs through technology. The Technology Fair provided an opportunity to highlight other technologies applicable to Kansas' reservoirs. Kansas oil production has actually increased (www.nmcpttc.org/newsletter/2004/oilprod.html) in response to aggressive technology applications and cooperation between producers, consultants and service providers in the area. There's also a rapidly growing CBM industry in southeast Kansas that regional activities support.

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/newsletter/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.