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Denver Well Logging Society

May 2017 Newsletter

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Enhance oil recovery report: Ethane may be the new CO2

Patrick L. McGuire 
International Reservoir Technologies
 

Abstract


This paper summarizes the current state of the ethane industry in the United States and explores the opportunity for using ethane for enhanced oil recovery. We show both simulation data and field examples to demonstrate that ethane is an excellent EOR injectant.

After decades of research and field application, the use of CO2 as an EOR injectant has proven to be very successful. However, there are limited supplies of low-cost CO2 available, and there are also significant drawbacks, especially corrosion, involving its use. The rich gasses and volatile oils developed by horizontal drilling and fracturing in the shale reservoirs have brought about an enormous increase in ethane production. Ethane prices have dropped substantially. In the U.S., ethane is no longer priced as a petrochemical feedstock, but is priced as fuel. Also, substantial quantities of ethane are currently being flared.

Ethane-based EOR can supplement the very successful CO2-based EOR industry in the U.S. There simply isn’t enough low-cost CO2 available to undertake all of the potential gas EOR projects in the U.S. The current abundance of low-cost ethane presents a significant opportunity to add new gas EOR projects. The ethane-based EOR opportunity can be summarized as follows;
  1. CO2-based EOR works well, and is well understood.
  2. Ethane has more solubility in oil, lower MMPs, and better solvent efficiency than CO2.
  3. Ethane is operationally simpler than CO2 for EOR.
  4. Ethane is now inexpensive, and will likely stay inexpensive.
  5. Ethane-based EOR has become a viable option in the Lower 48. Large volumes of low-cost ethane are available. Recent additions to the growing ethane infrastructure now deliver ethane to locations where ethane-based EOR targets are plentiful.
 

Speaker Biography


Patrick L. McGuire is a senior consultant with  International Reservoir Technologies.  He is a reservoir engineer with more than 40 years experience.  Mr. McGuire holds a BS and MS degrees in mechanical engineering from New Mexico State University and the University of New Mexico, respectively.  He is a noted expert on EOR, and has worked on gas-injection and low-salinity EOR opportunities across the globe.  He worked many years for Arco and BP on the North Slope of Alaska, which is home to some of the world’s largest EOR projects.  He also developed EOR opportunities for Maersk in the Middle East.  He has numerous technical papers on EOR, and holds seven US patents.  He has addressed more than 30 SPE Sections as an SPE Distinguished Lecturer.
 
Make Reservation
Use the PayPal link above to make your luncheon reservation

If you are registering for someone else or using a PayPal account that is not in your name, please click here to send us an email with the correct registrant information. You should also use this link if you are registering multiple people; please provide the name and company affiliation for each registrant.

Forward this newsletter to a friend to invite them to the luncheon.

When

Tuesday, May 16, 2017
11:20 am - 1:30 pm


Where

Wynkoop Brewing Company
(tell me how to get there)


Cost

$20 per person
$25 at the door (space permitting)

 

Reservations and Cancellations

Reservations must be made using the PayPal link above or on the DWLS website; reservations must be made by 5 PM the Thursday prior to the talk. Cancellations may be made until 5 PM the Friday prior. Email your cancellation or contact Dominic Holmes at 303-770-4235. Our full cancellation/wait list policy is available on the website.
The Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists and the Denver Well Logging Society are teaming up to present "Geology and Petrophysics of Unconventional Mudrocks, 2017", September 27-28, 2017. This first-time combination of the two societies will combine the two Fall Technical Symposia on the first day at the American Mountaineering Center in Golden and RMAG’s ‘Hot Plays’ Core Workshop at the USGS in Lakewood on day 2.

The proposed technical program will be organized topically and will attempt to provide cross-disciplinary collaboration with DWLS. We welcome abstracts in the following categories:
  • Unconventional mudrock plays in the Rockies
  • Stratigraphic analysis of mudrock reservoirs
  • Petrophysical analysis of carbonate, siliciclastic, and mixed mudrock reservoirs
  • Applied reservoir modeling in mudrock reservoirs
  • Fractures vs matrix: are both critical for hydrocarbon storage and flow?
  • Resource assessments
  • Case studies
  • Analysis of abnormally pressured mudrock reservoirs
  • Techniques for investigating reservoir quality of mudrock reservoirs
We are especially interested in recent multidisciplinary reservoir studies, new interpretations of outcrop to subsurface stratigraphy, new play concepts and prospects based on application of stratigraphy and petrophysics, and new insights into unconventional petroleum systems of Rocky Mountain basins. We welcome abstracts for the technical talks at the symposium with or without an associated core for the core workshop. Send your abstract in today and join us for Unconventional Mudrocks, 2017! Deadline for abstract submission is June 1, 2017. Decisions will be returned by June 1.

Speakers of accepted abstracts will be encouraged to submit a short (4-10 pages) technical paper by Aug. 1. We intend to publish separate booklets for the symposium and the workshop with abstracts and/or technical papers for participants.

For more information, or to submit an abstract, please contact: David Katz (david.katz@whiting.com) for the core workshop or Katerina Yared (katerina.yared@qepres.com) for the technical symposium.

Sponsorship opportunities exist:
  • Permian Basin level $2500
  • Western Gulf-Eagle Ford $1500
  • Williston Basin $1000
  • Powder River Basin $500
  • Greater Green River Basin $250
Potential sponsors should contact Barbara Kuzmic (bkuzmic@rmag.org) for more information.

From the President

Bob Lieber

Thanks and Farewell.

My goodness, it has been a fast year!  This is my last month as President of Denver Well Logging Society and it has been a year that has been filled with excitement and challenges.  Given the feedback I have gotten to this column every month I know just how many of you are reading these words and I am very appreciative of your support.  I will still be on the Board of Directors next year as Past President and I look forward to recruiting some new faces for the Board of Directors next year.  In the meantime, you will still see me at out luncheon meetings and I am at other events around Denver as well.  Thanks for all of your help and support this year and I know you will do the same for the new President.
 

From the Past-President

Katerina Yared

We had DWLS board elections and I am thrilled to welcome the new DWLS 2017/18 board:
  • President: Sam Fluckiger (SM Energy)
  • VP Technology: James Shipps (Weatherford Labs)
  • VP Membership: Stefani Brakenhoff (The Discovery Group)
  • Treasurer: Richard Rosen (RL Rosen Consulting)
  • Secretary: Rebecca Johnson (QEP)
  • Director (editor for Petrophysics): Lauri Burke (USGS)
  • Director (social events): Jesse Havens (FractureID)
  • Director At-Large: Margaret Lessenger (Rimrock Petrophysics)
  • Past-President: Bob Lieber (Corsair Petrophysics)
  • Editor: Dominic Holmes (Digital Formation)
  • Webmaster: Tony Holmes (Digital Formation)
I want to mention that our Lauri Burke was not listed in our call for voting as a director because I of my error. Directors don’t get voted by our membership but they get listed in the election ballots. I apologize for my mistake but we are more than thrilled to have Lauri continue her constant flawless support of our society by delivering our chapter news and updates to the SPWLA office to have us always present in every edition of the SPWLA Petrophysics journal. Thank you, Lauri!

Thank you all for volunteering and we wish the new board a successful year ahead! A big thank you goes also to the officers from last year’s board that gave their sweat, blood, and tears for a smoothly run program 2016/17 for our DWLS membership.
 
Last but not least I want to mention the call for abstracts going on for our joint RMAG -DWLS Fall Unconventional Symposium going until June 1st but we hope to see you all part of this great event coming up on September 27-28th.
 
As for me, I am taking a short break from my board duties. It was an honor serving the DWLS board and membership and I hope to see you all at our future luncheons!
 
Stay smart everyone and be safe! And thank you all!

Calendar of Events

Click the calendar to the right to view events on the web.

Other Important Events

2017 SPWLA Annual Symposium, June 18-21, 2017 (Oklahoma City, OK)
2017 RMAG/DWLS Fall Symposium, Geology and Petrophysics of Unconventional Mudrocks, September 27-28, 2017

JLog
Mount Sopris Instruments
The Discovery Group
MHA Petroleum Consultants
Stoner Engineering LLC
Standard Data Solutions
Graphic Controls
Digital Formation
Donovan Brothers Incorporated

DWLS Sponsors

Click here to view the sponsors on the website, or click on any image to contact a sponsor.

Chapter Statistics

Statistic

This Year

3-Year Average

# of Active members 375 362
# that are New members 18 16
# that are Students 12 11
# that are Lifetime Members 316 299
September luncheon meeting attendance 38 75
October luncheon meeting attendance 69 66
November luncheon meeting attendance 38 76
Holiday party attendance 46 48
January luncheon meeting attendance 71 79
February luncheon meeting attendance 70 76
March luncheon meeting attendance 48 70
April luncheon meeting attendance 58 59
May luncheon meeting attendance   59
Summer social attendance   31
The DWLS Newsletter is published monthly September through June by the Denver Well Logging Society.  For information on membership or advertising, contact the editor.  For other inquiries, contact a member of the Board of Directors.
Copyright © 2017 Denver Well Logging Society, All rights reserved.


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