Technology Focus: Unconventional Recovery (July 2008)

Abstract

Technology Focus Have you heard the story about the "17-year overnight sensation" (Durham 2005)? (If you work in northern Texas or are involved in unconventional resources, then your answer probably is yes, and if so, please bear with me—it is a great story and worthy of being repeated.) In the early 1980s, in a county on the outskirts of Fort Worth, Texas, there was a privately owned oil and gas company that just would not give up on a novel idea it had for obtaining a new source of gas for a large existing gas-gathering infrastructure and a large gas-processing plant. It seemed that whenever it drilled a well for deeper horizons, it encountered a significant gas show in a very thick shale section that contained methane and some heavier gases. Some brave soul, probably a very young engineer or geologist, suggested testing the shale to see if it possibly could be productive. At the time, the conventional wisdom was that the shale was probably a source rock, but was certainly not reservoir quality and certainly not productive. But the president of the company had faith in his young professionals and gave the go-ahead for testing. The first well, the C.W. Slay No. 1, was an economic failure, as were the next 40 wells (Bowker 2003). It took 17 years for the company to develop an economic technique that worked. How many companies that you know have that kind of patience? In 1999, very few people had heard of the Barnett shale, but by 2001, it was well on the way to becoming the largest gas field in Texas. I think that stories like this make unconventional recovery a very exciting arena in which to work. The resource is there, the demand is definitely there, and it is up to engineers, geologists, and enlightened managers to make it happen. In this issue, we look at three great examples of applying new technology and knowhow in the areas of coalbed methane, tight-gas-field deliquification, and gas hydrates. Is there another 17-year overnight sensation here? You be the judge. References Bowker, K.A. 2003. Recent Developments of the Barnett Shale Play, Fort Worth Basin. West Texas Geological Society Bulletin42 (6): 4–11. Durham, L.S. 2005. The 17-Year Overnight Sensation. Explorer 2005 (May). www.aapg.org/explorer/2005/05may/barnett_shale.cfm. Accessed 5 June 2008. Unconventional Recovery additional reading available at the SPE eLibrary: www.spe.org. SPE 114173 • "Stimulating Unconventional Reservoirs: Maximizing Network Growth While Optimizing Fracture Conductivity" by N.R. Warpinski, SPE, Pinnacle Technologies, et al. SPE 110590 • "Potential for Oil-Shale Development in the US" by Khosrow Biglarbigi, Intek, et al. Additional reading available at OnePetro: www.onepetro.org. OTC 19519 • "Four Critical Needs To Change the Hydrate-Energy Paradigm From Assessment to Production: The 2007 Report to Congress by the US Federal Methane Hydrate Advisory Committee" by Dendy Sloan, SPE, Colorado School of Mines, et al.