DOE seeks ‘small-footprint’ technologies

On June 16,the U.S. Department of Energy unveiled a major new research and development initiative to develop “microhole” technologies — those that use portable drilling rigs with a smaller footprint and lower environmental impact. The program is designed to bring about faster, cheaper and safer oil and gas projects, DOE said.

The total value of the six projects is nearly $5.2 million with DOE providing $3.7 million and industry partners contributing more than $1.4 million.

The six new projects are:

• Gas Production Specialties — This project will develop technology to overcome the problems of mature, low-pressure reservoirs that have high amounts of remaining gas by using an artificial lift system consisting of pumps to produce the gas.

• Stolar Research — Researchers will develop technologies to guide the drill bit when drilling horizontal wells and transmit rock and fluid information to the surface as it is collected. Radar will be used to determine the location of the drill bit.

• Baker Hughes Inteq — The project will design and fabricate a drill bit steering device and a tool that measures the electrical resistivity of the rock. Development of these tools will provide a modular and effective coiled tubing drilling system that enables higher, more effective production from existing domestic oil fields.

• Schlumberger IPC — Researchers will develop and build a microhole coiled tubing drilling rig that is designed specifically for the abundant shallow oil and gas reservoirs found in the lower 48 states. The rig will be designed to improve the environmental and economic performance of shallow well drilling.

• Western Well Tool —The project will develop a downhole tractor tool that helps transport the drill bit and measurement tools into long (3,000+ feet) sections of horizontal wells. The tractor is expected to cost 25 percent to 50 percent less than conventional drilling methods and allow faster drilling of small-diameter horizontal sections.

• Bandera Petroleum Exploration — Researchers will develop and fabricate a drilling technique that uses a highly abrasive slurry jetting technique to drill through rock. One advantage of this technique includes faster drilling through a range of rock hardness.