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Hydrocarbon and Energy Research
University of Calgary Engineering p20
Light Your Fire
Oil and gas engineers are developing
environmentally sensitive recovery methods that require less water than
conventional techniques and will access volumes of untapped conventional
and heavy oil.
Conventional techniques can use up to six barrels of water to produce
one barrel of oil and they emit carbon dioxide and oxides of sulphur and
nitrogen directly into the air. Oil and gas engineers are refining an air injection
process, used for both heavy and light oil, that is easily accessible both
on and offshore, does not require water, and which reduces the volumes
of carbon dioxide per volume of oil produced. Researchers hope the
process will double the output of oil recovery and anticipate a five percent
increase in light oil recovery.
A hybrid process is currently being used to extract the volumes of untapped
heavy oil embedded deep within the thousands of primary wells that
currently lace Alberta’s prairies.
Geomechanical Behaviours of Reservoirs Stresses, deformation
and fracturing have large implications in many areas of oilfield
development. This is particularly serious during seismic exploration,
reservoir forecasting, drilling, sand production and other exploration
activities. Only recently have researchers come to understand the impact
of this geomechanical behaviour.
Researchers believe their discoveries will have tremendous implications
on the petroleum industry. One example is a new modelling technique
that accounts for formation damage and stress changes in very high rate
injection wells for the disposal of produced water. This system will be critical
to the Yemen operations of Nexen Inc., where more than half a million
barrels of water must be disposed of daily.
Looking Beneath the Earth The University of Calgary has the
largest integrated process tomography facility in Canada.
Some 30 multi-disciplinary researchers in the Porous Media and Process
Tomography Research group are using non-invasive imaging tools and
computer models to understand physical and chemical problems
associated with the recovery and processing of hydrocarbon resources.
Operating one of the largest tomographic analysis laboratories in North
America, researchers are determining how certain fluids flow and are
distributed in porous materials (e.g. rock and soils) and how they interact
with other fluids or solids. Models, such as the NMR-based water-cut
meter, are developed, commercialized and then used by industry to
cultivate optimal processes to increase production, reduce operational
costs in hydrocarbon processing, and lower air and water pollutants.
Air injection research
Yemen operations of Nexen Inc.
MRIs provide a new perspective in
hydrocarbon research
Photo courtesy of Nexen Inc.