By the OGJ Online Staff
HOUSTON, June 5 -- The Gas Technology Institute, Des Plaines, Ill., and Surdam Consulting Inc., Laramie, Wyo., have formed Innovative Discovery Technologies LLC to help develop over and underpressured gas zones in basin center and deep basin settings.
Ronald C. Surdam, IDT president, said anomalously pressured zones contain an estimated 250 tcf of basin center gas. Over or underpressured gas accumulations tend to be compartmentalized in deeply buried, relatively impermeable rocks. Such abnormally pressured rocks contain a free gas phase that is often sealed as a result of capillary forces.
"During our time as Gas Research Institute, we devoted a basic research program to the investigation and verification of pressure compartments that could hold new natural gas reserves," said Richard Parker, GTI technology manager. "Dr. Surdam was one of the discoverers of the capillary seal concept and has worked to develop technologies that can detect gas trapped by capillary and other pressure compartment seals and identify it for a client."
Surdam said traditional exploration methods haven't always worked in deep or basin center settings. "The gas is there, but it has often been missed."
IDT offers various well locating services, basin catalogs, online field and exploration databases, short courses regarding the IDT approach, and consulting services.