Jpg of 3D seismic map available at www.utah.gov/ustar/documents/105.jpg

SALT LAKE CITY – Feb. 11, 2010 – Between 65 and 99 million years ago, winding rivers laid down layers of sand that over geologic time accumulated concentrations of oil and natural gas.

As drillers will tell you, these complex remnants of river channels that occur in the strata called the Dakota Formation are hard to pinpoint. Think about locating a snaky, 50-foot-thick vein of hydrocarbon-rich rock hidden 8,000 to 9,000 feet below the surface.

A USTAR-funded researcher has developed a way to help pinpoint those layers in an exciting research study that could increase the efficiency and lower the environmental impact of oil and gas exploration.

William Keach of the University of Utah’s Energy & Geoscience Institute (EGI) will soon publish the results of a study of reservoir characterization, a process that models underground reservoirs of oil-bearing rock to more precisely predict the volume of oil or gas available in various rock layers.

A combination of 3D seismic and related data, sophisticated software, and core sample correlations can dramatically increase drilling success rates, Keach says. “Our results indicate energy developers may be able to increase their ‘batting average’ from three successful wells out of every 10 drilled to seven successful wells out of 10.”

3D seismic map

Keach, his colleague Lauren Birgenheier, and their team spent more than a year on a project funded by the Utah Science Technology and Research (USTAR) initiative. The team studied seismic data made available by Flying J Oil and Gas, Wind River Resources, and Pioneer Natural Resources energy development companies as well as core samples from the Utah Geological Survey. The region studied is halfway between Vernal and I-70, in the rugged terrain of Uintah County.

“Specifically we calibrated what we saw in the rocks with the seismic data,” Keach says. “We studied 20 geological attributes and identified three that in concert form a predictive model for spotting Dakota Formation river channel complexes.”

The three attributes – which are associated with the behavior of sound waves in rock – were wave form data, spectral decomposition, and amplitude. Keach’s team applied the three attributes in a novel way, “since no one attribute told the whole story,” Keach says.

“Earth is a filter. You can derive a lot of information from seeing how different layers of rock affect sound waves,” Keach says. “But the sound waves don’t give you enough accuracy to map every river channel.”

By creating a multi-attribute composite “map” of the strata thousands of feet underground, a clearer picture of the river channels emerged. “These relatively narrow river channels are hard to hit with a drill and success rate is left to chance without the 3D seismic approach,” Birgenheier says.

As the technology ultimately reaches the market, eliminating the number of dry wells – at a cost of about $1.5 million a well – represents a significant cost savings for energy developers.

“A higher drilling accuracy rate also means less surface impact. You’re cutting less road and using less water to capture the same amount of cubic feet of gas. There is a reduced environmental impact that comes with drilling fewer, more productive wells.”

Large oil and gas companies have used similar approaches to the techniques Keach’s team has developed. With the publication of Keach’s study to the general public, smaller regionally-based companies will be able to compete more effectively, Keach says.

Bill Keach

USTAR provided $100,000 of funding for the project, but the cooperative sharing of data between competitors such as Flying J, Wind River Resources and Pioneer was critical, Birgenheier says. “It was an amazing collaboration and all three will see better results from working together.”

Raymond A. Levey, EGI director, said, “Keach’s efforts are a great example of talent and technology coming together to help our state steward its abundant resources. The USTAR funding helped take this project from concept to commercial application.”

USTAR’s Eastern Utah Technology Outreach Team is assisting research, industry and entrepreneurial leaders to increase oil and gas production in Utah and reduce the environmental impact of drilling. “USTAR funded Bill’s 3D seismic modeling project with an eye toward property owned by SITLA, the State of Utah’s School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration,” Al Walker, USTAR Easter Region Technology Outreach Director, said.

“In 2008, revenues from oil and gas production on SITLA land generated more than $76 million dollars for Utah’s educational system,” Walker continues. “Funding cutting-edge technology like this will not only improve drilling success, but will also increase production from existing wells, providing significant additional revenues to Utah and its schools.”

A research organization within the university’s College of Engineering, EGI is the largest energy research consortium at any university in the world, with members representing more than 60 global and national energy companies from 18 countries. In Keach’s study, EGI used software valued at $21.2 million from Landmark, a product service line of Halliburton’s Drilling and Evaluation Division. EGI is employing the software in many of its worldwide energy exploration projects, as well as with USTAR researcher Brian McPherson’s carbon sequestration projects.

Lauren Birgenheier