Announcements

We have another talk this month! Dr. Rod Batycky, an SPE DL and a cofounder of Streamsim Technologies, Inc, will speak about Streamline Reservoir Surveillance Models to Improve Mature Floods by Low-Cost Actions.  The talk is at 3:30 PM on Friday, Jan 27 in Room 104 (1st floor) in the Green Earth Sciences Building at Stanford University. Dr. Batycky's bio and talk abstract are listed below. 

 

Please RSVP by Jan 25, 2022, to Professor Roland Horne: horne@stanford.edu. 

Speaker bio  

Dr. Rod Batycky is a cofounder of Streamsim Technologies, Inc., and an expert in reservoir flow simulation with more than 25 years of industry experience. He is involved in the development of new simulation technologies, teaches reservoir simulation courses, and he has consulted on the reservoir modeling of water, polymer, CO2 and WAG floods world-wide. Prior to Streamsim, he was a reservoir engineer at Shell Canada.  He has authored several publications in SPE, was awarded SPE’s Cedrick K. Ferguson Medal and the SPE Canada Region Reservoir Description and Dynamics Award.  He is a past associate editor for SPEJCPT, a current associate editor for SPEREE, and an SPE Distinguished Lecturer. He holds a BSc from the U. of Calgary, and MSc and PhD degrees in petroleum engineering from Stanford University.

 

 

Abstract

In today's economic environment, operators must work to extend the lives of mature fields using low-cost measures. However, identifying reservoir opportunities and forecasting scenarios prior to implementation typically relies on reservoir flow simulation, yet most operators do not have time to build or calibrate such models. Instead, streamline-based surveillance (SLSV) modelling - which has matured greatly over the past few years - offers a practical solution. SLSV models are easier to build and significantly faster to compute than simulation models, and require minimal or no calibration. SLSL models are driven directly by historical production and injection data, can incorporate large scale geological features, and generate unique well-pair metrics for low-cost improvements. For example, while it is easy to identify high water cut/water rate producers, it is challenging to identify the offending offset injectors. Since streamlines naturally define well-pairs, engineers can identify offset injectors attached to producers to promote sweep and reduce fluid cycling. Recent technology enhancements allow SLSV models to additionally generate remaining oil in place maps by applying material balance to dynamic well-pairs as well as rapid forecasts of low-cost management scenarios such as new rate targets, well shut-ins, well reactivations, and/or producer-injector conversions. 

We hope you had a wonderful holiday break and are fully charged for 2023!

Our first talk in 2023 will be from SPE DL, Tuba Firincioglu. The details are listed below. Please note that this talk is hosted by SPE DL and you do need to register to receive the zoom link. 

Hope to see you there!

Title: Success and Failure Factors for Cyclic Gas Injection in Unconventional Reservoirs
When: Thursday, January 19th, 2023 (11AM Pacific)
Where: Online via Zoom
Meeting Registration Link: Zoom Meeting - SPEGGS January 2023 DL Meeting Link

Abstract

Field application of cyclic gas injection (CGI) has proven to increase rates and recovery factors in Eagle Ford. However, depsite years of experience in conventional reservoirs, a comprehensive understanding of the factors that yield to a successful CGI project in unconventional play is yet to be developed. Because a hydraulically created fracture system controls the flow while the fluid is stored in ultra-tight, nanoporous matrix, integrated understanding of the physics of the unconventional reservoir, the fluid system, exchange between matrix and fracture media, and the dynamic nature of the hydraulic fracture properties is essential for the successful design and implementation of CGI in unconventionals. This presentation focuses on the unconventional aspects of CGI and demonstrates utilization of modeling solutions to understand the reservoir, design a successful gas injection project, and quantify its success. The key take aways of the presentation are the success factors of CGI projects, importance of containment of gas and contact of gas with oil, and the impact of timing on the economic viability of implementation.

Summer is around the corner! On behalf of the Board of Directors of SPE Golden Gate Section, we'd like to invite you to attend our last meeting in the SPE year of 2021-2022. The meeting will be on Wednesday, June 1st starting at 11:00 am. It will be a Zoom meeting. This meeting will also serve as the section’s annual meeting to finalize the selection of the Board of Directors for 2022-2023.

Our speaker is Dr. Rita Esuru Okoroafor. The title of his presentation is: Evaluating the Feasibility of Underground Hydrogen Storage as a Complement to Renewable Energy Production. An abstract of the talk and a short bio of Dr. Okoroafor are shown below.

Looking forward to seeing you (Albeit virtually) at the next Golden Gate Section Meetings. Have a wonderful summer!

Title: Evaluating the Feasibility of Underground Hydrogen Storage as a Complement to Renewable Energy Production
When: Wednesday, June 1st, 2022 (11AM Pacific)
Where: Online via Zoom
Meeting Link: Zoom Meeting - SPEGGS March 2022 Link
Meeting ID: 860 3570 2797
Passcode: 106236

Abstract

With growing demands for energy and the need to reduce energy-related carbon dioxide emissions, several clean energy technologies are being researched, developed, and tested. Renewable energy resources such as solar and wind can provide emission-free electricity and are being adopted into the electricity grid. The increasing amounts of renewable energy onto the grid pose a challenge as the renewable resources can generate more electricity than is required. Energy generation from renewable resources is often curtailed to manage this surplus energy. While curtailment is an acceptable operational tool, it is anticipated that there will be more instances of oversupply amidst the energy transition. A possible solution to reduce the amount of curtailed renewable energy is to convert the surplus energy to hydrogen, store it, and later convert the hydrogen to electricity to power the grid.

This presentation shows how underground hydrogen storage in porous media can complement a high renewable energy portfolio by storing the energy that would otherwise have been curtailed. Based on a screening set of criteria, potential depleted fields in Northern California that would be suitable for underground hydrogen storage were identified. The amount of hydrogen that is potentially recovered by the seasonal hydrogen storage was estimated using a numerical simulation model.

The presentation outlines the value chain involved in underground hydrogen storage, shows how geological storage of hydrogen meets the capacity required to store the surplus energy, and demonstrates the role petroleum engineering concepts could play in the process.

About the Speaker

Dr. Rita Esuru Okoroafor is a Postdoctoral Scholar at the Stanford Center for Carbon Storage, Stanford University. During her doctoral studies, Dr. Okoroafor’s research focused on investigating optimal methodologies for harnessing Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS) through numerical simulation of the subsurface. Before embarking on her Ph.D., Dr. Okoroafor was a Petroleum Engineer with Schlumberger for 13 years. She started out supporting formation pressure and fluid sampling data acquisition while drilling and on wireline, carrying out well test analyses, production log interpretation, and cased hole log interpretation. She later supported the development of a single well reservoir modeling software for while-drilling applications, and aided operators in creating novel workflows for reservoir management utilizing Schlumberger’s Petroleum Engineering software. Dr. Okoroafor is a recipient of the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) Africa Region Reservoir Dynamics and Description Award (2017), SPE International Young Member Outstanding Service Award (2016), and SPE Africa Region Young Member Outstanding Service Award (2014).

Dr. Okoroafor’s current research involves developing and implementing rigorous, interdisciplinary site selection criteria for carbon dioxide and hydrogen storage. Her areas of interest include geothermal reservoir engineering, carbon dioxide storage and utilization, geologic storage of hydrogen, and reservoir geomechanics.

We are excited to announce that our May meeting will be in person at Stanford University! This will be our 1st in-person meeting in two years!

The meeting will be on Monday, May 2 at the Green Earth Sciences Building of Stanford University (367 Panama Street, Stanford, CA 94305; Room 104). Please note that Stanford requires an indoor mask in the classroom. No food will be served during the seminar. Please plan your lunch accordingly. The meeting will be from 12:15 to 1:15 pm. The meeting will also be the graduate seminar on that day.

our speaker for this month is Dr. Akshay Sahni, who is the General Manager, Strategy and Technology at Chevron Technology Ventures. The title of his presentation is Partnerships and ecosystems for driving innovation in energy. A short bio of Dr. Sahni is shown below.

A map for the meeting venue is here:

https://earth.stanford.edu/about/maps-directions

A parking map and visitor parking information are here:

https://lbre.stanford.edu/sites/default/files/parking_and_circulation_map_0.pdf
https://transportation.stanford.edu/parking/purchase-a-parking-permit/visitors

The best place to park is the Roble Field parking lot (underground) on Via Ortega. You can pay with a credit card at the machine on Level 1.

Please RSVP by Thursday, April 28, 2022, to Professor Roland Horne:  horne@stanford.edu. 

Abstract

Akshay Sahni is the General Manager, Strategy and Technology at Chevron Technology Ventures. In this position he provides oversight over enterprise technology strategy development, R&D for disruptive technologies, external partnerships for technology innovation, intellectual property and technology deployment and adoption.  His focus is on technologies supporting the core business, digital and low carbon technology verticals including CCUS, hydrogen, renewable fuels, energy storage systems etc.  He is an advisory board member of the Energy Institute, UT Austin.

 

Akshay joined Chevron in 1998 as a Research Scientist and since then has held operations and asset management leadership positions of increasing responsibilities in multiple locations within the US and internationally.

 

Akshay has a Doctorate in Energy Resources Engineering from Stanford University and MBA from Duke University Fuqua School of Business. In addition, he has a BS degree in Mechanical Engineering from Punjab University, India and a MS degree in Petroleum Engineering from the University of Alaska Fairbanks. He has authored over 20 technical publications and has 3 patents.  

Next Meeting

Our speaker for next month is Dr. Rita Esuru Okoroafor from Stanford University. She will speak about "Maximizing The Use of Clean Energy Resources Through Underground Hydrogen Storage". Stay tuned for our next meeting announcement!

We are excited to announce that our speaker for this month is Dr. Adam Jew, who is an associate staff scientist at the Stanford SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory. The title of his presentation is: Understanding the Geochemical Impact of Injection Fluids on Unconventional Shale Systems. An abstract of the talk and a short bio of Dr. Jew are shown below.

Title: Understanding the Geochemical Impact of Injection Fluids on Unconventional Shale Systems
When: Wednesday, March 16, 2022 (11AM Pacific)
Where: Online via Zoom
Meeting Link: Zoom Meeting - SPEGGS March 2022 Link
Meeting ID: 859 4944 2697

Abstract

Unconventional oil/gas shale production has led to US energy independence and is a major contributing factor to the reduction in CO2 emissions over the past decade. In spite of these successes, unconventional stimulation practices remain highly inefficient. Though current injection practices use a wide array of chemicals for a variety of purposes to promote production, these chemicals can prime the system for later mineral scale precipitation. This mineral scaling can lead to decreased production and requires a multi-faceted approach to understanding the important chemical reactions occurring. By blending laboratory- and synchrotron-based laboratory techniques with reactive transport modeling it has been shown that mineral scaling is occurring by both mineral scaling on fracture surfaces derived solely from injected chemicals and in the internal shale matrix caused by transformation of the naturally occurring minerals caused by the injection fluids.

Producing shale plays encompass clay-rich (> 25 wt.%) and carbonate-rich (> 20 wt.%) lithologies. Most unconventional stimulations begin with extremely low pH (pH -0.3) with later steps in the injection process being as high as pH = 10. These wide pH ranges coupled with the large range of lithologies result in different mineral scaling rates and phase behaviors. Regardless of these lithological variations, Fe(III)-(hydr)oxides are a universal scaling problem in the shale matrix while sulfates primarily precipitate on the surfaces. The degree to which sulfate scaling occurs is controlled by the composition of the both the additives and the base fluid used. The sourcing of the base fluid is critically important and needs to be taken into account when selecting additives to minimize sulfate scaling. Besides the interactions between additives and base fluids, the disequilibrium caused by the base fluid alone can cause mineral scaling as well. This disequilibrium covers a wide range of chemical parameters (pH, redox, ionic strength, dissolved organics). In some situations, mineral transformation/scaling is so rapid that additives added to control scaling are arriving too late to mitigate the problems. The insights garnered through studies of injection fluids with the minerals in the stimulated rock volume provides the necessary knowledge that allow for important incremental changes to the chemical aspects of stimulations.

About the Speaker

Dr. Adam Jew is an associate staff scientist at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory with a focus on mineralogy and geochemistry of various earth systems using a combination of laboratory- and synchrotron-based methods. He received his PhD in surface and aqueous geochemistry from Stanford University and has worked in a variety of research fields from mercury in the environment to coal and unconventional oil/gas shales. His current focus is on geochemistry of unconventional oil/gas shales, enhanced geothermal systems, and critical material geochemistry.

Next Meeting

Our speaker for next month is Varadarajan Dwarakanath.  Stay tuned for our next meeting announcement!

Our second speaker of 2022 will be an SPE Distinguished Lecturer– Tom Bradley. This talk will be hosted by SPE international's Zoom platform and the registration process is a little different. You need to click “See your section’s DL events” after clicking "Register HERE". This will bring you to Golden Gate Section’s DL schedule page. Then you can click "Register" for Tom Bradley’s talk. After registration, you will receive a confirmation email with Zoom details. Make sure to check your spam folder if you don’t find the confirmation email.  

The event is live! A recording will NOT be available if you miss it.
Don’t miss this LIVE SPE Virtual Distinguished Lecturer. 

SPE Distinguished Lecturers are industry experts and outstanding speakers, nominated by their peers, to share their knowledge and expertise on the latest industry trends and technologies with SPE members throughout the world through visits to local sections. 

Title: Application of Oil and Gas Subsurface Evaluation Methodology to Geothermal: The Value of Data
When: Monday, February 14, 2022 (11AM Pacific)
Where: Online via Zoom
Meeting Registration: Zoom Meeting - SPEGGS February 2022 Registration

Abstract

The energy landscape is changing, and renewable sources of energy are gaining in importance. As part of this, geothermal energy has the ability to be a key contributor as it can supply a constant dependable baseload for a wide range of uses, ranging from low temperature heating through mid temperature industrial uses, to high temperatures for power generation.It has additional benefits, that unlike other renewable sources such as wind and solar, it is has little or no reliance on varying prevailing conditions.

However geothermal is a relatively young industry, and many stakeholders are unaware of the importance of detailed knowledge of the subsurface in the success of safely and economically realising a project. As a result many projects dissapoint in their returns. The subsurface knowledge required is very similar to that needed for successful hydrocarbon exploration, therefore the expertise in gained in the oil and gas industry over many years can be applied to geothermal projects to help increase their likelihood of success. However because of the nature of the two industries, there is often a barrier that needs to be broken down before this knowledge can be shared.

In this presentation, I discuss how the subsurface information needed for success in the two industries is very similar, show the value of data, how well established oil and gas methodologies can be applied to help in the success of geothermal projects, and how the oil and gas industries can contribute to the success of geothermal energy.

About the Speaker

Tom Bradley is a Senior Petrophysical Advisor with Baker Hughes. After graduating from The Royal School of Mines, Imperial College, London with a degree in Geology with Engineering Geology in 1996, he started his career in 1997 as a wireline Data Processor with Western Atlas International, and since then has worked with Baker Hughes in a variety of technical, sales and supervisory roles in a variety of countries. Since 2005 he has been based in the Netherlands, and as part of his current role he is involved with the development of geothermal energy in the Netherlands and Europe. He is the recipient of the 2021 SPE Europe Region Formation Evaluation award, and in addition to SPE he serves with the Society of Petrophysicists and Well Log Analysts as president of the Dutch Petrophysical Society, is vice-chair of the SPWLA Alternative Subsurface/Energy Transition Special Interest Group, and is a member of the SPWLA technical committee.

Next Meeting

Our next meeting will be on March 16 at 11 am Pacific time. The speaker is Dr. Adam Jew from SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory. Stay tuned for our meeting notice.