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NETL Soliciting Projects in Unconventional Fossil Energy and CO2-EOR Research for $9.7M in Funding

The US Department of Energy National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) is soliciting (DE-FOA-0000312) research projects in unconventional fossil energy and CO2-enhanced oil recovery (CO2-EOR) for up to $9.7 million in funding. NETL expects to select between 6-11 projects resulting from the solicitation.

NETL is seeking projects in FY10 that focus on two topic areas:

  1. advanced simulation and visualization capabilities to enhance production and minimize environmental impacts associated with the development of domestic unconventional resources; and

  2. advanced, next-generation carbon dioxide enhanced oil recovery (CO2-EOR).

The objective of the FOA is to fund research that results in proof-of-concept and technology ready for field and/or commercial application.

Research under Topic Area 1 is expected to result in modules that can be integrated into existing commercial and/or field-ready applications or can be used as stand-alone tools, processes, algorithms, etc. Any source code developed under this topic area will be made available to the public with user-friendly operating documentation and without restriction (this does not include enhancements to existing commercial software that is intended to be provided as a service to the public).

The objective of Topic Area 2 research is to advance “next-generation” carbon-dioxide enhanced oil recovery technology to the point where it is ready for pilot scale testing. Next-generation technologies include, but are not limited to:

  • Methods for improving the mobility ratio through applications such as: CO2 thickeners, CO2 foams, improved water soluble polymers, and innovative water-alternating-gas (WAG) injection schemes.

  • Methods for improving sweep efficiency by using nanoparticles for long term stabilization of foams and emulsions that can selectively control CO2 mobility.

  • Methods to allow miscible flooding of additional target reservoirs by extending crude oil-CO2 miscibility [lowering the minimum miscibility pressure (MMP)].

  • New approaches to the optimization of flood design through application of improved measures such as targeted horizontal wells, new well alignment and infill drilling.

  • Real time data acquisition/diagnostics tools to monitor and control flood performance.

  • Methods for increasing recovery of oil from the residual oil zone through improved flood design or other technologies or techniques.

Most oil resources have been produced using primary and secondary recovery techniques, with an average recovery factor estimated at 35%. Additional recovery is possible by using innovative EOR techniques. One of these techniques, CO2 miscible flooding [continuous or water-alternating gas (WAG)] is the fastest growing EOR process in the US, due to the existence of many reservoirs amenable to this process, according to NETL.

Current production is close to 272,000 bpd, representing approximately 5% of total US oil output. Currently, the CO2-EOR process is limited by technology, cost, and geographic availability of CO2. Technology improvements are needed to increase the displacement efficiency of the process. Next generation CO2-EOR technologies can increase the total volume of technically recoverable domestic oil by 30 billion barrels to an estimated 78 billion barrels for eleven areas studied, according to NETL.

Comments

Henry Gibson

The Gulf catastrophy now indicates the need to end conventional oil.

Several rings of explosives around very thick walled pipe around a casing pipe for the well could have been several cheap redundant ways to stop oil flow. This technique for closing down pipes has been tested since 1944; it even welds the pipe shut and can be used for pipes with walls as thick as cannon barrels.

Pipe can also be sheared by explosives and welded together by explosives or even simple Thermite processes.

Because they can be built very quickly, the US should start the immediate construction of CANDU reactors in large quantities and the coal now used for electric generation can be used to make liquid fuels on the same sites where the coal is now burned and on other sites and even at the mines where coal not worth shipping can be converted.

A $40 minimum and permanent tax on imported oil can pay for the construction of the fission power stations and the coal conversion stations which will remain forever also as a source of revenue for the Federal government in a similar way to the dams on the Columbia. Much of the energy consumption of automobiles can be diverted to the grid. Before that much of the energy consumption of automobiles can be diverted to methane or methanol. The clean burning methanol should become the standard fuel for ground vehicles.

Initially all of the fuel for CANDU reactors can be the "used" "waste" fuel now stored in pools and dry storage. The tubes only need to be cut and welded into new caps and bundles. Depleted or new Uranium can be used for some of the elements in the bundles.

An annealing process can be developed to renew the Zirconium alloy tubes if needed for longer service. China is already testing this long proposed reuse in a more efficient more complicated way. But in the US this fuel costs less than nothing and needs far less space and far less expensive equipment to capture and use than "FREE" solar energy or "Free" wind energy and eliminates much nuclear "waste".

Almost every penny now spent on Solar and wind electricity is more economically spent on the reuse of "Waste" fuel rods that cost far less than nothing.

The heat from almost any type of reactor can be used to capture CO2 and then purefy it and make it available for use as an ingredient to make methanol from CO2 and water. Electicity can be used to make hydrogen from water or CO from CO2 to make methanol. Diesel trucks can burn up to 90 percent methane, propane, gasoline or methanol. The remainder of the fuel used for ignition can even be dimethyl-ether made from methanol now in large quantities.

A nice small simple process to make methanol from natural gas would be a revolution. It is likely that organisms can be genetically engineered to use carbon monoxide and water and CO2 as an efficient energy source for the production of ethanol and butanol and algal oil. CO can be produced relatively efficiently from methane and oxygen and CO2.

The production of large quantities of liquid fuels and electricity would remain in the hands of the government to fund these and other programs. This would prevent speculations in the energy markets that have ruined companies who tried it, ENRON, and thousands of companies in the recent collapse that were killed by high costs of energy. ..HG..

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