Petroleum Engineering Department Facilities
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Petroleum Engineering Department Facilities Departmental Facilities and Individual Faculty Research Laboratories: Acid Fracture Research Laboratory Dr. Dan Hill Dr. Ding Zhu The Acid Fracture Research Lab is designed to study acid fracture conductivity behavior as functions of important parameters. Each experiment has 4 major steps; rock sample preparation, cell preparation and loading, acid injection, and fracture conductivity measurement. The set-up consists of an acid injection apparatus, a fracture conductivity measurement apparatus, and a profilometer for surface scanning. The acid injection uses a modified API conductivity cell that holds the samples in place during the experiments. The cell is corrosion resistant and can withstand pressures that over 10,000 psi. This injection system is designed to flow acid through the API cell at high pressures (greater than 1000 psi). The pressure transducers display the pressure inside the cell, across the fracture, and the leak-off pressure (across the samples). The Chem-Pump is a metered pump that is able to flow up to a rate of 1.05 liters/minutes. Thermocouples located upstream and downstream of the cell provide temperature data during the injection. Backpressure regulators ensure that the system stays at the desired pressure of 1000 psi. The apparatus used to measure fracture conductivity is designed to flow a fluid through the API cell that is subject to varying closure stresses. A load frame holds the cell in a horizontal position. Pressure transducers measure the pressure across the fracture and in the cell. Three pressure transducers measure different ranges of pressure drop. A thermocouple located downstream of the cell provides temperature data. The flow rate of the fluid flowing through the cell is measured using a stopwatch and a graduated cylinder. The surface of the rock samples can be scanned with a profilometer before and after acid injection to determine the volume of rock removed during the acid injection. The apparatus includes a laser sensor, control box, and PC software interface. The profilometer uses the laser displacement sensor to record the vertical height of the sample as it travels over the entire length and width of the sample. Acid Stimulation Laboratory Contact: Dr. Dan Hill Contact: Dr. Ding Zhu In this laboratory, we develop new and better methods to measure acid-fracture conductivity so industry can better design well completions in deep, carbonate reservoirs. Advanced Instruments Lab Contact: Dr. Hisham Nasr-El-Din The Advanced Instruments Lab contains equipment used in the detection, classification, analysis, and imaging of rock samples, sediments, and fluids. Descriptions of each piece of equipment are listed below: • Optima 7000 DV Inductively Coupled Plasma (ICP) - A type of mass spectrometry which is capable of detecting metals and several non-metals at concentrations as low as one part in 1012 (part per trillion). • S2 Ranger X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) - An x-ray instrument used for routine, relatively non-destructive chemical analyses of rocks, minerals, sediments and fluids. • Evex Mini- Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) - A type of electron microscope that produces images of a sample by scanning it with a focused beam of electrons. • XDS 2000 X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) - Used for determining the atomic and molecular structure of a crystal, in which the crystalline atoms cause a beam of X-rays to diffract into many specific directions. • MSC-1000 Mini-Sputter Coater - Used to coat the gold to the samples for SEM. Anadarko Petrophysics Laboratory Contact: Dr. Sara Abedi This lab focuses on the petrophysical techniques listed below. • Distillation - Either of two extraction methods (Dean-Stark) or Retort Distillation can be used to determine the fluid saturation inside the cores. • Coreflood setup - Used to determine the initial permeability of the core samples using one fluid. It can also be used to determine the relative permeability to oil and water when both fluids are injected simultaneously. • Centrifuge - Used to determine the capillary pressure data for a core. • Profile Perameter • Sonic sifters - Used to determine the particle size distribution and sieve analysis. • Oil bath - Used to determine the viscosity of liquids at higher temperatures. • Acoustic velocity - Used to determine the wave velocities on rock samples as a function of confining stress and pore pressure comprising an ultrasonic transducer assembly, pressure vessel (Core Holder) and pore pressure intensifier. The pore pressure intensifier part is not currently available in the unit in lab 212. Rock properties such as shear modulus, Poisson’s ratio, bulk modulus, and Young’s modulus can be calculated from the wave velocities. • Helium porosimeter - Used to determine the porosity for core samples using simple Boyle’s law. • Tensiometer - Used to determine the surface and interfacial tension for liquids using Wilhelmy plate method. BP Laboratory for Field Studies Contact: Dr. Maria Barrufet This laboratory provides a state-of-the-art technology and computer resource for advanced, team- based reservoir engineering courses. The lab will provide students for the first time with GeoGraphix software, reservoir simulation software by Computer Modelling Group Ltd. (CMG), 40 new computer workstations, and three SMART boards. Chaparral Fischer CO2 EOR Laboratory Contact: Dr. David Schechter Research projects in this lab include CO2 Enhanced Oil Recovery in Unconventional Liquid Reservoirs and CO2 Injection in the North Burbank Unit. More information on this research can be found on the Model and Improved Oil Recovery from Fractured Reservoirs website. A joint venture with Chaparral Energy and generously sponsored by Mr. Mark Fischer (CEO of Chaparral Energy), the Chaparral Fischer CO2 EOR lab in conjunction with Naturally Fractured Reservoir lab studies salient features of gas injection using CO2 and other modified natural gases for improving oil recovery from naturally fractured conventional and unconventional reservoirs. Studies also focus on improving foam stability using nanoparticles and surfactants for better mobility control and higher sweep efficiency of gas injection as well as characterizing gravity segregation in naturally fractured reservoirs. The lab boasts of state of the art equipment for minimum miscibility pressure measurements and gas injection besides standard equipment for density and rheological property measurements. Chevron Drilling and Completions Laboratory Contact: Dr. Jerome Schubert This teaching lab has a drilling cementing and stimulation measurement equipment as well as a drilling rig simulator and software. The lab simulates a realistic rig floor using a drilling simulator and they hydraulic tubing tongs currently used for research and other equipment typically found on a rig floor. The hands-on approach will help student learn the importance of drilling mud properties and how changes can help identify and solve potential drilling programs. Chevron Petrophysical Imaging Laboratory Contact: Dr. David Schechter The Chevron Petrophysical Imaging Laboratory has a state of the art Toshiba Aquilion RXL CT Scanner with 3D advanced visualization software. Its 16-detector row 32 slice computerized tomography system delivers high speed iterative image reconstruction of 0.5 mm data sets at up to 16 images per second. The scanner has a 72 cm gantry opening with +/- 30 degrees tilt with an accurate 0.5 mm x 16-row high-resolution detector. Also, the CT Scanner has an industry leading low contrast resolution of 2mm @ 0.3%. The Toshiba Aquilion RXL CT Scanner is a high-precision instrument that can measure the porosity, fluid density and changes in saturation in cores samples and enhanced oil recovery flood experiments such as water, gas or CO2 flooding. Also, it can be used to visualize natural fractures in cores samples and wormhole propagation in cores exposed to acid treatments. More information on the research performed in this lab can be found on the Modeling and Improved Oil Recovery from Fractured Reservoirs website. Corrosion and Foam Stability Lab Contact: Dr. Hisham Nasr-El-Din Researchers in the Corrosion and Foam Stability Lab in the Harold Vance Department of Petroleum Engineering at Texas A&M University study the corrosive effects of chemicals and other substances on developed formations and drilling equipment, and seeks ways to mitigate and prevent it. This laboratory also houses equipment for the study of foam stability to develop foams that can be used as drilling and fracturing fluids, as well as deliver proppants, corrosion inhibitors, and other useful liquids and particles to the substrate. Dual Gradient Drilling Lab Contact: Dr. Jerome Schubert The Dual Gradient Drilling Lab is designed to help the industry better understand what will happen in the junction between the marine drilling riser and the subsea pump. The equipment is currently set up to model a deepwater dual gradient riser/subsea pump/return line system utilized in ultra-deepwater drilling. We hope to determine how much gas entering the riser is diverted to the subsea pump and how much continues upward and accumulates at the top of the riser, and how we can maximize the gas that exits through the subsea pump. Part of this study will develop procedures where the riser itself can be utilized in handling this gas from kicks. This type of research will help future drilling operations recognize and avoid the dangerous pressure situations that led to the Macondo blowout, and possibly create safer equipment to further reduce risk. The lab system consists of clear PVC pipe (six inches in diameter) to simulate the marine drilling riser, small diameter clear PVC inner pipe to simulate the drillstring and a six-inch outlet approximately six feet from the bottom of the “marine riser” to act as the outlet of the riser (inlet of the subsea pump). There are two centrifugal pumps: one to act as the mud pump where they can pump straight up from the bottom of the riser or down the drillpipe and up the riser annulus, and one connected to the riser outlet to act as the subsea pump (either for the enhanced drilling EC Drill pump or the SMD Mudlift pump).