Petroleum Technology Transfer Council


 texas & se new mexico Region

Prominent Activity and Technology Trends

West Texas Woodford/Barnett Gas Shale Research
 Current Bureau of Economic Geology studies on potential gas shales systems in Texas are focused on the Upper Devonian Woodford and Mississippian Barnett Fm but also include other mudrocks of Lower Devonian, Pennsylvanian, and Lower Permian age. For each of these systems we are investigating a wide range of mudrock properties including mineralogy, organic matter composition and maturity, fractures and rock mechanics, depositional facies, borehole geophysical response, 3D seismic character, and stratigraphic continuity.
 
Our multidisciplinary research Studies of the Barnett are targeted at defining updip/downdip changes in rock attributes using more than 30 cores from the Texas Hill Country area and cores from the central Ft. Worth Basin. Similar studies are being conducted on the Woodford in the Permian Basin based on more than 35 cores. These studies are being cofunded by the State of Texas Advanced Resource Recovery (STARR) program and through an industry consortium at the Bureau. Preliminary results of these studies are available in the form of Powerpoint presentations from the Publications Sales office at the Bureau of Economic Geology.

ROZ Flooding Slated for Amerada Hess’s SSAU CO2 Flood

In May Amerada Hess, operator of the Seminole San Andres Unit (SSAU), announced plans for an approximate $300 million investment to expand production in the Residual Oil Zone (ROZ) in the SSAU. The ROZ lies directly underneath the SSAU's main pay zone and contains nearly one billion bar­rels of unconventional oil that must be mixed with carbon dioxide for productjon. The first stage of the development will include the deepening of 47 production wells into the ROZ, and the preparation of 29 wells that will be converted from produc­tion to carbon dioxide injection. Amerada Hess has operated a pilot program in the ROZ since 1994 and a second program since 2004. The pilot projects were successful, spawning this expansion. The Seminole Field was first discovered in 1936 with production from the San Andres formation. The original development targeted the conventional main pay zone, containing approximately one billion barrels of oil covering an area of almost 16,000 acres. The SSAU was formed in 1969 to begin water flooding operations, and in 1980, carbon dioxide flooding was approved by the working interest owners. This led to construction of the Seminole Gas Processing Plant with actual carbon dioxide injection beginning in 1983. (Excerpted from Seminole Sentinel, May 20, 2007)

More CO2 Headed Texas’ Way

In January 2007 Kinder Morgan Energy Partners, L.P. (Kinder Morgan) announced plans to invest about $120 million in southwest Colorado to expand its ability to supply CO2 to the Permian Basin. Expansion activities include developing a new CO2 source field, the Doe Canyon Deep Unit, and adding infrastructure at the McElmo Dome Unit and the Cortez Pipeline. The Cortez Pipeline transports CO2 to Denver City, Texas. The Doe Canyon Deep Unit, which only requires a 10-mile line to connect to the Cortez Pipeline, will add 100 MMcfd of CO2 capacity. Activity in the McElmo Dome Unit will increase its CO2 production by 200 MMcfd. Pump station modifications on the Cortez Pipeline will expand its capacity from 1.15 Bcfd to 1.35 Bcfd of CO2. All projects are expected to be completed by mid-2008. (Excerpted from Kinder Morgan press release, Jan. 24, 2007)

Before too many years pass, there may be CO2 available in southeast Texas. In late 2006 Denbury Resources purchased an option to acquire Hasting Field, a potential CO2 flood site near Houston, Texas. Based on preliminary engineering data, the West Hastings Unit (the most likely to be developed as a tertiary flood) has significant reserve potential from CO2 flooding, more than any other single field in Denbury’s inventory. To get CO2 from the southern end of its existing pipeline near Donaldson, Louisiana, to the Hastings Field, Denbury would need to build a 280-300 mile long pipeline. Studies for that pipeline have already been initiated. (Excerpted from Denbury Resources website).