RPSEA advances 15 unconventional projects

Dec. 10, 2012
The nonprofit Research Partnership to Secure Energy for America (RPSEA) selected 15 proposals under the Unconventional Resources Program for negotiations leading to an award under its contract with the US Department of Energy's National Energy Technology Laboratory.

The nonprofit Research Partnership to Secure Energy for America (RPSEA) selected 15 proposals under the Unconventional Resources Program for negotiations leading to an award under its contract with the US Department of Energy's National Energy Technology Laboratory.

About $27 million in federal funding is added to $8.8 million in cost shared by industry participants. These selections add to the existing research portfolio of 47 projects.

"The 2011 Unconventional Resources Program selections focus on research that will add to the ability to develop the natural gas endowment of the US in an environmentally protective and safe manner," said Kent Perry, RPSEA vice-president, onshore programs.

Awards are negotiated once project selections are made within each RPSEA program: Unconventional Resources, Small Producer, and Ultradeepwater. Proposals must provide a minimum of 20% cost share with a minimum of 50% for field demonstration projects. Following are the titles and participants of the new projects selected for negotiation under the Unconventional Resources Program:

• Conductivity of Complex Fracturing in Unconventional Shale Reservoirs, led by Texas A&M University.

• Water Handling and Enhanced Productivity from Gas Shales, led by University of Southern California.

• Petrophysics and Tight Rock Characterization for the Application of Improved Stimulation and Production Technology in Shale, led by Oklahoma State University.

• Fracture Permeability Caused by Shear Slip in Gas Shale Reservoirs, led by Texas A&M University.

• Advanced Hydraulic Fracturing, led by Gas Technology Institute.

• Development of GIS-Based Tool for Optimized Fluid Management in Shale Operations, led by Colorado State University.

• Advanced Treatment of Shale Gas Frac Water to Produce NPDES Quality Water, led by Southern Research Institute.

• Cost-Effective Treatment of Flowback and Produced Waters Via an Integrated Precipitative Supercritical Process, led by Ohio University.

• Development of Subsurface Brine Disposal Framework in the Northern Appalachian basin, led by Battelle Memorial Institute.

• Development of Plasma Technology for the Management of Frac/Produced Water, led by Drexel University.

• Advancing a Web-Based Tool for Unconventional Natural Gas Development with Focus on Flowback and Produced Water Characterization, Treatment, and Beneficial Use, led by Colorado School of Mines.

• Understanding and Managing Environmental Roadblocks to Shale Gas Development: An Analysis of Shallow Gas, NORMs, and Trace Metals (Texas), led by University of Texas, Bureau of Economic Geology.

• Reducing the Environmental Impact of Gas Shale Development: Advanced Analytical Methods for Air and Stray Gas Emissions and Produced Brine Characterization, led by GSI Environmental Inc.

• Development of Methods to Prohibit and Remediate Loss of Annular Isolation in Shale Gas Wells: Prevention and Remediation of Sustained Casing Pressure and Other Isolation Breaches, led by CSI Technologies Inc.

• Relationships Between Induced Seismicity and Fluid Injection: Development of Strategies to Manage Fluid Disposal in Shale Hydrocarbon Plays, led by University of Texas at Austin.