ExxonMobil contributes $2.5M to University of Wyoming to support unconventional hydrocarbon research

8 February 2013

ExxonMobil is contributing $2.5 million to the University of Wyoming to provide laboratory equipment for the university’s Improved Recovery Program, which is part of the newly created Center for Advanced Oil and Gas Technologies. The center is part of the School of Energy Resources and focuses on oil and gas extraction from unconventional reservoirs. The ExxonMobil contribution will be matched by the state, resulting in a total gift of $5 million.

Expansion of the Improved Recovery Program has direct implications for the future of the state and its citizens, the University said, as Wyoming’s economy is based on natural resource extraction. Wyoming is believed to hold significant unconventional oil and gas resources. When combined with enhanced production from existing reservoirs, there is the potential for new and additional jobs and revenues that will benefit the state.

Teaching and research programs at the School of Energy Resources include reservoir geo-mechanics, hydraulic fracturing, characterization and flow, drilling and completions, and improved recovery. The school will focus specifically on increasing faculty expertise, research facilities and outreach.

The significant UW fundraising initiative also supports the construction of the Energy Engineering Research Facility, a new facility that will provide the space and infrastructure to house and support large-scale research related to energy development, conversion and conservation. Space within this research-focused facility will be designed so that it can quickly be converted to house a variety of projects.

The energy and engineering facility projects are tied to the work of the Governor’s Energy, Engineering, STEM Integration Task Force, which recently released its strategy for creating a “Tier 1” engineering program at UW.