GRI technology transfer effort targets producer cost savings

The Gas Research Institute, Chicago, operates another significant technology transfer effort for small producers. GRI is funded by gas pipeline transportation surcharges regulated by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. It has been cutting its budget and staff (OGJ, Feb. 26, p. 36) and has asked FERC for a reduced budget of $170.4 million for fiscal 1997, down $4.4 million from its amended 1996 budget. The GRI budget earmarks $123.4 million to continue 126 research and development

Aug. 19, 1996

3 min read

The Gas Research Institute, Chicago, operates another significant technology transfer effort for small producers.

GRI is funded by gas pipeline transportation surcharges regulated by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. It has been cutting its budget and staff (OGJ, Feb. 26, p. 36) and has asked FERC for a reduced budget of $170.4 million for fiscal 1997, down $4.4 million from its amended 1996 budget.

The GRI budget earmarks $123.4 million to continue 126 research and development projects and $15 million for new projects. About a third of the budget goes for E&P projects.

GRI is not in competition with the Petroleum Technology Transfer Council (see related story, p. 27). GRI distributes gas reasearch data, mostly its own, while PTTC conducts no research directly but handles a broader array of R&D, including GRI's. The two organizations have cosponsored workshops, and GRI is represented on PTTC's board.

Last year GRI shifted its Natural Gas Supply Information Center from the Colorado School of Mines at Golden to downtown Denver, adjacent to the offices of the Independent Petroleum Association of Mountain States, its regional transfer agent.

GRI has a similar information center in Houston. Both feature a library and collection of GRI and industry research on methods to enhance gas production. Staff will search for data and prepare reports free of charge.

The two centers received 960 requests from 472 clients in first half 1996, resulting in 6,400 responses.

Chuck Brandenburg, a research program team leader, said the centers offer results from GRI research on drilling, completion and stimulation, geophysics, formation evaluation, reservoir geology, gas processing, and more.

Savings sought

Brandenburg said GRI wants to provide the gas industry technology that would save it $1 billion in production costs by 2000 and is about $800 million toward that goal.

He said GRI has documented 60 instances of technology transfer to independents that have been successful. Another 600 are awaiting the test of time.

GRI has an Internet home page, at http://www.gri.org, where producers can see lists of research and order the results electronically at the click of a mouse. Its quarterly technology journal, Gas Tips, goes to 6,000 persons.

Perhaps the most successful GRI program has been its six short courses on successful drilling practices.

In those, operators share what they have learned from drilling wells in particular basins in an effort to "significantly reduce the learning curves" for other operators.

So far, courses have focused on the Anadarko basin, Arkoma basin, Green River basin, Gulf of Mexico extended reach drilling, Offshore Texas, and deepwater Gulf of Mexico.