In the fourth and final round of a program to help small producers, the US Department of Energy will provide grants to five companies with proposals to extend the productive life of reservoirs. DOE said the five firms have less than 50 employees and lack financial resources for research. They were chosen from 28 proposals.
Macpherson Oil Co., Santa Monica, Calif., will use reservoir simulation to select the most efficient combination of horizontal wells and steamfloods to produce heavy oil from Round Mountain field, Kern County, Calif.
Fritzler Resources Inc., Fort Morgan, Colo., will use solar energy to heat and treat paraffinic crude oil in storage tanks in Oxbow-Last Chance field, Washington County, Colo., to meet specifications required for sale.
Energy Inc., Fairmount, Ind., will install a compressed air-driven production system to avoid downhole corrosion impeding pumpjack equipment in Trenton field in Washington and Wabash counties, Ind.
Stanton Mineral Development Inc., Austin, Tex., will use slimhole drilling to reduce well costs in Oak Hill field, Bastrop County, Tex., where standard drilling and completion costs are too high for economical drilling development of marginal prospects.
And Geopetro LLC, Worthington, Ohio, will compile data from advanced reservoir description technologies and 3D simulation modeling to develop alternative field development approaches for optimal oil production in Householder field, Fairfield County, Ohio.
Sponsors will pay nearly $1.8 million toward the five projects, and DOE will contribute $322,000. With the latest proposals, DOE has provided nearly $1.5 million in funding for 22 projects by small producers.
